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San Jose Earthquakes

Full name	San Jose Earthquakes
Founded	December 11, 1973
Dissolved	1988; 36 years ago (1988)
Stadium	Outdoor: Spartan Stadium (18,155) Indoor: Cow Palace (11,089) Oakland Coliseum Arena (13,601)
League	NASL (1974–1984) MISL (1982–1983) WSA (1985–1988)
Home colors Away colors

The San Jose Earthquakes were 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. While it was criticized due to San Jose's proximity to the San Andreas Fault, the name stayed on. In 1999, the Earthquakes name returned when San Jose's Major League Soccer franchise renamed themselves from the Clash to Earthquakes. A rebranding in 2014 added "1974" to the MLS team's crest, an explicit reference to the original NASL team.

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 Gavric 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

References

1. Maule, Tex (August 5, 1974). "They Knew A Way To San Jose". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
2. "Logo Unveil: A New Era of Earthquakes Soccer Begins | San Jose Earthquakes". Sjearthquakes.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
3. "The Throw-In: San Jose Earthquakes rebrand a check mark on long to-do list for MLS". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
4. "History of Indoor Soccer in the USA". RSSSF. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
5. "The Year in American Soccer - 1983". homepages.sover.net. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
6. ^ "American Soccer History Archives". homepages.sover.net. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
7. "Record-Journal - Google News Archive Search". Record-Journal. Retrieved September 6, 2017 – via Google News Archive Search.
8. ^ "The Year in American Soccer - 1987". homepages.sover.net. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
9. "North American Soccer League". Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
10. Mudry, Richard (September 18, 1983). "Rookie Thompson captures NASL honors". Tampa Tribune. p. 15–D. Retrieved December 15, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
11. Henderson, Jim (April 21, 1981). "For Keith Bailey, The Long Wait Is Finally Over". The Tampa Tribune. p. 5-C. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
12. "Record-Journal - Google News Archive Search". Record-Journal. Retrieved September 6, 2017 – via Google News Archive Search.
13. "US Soccer Hall of Fame Membership". homepages.sover.net. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
14. "Canada Soccer Hall of Fame". www.thesoccerhalloffame.ca. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
15. "Hall of Famers". indoorsoccerhall.com. September 1, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2021.

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
• Soccer clubs in San Jose, California
• 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