# 1981 San Jose Earthquakes season

The 1981 San Jose Earthquakes season was the eighth for the franchise in the North American Soccer League. They finished in fourth place in the Western Division.

## Squad

The 1981 squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 00 | GK | ENG | Phil Parkes |
| 1 | GK | USA | Bob Stetler |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Paul Cahill |
| 2 | MF | USA | Alan Merrick |
| 3 | DF | USA | Mike Hunter |
| 4 | DF | USA | Jim McAlister |
| 5 | DF | YUG | Vasa Rutonjski |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Tony Powell |
| 7 | FW | TRI | Steve David |
| 8 | MF | HUN | Joe Horvath |
| 11 | FW | NIR | George Best |
| 12 | FW | YUG | Slavko Licinar |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 13 | FW | USA | Tony Crescitelli |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Mark Lindsay |
| 15 | FW | USA | Easy Perez |
| 16 | MF | YUG | Mustafa Hukic |
| 17 | MF | USA | Tim Schulz |
| 18 | FW | ENG | David Irving |
| 19 | DF | USA | Bill Sautter |
| 20 | MF | USA | Gary Etherington |
| 21 | MF | USA | Joe Silveira |
| 24 | GK | SCO | Mike Hewitt |
| 25 | DF | USA | Derek Evans |
| 25 | FW | USA | Mark Liveric |

## Competitions
### NASL
#### Season

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers |
| March 29, 1981 | New York Cosmos | H | 0–3 | |
| April 5, 1981 | Los Angeles Aztecs | A | 0–1 | |
| April 12, 1981 | Jacksonville Tea Men | H | 3–0 | Etherington, David (2) |
| April 19, 1981 | San Diego Sockers | H | 2–1 | Licinar, Best |
| April 26, 1981 | California Surf | H | 0–1 | |
| May 2, 1981 | San Diego Sockers | A | 2–4 | Best, Crescitelli |
| May 6, 1981 | Portland Timbers | A | 0–3 | |
| May 10, 1981 | Edmonton Drillers | H | 1–0 | David |
| May 15, 1981 | California Surf | A | 2–1 | Best, Horvath |
| May 19, 1981 | Atlanta Chiefs | A | 0–2 | |
| May 24, 1981 | Calgary Boomers | A | 0–1 | |
| May 27, 1981 | Los Angeles Aztecs | H | 3–2 | Liveric, Crescitelli, Hunter |
| May 31, 1981 | Calgary Boomers | H | 4–3 | Best (2), Lindsay, Crescitelli |
| June 7, 1981 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | H | 2–1 | Crescitelli, Horvath |
| June 14, 1981 | Edmonton Drillers | A | 2–6 | Liveric, Irving |
| June 17, 1981 | Atlanta Chiefs | H | 3–1 | Etherington, Best, Crescitelli |
| June 20, 1981 | Seattle Sounders | A | 0–1 | |
| June 24, 1981 | California Surf | A | 0–7 | |
| June 27, 1981 | Los Angeles Aztecs | H | 1–2 | Best |
| July 1, 1981 | Vancouver Whitecaps | H | 1–5 | Licinar |
| July 4, 1981 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | A | 1–4 | |
| July 8, 1981 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | A | 2–4 | Best, Perez |
| July 11, 1981 | Jacksonville Tea Men | A | 3–4 | Crescitelli, Best, Irving |
| July 15, 1981 | Montreal Manic | A | 0–4 | |
| July 22, 1981 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | H | 3–2 | Best (2), Hukic |
| July 25, 1981 | Los Angeles Aztecs | A | 0–3 | |
| August 1, 1981 | Portland Timbers | H | 1–1* | Best |
| August 5, 1981 | San Diego Sockers | A | 0–3 | |
| August 8, 1981 | Seattle Sounders | H | 3–0 | Crescitelli, Licinar (2) |
| August 12, 1981 | California Surf | H | 2–1 | Horvath, Licinar |
| August 15, 1981 | San Diego Sockers | H | 2–3 | Lindsay, Best |
| August 19, 1981 | Vancouver Whitecaps | A | 1–3 | Lindsay |
* = Shootout Source:

#### Standings

| Western Division | W | L | GF | GA | PT |
| San Diego Sockers | 21 | 11 | 67 | 49 | 173 |
| Los Angeles Aztecs | 19 | 13 | 53 | 55 | 160 |
| California Surf | 11 | 21 | 60 | 77 | 117 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 11 | 21 | 44 | 78 | 108 |