When I caught Neptunes fever

You know, if I had only been able to stay in Norfolk, Virginia, just a few days longer, the Atlantic Coast Football League – and the Norfolk Neptunes – could’ve been my introduction to alternative pro football.

Yep … the team that began life as the Springfield (Massachusetts) Acorns in 1963 in the original Atlantic Coast Football League, moved to Norfolk when the franchise joined the Continental Football League in 1966, and played its final two seasons in the new ACFL, was my first offbrand crush.

In the summer of 1971, my parents took me to Virginia to visit my brother, who was serving at Naval Station Norfolk. It was the first time I’d ever traveled through the sky, which was cool except for the fact that I suffered from airplane ear.

And, it was my first time to snarfle dry roasted peanuts, which I’d never had before until the flight attendant passed some out as a snack. I gave them rave reviews, so much so that when we landed at Norfolk International Airport, she gifted me with a whole bag of them.

I like to think she was charmed by my black horn-rimmed glasses and Lucky Tiger hair tonic.

Except for spending a few days with my brother and sister-in-law, those would’ve likely been the two main highlights of the trip.

However, we arrived on a Saturday night and on Sunday morning, I found myself thumbing through the Virginian-Pilot newspaper. I was already a sports nut at age 10, and loved poring over those industrial-sized Sunday sports sections.

Two things jumped out at me as I perused the paper. One, Joe Namath suffered torn ligaments in his left knee during an exhibition game against the Detroit Lions the night before, which broke my heart. I was a huge New York Jets fan, and had some major hero worship when it came to Joe Willie.

And two – and this is where I finally circle back to the plot of this story – I learned the Neptunes defeated the Augusta Eagles, 89-0, at Foreman Field the night before.

They led 28-0 at the end of the first quarter, 42-0 at halftime, and 63-0 at the end of three. The winners never punted and rolled up 554 yards of total offense, with 395 coming on the ground.

Nine players scored touchdowns, with Ron Holliday, Herb Nauss and Bob Fultz tallying two TDs apiece.

Now, until I read that article, I had no clue that there was a professional football team in Norfolk, or that there was a league called the ACFL. (I certainly knew nothing of the Eagles, who were members of the Dixie Football League).

But 89-0 … that blew my mind.

So, I started asking Don, my brother, about the team, and he told me they had been around for quite a few years. In 1971 they had a new coach named Ron Waller, and played in the best American gridiron league outside the NFL.

Another factoid that stayed with me is that their roster featured a defensive player named Otis Sistrunk, a former Marine who never played college football.
I was fascinated, and Don ran out of answers before I ran out of questions. While I literally did not know the club existed the day before, they were now my third favorite pro football team behind the Jets and Los Angeles Rams.

The Neptunes played another exhibition the following week against the Columbia All-Stars (winning 61-0), but that contest was on a Sunday and we had headed back home to Birmingham the Friday before.

However, Don told me, maybe if I came back in 1972, he’d take me to Foreman Field to see a game.

When we returned home, I maintained Neptune Fever even after the NFL and college season shifted into high gear. Every time I talked to Don on the phone, the first thing I asked was how the team was doing.

Turns out, they did quite well; the Neptunes finished with a 10-3 record and defeated the Hartford Knights, 24-13, to win the ACFL championship.

A guy named Jim “King” Corcoran – who joined the team after being cut by the Philadelphia Eagles – led the way, throwing two touchdown passes to Holliday to help Norfolk lay claim to minor league football’s top prize.

I couldn’t wait to return to the Commonwealth the next summer and watch them from the bleachers.

Sadly, I’d never get the chance; the team and league folded at the end of the 1971 season.

Thanks to the World Football League in 1974, though, I finally got my chance to witness alt-football live and in person. And both Waller and Corcoran were a part of the WFL as head coach and QB, respectively, of the Philadelphia Bell. In fact, 12 former Norfolk players found roster spots on the WFL’s Philadelphia entry.

Sistrunk went on to have a solid career with the Oakland Raiders, and several other guys off the 1971 squad spent some time in the NFL.

More than a half century later – whenever I go down a sports research rabbit hole and come across the Norfolk Neptunes – I always smile.

Maybe I never saw them play, but I still consider myself one of their biggest fans.