San Jose Earthquakes (1974–1988)

San Jose Earthquakes (1974–1988)
San Jose Earthquakes was a professional soccer club that played from 1974 to 1988. The team began as an expansion franchise in the North American Soccer League (NASL), and was originally set to play in San Francisco; but slow season ticket sales led to a late switch to San Jose's Spartan Stadium. The switch to sports-starved San Jose was an immediate hit, and the Earthquakes led the league with attendance over 15,000 per game in 1974, double the league average. The team's success led Spartan Stadium to be chosen as site of the first NASL Soccer Bowl in 1975. From 1983 to 1984, the team was known as the Golden Bay Earthquakes. During this time, it also played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League and in the NASL's indoor circuit, winning the first ever NASL indoor tournament in 1975. Their indoor games were first played at the Cow Palace and later at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.
Following the collapse of the NASL in 1984, the team's name reverted to San Jose Earthquakes prior to joining the Western Soccer Alliance in 1985, where it played until the league's folding after the 1988 season.
The name Earthquakes was created by general manager Dick Berg, but was criticized due to San Jose's proximity to the San Andreas Fault.
Year-by-year
Outdoor:
Note: The team played as the Golden Bay Earthquakes in the 1983 and 1984 seasons.
NASL and MISL Indoor Soccer
In the winter of 1975, the NASL ran a two-tiered, 16-team indoor tournament with four regional winners meeting in a "final-four" style championship. Not only did San Jose host their region at the Cow Palace, but the final four as well. The Quakes swept through the tournament unscathed, defeating the Tampa Bay Rowdies 8–5 in the final to the delight of their fans. San Jose teammates Paul Child and Gabbo Garvic were named co-MVPs. In 1976, the Earthquakes again advanced to the final four before losing to the Rochester Lancers at the Bayfront Center in Florida. They would rebound the following day to win the 3rd Place match 5–2 over Dallas. The NASL would not begin playing full indoor seasons until 1979–80, but San Jose did not fare nearly as well in that format. The NASL canceled its 1982–83 indoor season. As a result, the Earthquakes along with Chicago and San Diego played in the MISL that winter.
Note: The team played the 1982/83 and 1983/84 seasons as the Golden Bay Earthquakes.
Head coaches
Momčilo Gavrić (1974)
Ivan Toplak (1974–1975)
Momčilo Gavrić (1975–1978)
Terry Fisher (1978–1979)
Peter Stubbe (1979)
Bill Foulkes (1980)
Jimmy Gabriel (1981)
Peter Short (1982)
Joe Mallett (1982)
Dragan Popović (1983–1984)
Laurie Calloway (1985)
Steve Litt (1986)
Barney Boyce (1987–1988)
Tomás Boy (1988)
Tony Zanotto (1988)
Honors
Championships
1975 NASL indoor
1985 WACS
1987 WSA (runner-up)
1988 WSA (runner-up)
NASL Division titles
1974 Southern Division, Pacific Conference
1975 Region 4 (indoor)
1976 West Regional (indoor)
NASL Most Valuable Player
1975 Paul Child & Gabbo Garvic (indoor)
1983–84 Steve Zungul (indoor)
1984 Steve Zungul
North American Player of the Year
1984 Branko Šegota
Coach of the Year
1983 Don Popovic
Leading Scorer
1974 Paul Child 36 points
1975 Paul Child (indoor) 31 points
1982–83 Steve Zungul (MISL) 122 points
1983–84 Steve Zungul (indoor) 119 points
1984 Steve Zungul 50 points
1987 Joe Mihaljevic 16 points
Leading Goal Scorer
1974 Paul Child 15 goals
1975 Paul Child (indoor) 14 goals
1976 Juli Veee (indoor) 8 goals
1982–83 Steve Zungul (MISL) 75 goals
1983–84 Steve Zungul (indoor) 63 goals
1984 Steve Zungul 20 goals
1987 Joe Mihaljevic 7 goals
Assists Leader
1983–84 Steve Zungul (indoor) 56 assists
1988 Dzung Tran 4 assists (tied with 2 others)
All-Star First Team selections
1974 Paul Child
1976 António Simões
1983 Stan Terlecki, Steve Zungul
1984 Steve Zungul
1986 Chance Fry
1987 Barney Boyce, Tim Martin, Joe Mihaljevic, George Pastor, Robbie Zipp
1988 Tomás Boy, Abuelo Cruz
All-Star Second Team selections
1981 George Best
1984 Branko Šegota
1986 Dzung Tran
1988 Chris Dangerfield, Dzung Tran
All-Star Honorable Mentions
1974 Laurie Calloway, Dieter Zajdel
1976 Mark Liveric
1977 António Simões
1982 Vince Hilaire, Godfrey Ingram
1983 Mihalj Keri
1984 Fernando Clavijo
Indoor All-Star/All-Tournament selections
1975 Paul Child, Gabbo Garvic
1976 Juli Veee
1980–81 George Best, Mike Hewitt
1983–84 Fernando Clavijo, Steve Zungul
Indoor All-Star Game selections
1984 Fernando Clavijo, Steve Zungul (starters)
U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame
1997 Johnny Moore
2003 Paul Child
2005 Fernando Clavijo
Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame
2001 Gerry Gray
2002 Branko Šegota, Mike Sweeney
2009 Mike Stojanović
2011 Victor Kodelja
Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame
2012 Don Popovic, Branko Šegota, Juli Veee, Steve Zungul
2014 Fernando Clavijo
2019 Stan Terlecki
References
External links
NASL year-by-year standings
MISL year-by-year standings
Western Soccer League year-by-year standings
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams
Defunct soccer clubs in California
Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States
E
San Jose Earthquakes
Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) teams
Western Soccer Alliance teams
Soccer clubs in California
1974 establishments in California
1988 disestablishments in California
Association football clubs disestablished in 1988
Association football clubs established in 1974