Sam Nusum (1), Johnny Moore (8), Bruce Wilson (3), Archie Roboostoff (14), Victor Kodelja (7) Vancouver Whitecaps at San Jose Earthquakes Bob Lenarduzzi (5), Doug Wark (9) San Jose Earthquakes at Vancouver Whitecaps Bob Lenarduzzi (5), Jan Goossens (10) Vancouver Whitecaps at Golden Bay Earthquakes Jan Goossens (8), Nikola Ristic (15) Tacoma Stars at Kansas City Comets Mike Hewitt Mike Hewitt (24), Steve David (7) San Jose Earthquakes at Los Angeles Aztecs
NASL Legends: "Krazy George" Henderson, Johnny Moore and Dave Obenour. NASL Head Shots: San Jose Earthquakes, 1974 Head Shots: San Jose Earthquakes, 1974 NASL Head Shots: California Surf, 1980 MISL Action: Golden Bay Earthquakes forward Chris Dangerfield heads upfield during the 1982-83 MISL season. Happy 70th birthday to Laurie Abrahams, the English prodigy who once scored 101 goals in a youth league season and insisted he'd prefer working as a tailor to playing soccer, yet joined the NASL in 1978 and quickly became an offensive force, tallying 76 career goals -- good for 11th on the all-time list, while his 64 assists rank 13th -- winning Soccer Bowl '83 with the Tulsa Roughnecks, earning all-NASL honors in 1982, receiving the Offensive MVP Award at the NASL Grand Prix of Soccer in 1983, and later spending 3 MISL seasons with the New York Cosmos (1984-85), Kansas City Comets (1984-86) and Wichita Wings (1986-87). Soccer in the 1970s: Italian recruits Giorgio Chinaglia and Paulo Cimpiel clown around after agreeing to join the New York Cosmos and Toronto Metros-Croatia, respectively, for the 1976 NASL season. Happy 65th birthday to goalkeeper Roy Messing (back row, 3rd from right), the younger brother of NASL icon Shep Messing who played at Yale University, then signed with the San Diego Sockers at the age of 20 in 1978 and spent the 1979 NASL season with the Rochester Lancers, but was more successful indoors, where he made 48 appearances with the Cincinnati Kids (1978-79), Hartford Hellions (1979-80), San Francisco Fog (1980-81) and New York Arrows (1982-83). Happy 72nd birthday to Wales international Peter O'Sullivan (number 14), the 5-foot-8 winger who made 435 appearances over 11 years with Brighton & Hove Albion and later shone for Fulham, but who also played on loan with the San Diego Sockers in 1980, scoring 2 goals in 20 NASL games.
NASL Action: San Jose Earthquakes forward Mark Liveric looks to maneuver past Vancouver Whitecaps defender Bob Lenarduzzi at Spartan Stadium. Happy 72nd birthday to Trinidad and Tobago international Steve David, the lanky striker who joined the NASL in 1974 and promptly led the Miami Toros to the NASL final, then scored 37 goals over 3 seasons and captured the 1975 NASL MVP Award, was traded to the Los Angeles Aztecs in 1977 and responded with 26 goals in 24 games to finish as the league's top scorer, later played for the Detroit Express (1978), California Surf (1978-79) and San Jose Earthquakes (1980-81), earned 3 all-NASL selections, finished as the NASL's 7th all-time leading goal scorer, and ultimately added 3 standout seasons in MISL with the Phoenix Inferno and Phoenix Pride, notching 144 goals and making the MISL All Star team in 1982 and 1983. Happy 73rd birthday to Jim Steele, the 6-foot-1 Scottish tower of power at centre back who anchored Dundee and Southampton's defenses for 11 seasons -- culminating in the Saints' FA Cup final victory over Manchester United in 1976 -- then embarked upon a 5-year NASL career with the Washington Diplomats (1977-80), Memphis Rogues (1980) and Chicago Sting (1981) where he made 78 appearances and earned all-NASL honors in 1978, while also playing in the MISL with the Pittsburgh Spirit (1978-79). Happy 63rd birthday to Carl Shearer, the 6-foot-4 Michigan-born Canadian defender whose 4-year pro career was spent with the Vancouver Whitecaps and comprised 25 games and victory in Soccer Bowl '79, then became a sports doctor and served as Canada's national team physician from 1991-2010 and received the CSA's inaugural Brian Budd Award in 2013 as an individual who has "excelled both in soccer and in another endeavour," and was admitted to the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame along with his Whitecaps teammates in 2011 Happy 70th birthday to Jorge Espinoza (number 15), the Chilean midfielder who played 7 seasons for Colo Colo, then joined the Chicago Sting in 1980 and battled injuries to help the team win Soccer Bowl '81, and later crafted a 7-year MISL career that included the Memphis / Las Vegas Americans (1981-85), Wichita Wings (1985-86). Kansas City Comets (1986-87) and Dallas Sidekicks (1987-88). NASL Ticket Stubs: Portland Timbers vs. New York Cosmos, 1979 NASL Action: Seattle Sounders forward Jimmy Robertson runs down a loose ball against the New York Cosmos in Soccer Bowl '77 at Civic Stadium AISA Dateline: On 10 March 1984, the American Indoor Soccer Association (AISA) formally launched its operation for the 1984-85 season with 6 franchises in smaller, Middle America markets: Canton Invaders, Chicago Vultures, Columbus Capitals, Kalamazoo Kangaroos, Louisville Thunder, and Milwaukee Wave. Designed as a 2nd-tier league with an emphasis on developing American talent, the AISA played mostly in minor league hockey arenas and served as a fiscally responsible counterpoint to the MISL. Canton dominated the inaugural season with a 31-9 record and a 4-game victory over Louisville in the best-of-5 final, with Lesh Shkreli winning the scoring race (59 goals / 44 assists / 103 points) and MVP Award, goalkeeper Mike Barbarick posting the top won-loss record (20-7) and goals against average (4.27 GAA) and coach Klaas de Boer taking home Coach of the Year honors.
