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.

For the MLS club, see San Jose Earthquakes.

San Jose Earthquakes
Full nameSan Jose Earthquakes
FoundedDecember 11, 1973
Dissolved1988 (1988)
StadiumOutdoor:
Spartan Stadium (18,155)
Indoor:
Cow Palace (11,089)
Oakland Coliseum Arena (13,601)
LeagueNASL (1974–1984)
MISL (1982–1983)
WSA (1985–1988)

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.[1]

Year-by-year

Outdoor:

Season League W L T GF GA Finish Playoffs Avg. Attend.
1974 NASL 9 8 3 43 38 2nd West Lost Quarterfinal 16,584
1975 NASL 8 14 37 48 5th West did not qualify 17,927
1976 NASL 14 10 47 30 1st South Lost Conference Finals 19,826
1977 NASL 14 12 37 44 2nd South Lost in 1st round 17,739
1978 NASL 8 22 36 81 4th American West did not qualify 14,281
1979 NASL 8 22 41 74 4th American West did not qualify 15,092
1980 NASL 9 23 45 68 4th American West did not qualify 13,169
1981 NASL 11 21 44 78 4th West did not qualify 12,400
1982 NASL 13 19 47 62 5th West did not qualify 11,012
1983 NASL 20 10 71 54 2nd West Lost Semifinal 11,933
1984 NASL 8 16 61 62 5th West did not qualify 10,676
1985 WACS 4 2 1 10 9 1st N/A
1986 WSA 3 4 7 13 23 6th N/A
1987 WSA 6 7 21 13 3rd Runners-up
1988 WSA 7 5 20 19 3rd Runners-up

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.[2] 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.[3]

Season League W L GF GA Place Playoffs
1975 NASL 4 0 37 17 1st West NASL Champions
1976 NASL 3 1 35 18 1st West 3rd place
1980–81 NASL 10 8 118 115 3rd West did not qualify
1981–82 NASL 5 13 83 141 3rd National West did not qualify
1982–83 MISL 17 31 240 290 5th West did not qualify
1983–84 NASL 19 13 206 190 4th Lost Semifinal

Note: The team played the 1982/83 and 1983/84 seasons as the Golden Bay Earthquakes.

Head coaches

Honors

References
  1. Maule, Tex (August 5, 1974). "They Knew A Way To San Jose". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  2. "History of Indoor Soccer in the USA". RSSSF. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  3. "The Year in American Soccer - 1983". homepages.sover.net. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  4. "American Soccer History Archives". homepages.sover.net. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  5. "Record-Journal - Google News Archive Search". Record-Journal. Retrieved September 6, 2017 – via Google News Archive Search.
  6. "The Year in American Soccer - 1987". homepages.sover.net. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  7. "North American Soccer League". Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  8. Mudry, Richard (September 18, 1983). "Rookie Thompson captures NASL honors". Tampa Tribune. p. 15–D. Retrieved December 15, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  9. Henderson, Jim (April 21, 1981). "For Keith Bailey, The Long Wait Is Finally Over". The Tampa Tribune. p. 5-C. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  10. "Record-Journal - Google News Archive Search". Record-Journal. Retrieved September 6, 2017 – via Google News Archive Search.
  11. "US Soccer Hall of Fame Membership". homepages.sover.net. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  12. "Canada Soccer Hall of Fame". www.thesoccerhalloffame.ca. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  13. "Hall of Famers". indoorsoccerhall.com. September 1, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
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