Don, does this impact the Earthquakes history collection in any way? https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/san-jose-firefighters-battle-blaze-at-history-park/
I don’t think so. That appears to be one of the old houses in the park. The museum soccer collection is in warehouse across the street on Senter. House on right in photos in CBS article appears to be Pasetta House, which has McKay Gallery with collection of old paintings of San Jose and the Valley, so would be tragic if any of them were lost. Poster print in my bedroom of of large landscape of Santa Clara Valley from 1930 in museum collection.
Makes you wonder if this could happen again and if they made copies of everything or will they in the future?
Some of the paintings like the one in the print in my bedroom are massive and expensive to scan. I was on the board back in 2010 when this one was scanned. I believe several more were scanned 10 years later for promo material for 15th anniversary of McKay gallery. I offered to subsidize small printing (100 copies) of seven more paintings in poster prints but they didn’t have sufficient staff to work on the merchandising project at the time. Too bad because the paintings are amazing and prints of them would be a great marketing device for the museum.
Mercury News article on the fire: . . . The damage could have been much more devastating to both the park and San Jose’s historic collection. The Nelson-DeLuz house, which was destroyed, is located at the Phelan Avenue entrance to History Park and is right next door to the Pasetta House, which contains a gallery displaying paintings by famed Santa Clara valley artists including Andrew P. Hill and A.D.M. Cooper. The rear wall of the Pasetta House facing the Nelson-DeLuz house was scorched and windows in that area were damaged. It was actually the smoke alarm from the Pasetta House that triggered the San Jose Fire Department response. The fire was the worst ever to strike History Park, a 14-acre part of Kelley Park that opened in 1971 and contains more than 30 original and reconstructed buildings from San Jose’s past. Ken Middlebrook, History San Jose’s curator of collections, said the paintings inside the David and Leonard McKay gallery suffered smoke damage but were all intact. Collections Manager Katrina Anderson, Archives Curator Cate Mills and Middlebrook carefully wrapped the paintings to transport them for storage in the city’s collection center . . . . https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/03/12/san-jose-two-alarm-fire-destroys-1905-house-at-history-park/
Thank you for the update, Don. It's sickening when this irreplaceable history is lost. I'm glad it didn't turn out any worse.
REMEMBERING, HONORING JIM: Lancers teammates fete ... RIP, JIM: Pollihan, former USMNT defender, 1st pro player to ... Pollihan remembered the team management had many meetings during the losing streak. “But they weren't crisis meetings,” he said in 1992. “
Happy 75th birthday to Ian Wood, the Oldham Athletic legend who made a club-record 525 appearances at right back over 15 years at Boundary Park, but also spent 3 loan seasons in the NASL, scoring 5 goals in a combined 55 games for the Denver Dynamos (1974) and San Jose Earthquakes (1978-79), then adding the 1981-82 MISL season with the Wichita Wings. Happy 77th birthday to Ireland international John Dempsey (number 5), the rugged centre-back who spent 5 seasons with Fulham then joined Chelsea in 1969 and went on to win major trophies such as the FA Cup (1970) and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1971), then signed with the Philadelphia Fury in 1978 and scored 2 goals in 81 appearances in 3 NASL seasons. Happy 66th birthday to U.S. international Hayden Knight (number 5), the Trinidad-born defender who starred at Marquette University and joined the NASL in 1980, scoring 8 goals in 75 games with Edmonton (1980), the Atlanta Chiefs (1981), Montreal Manic (1982), Team America (1983), Golden Bay Earthquakes (1984) and Chicago Sting (1984), helping Edmonton win the 1981 NASL Indoor title and capturing the Soccer Bowl '84 Series with Chicago. NASL Dateline: On 15 March 1979, goalkeeper Shep Messing signed a 2-year contract with the Rochester Lancers that allowed him to live in New York City and commute to the matches upstate via plane - and Messing responded in 1979 by posting career-highs in games (29), minutes (2,707) and saves (187). MISL Action: St. Louis Steamers defender Ty Keough looks for an opening. NASL Action: Fort Lauderdale Strikers forward George Nanchoff settles the ball against the San Jose Earthquakes at Lokchart Stadium. NASL Head Shots: San Jose Earthquakes, 1978 Happy 74th birthday to Graham Oates (number 5), the English midfielder who scored 32 goals in 272 appearances over 8 seasons with Bradford City (1969-74), Blackburn Rovers (1974-76) and Newcastle United (1976-78), then jumped to the NASL and added another 22 goals in 110 games with the Detroit Express (1978-80) and California Surf (1981). MISL Ticket Stub: New York Arrows vs. Buffalo Stallions, 1982-83
NASL Action: Golden Bay Earthquakes goalkeeper Bill Irwin dives to make a stop as teammates Stan Terlecki and Chris Dangerfield look on at Spartan Stadium. NASL Subbuteo: San Jose Earthquakes NASL Subbuteo: San Diego Sockers NASL Merchandise: NASL logo fabric MISL National Team: Seamus McDonagh, Ireland NASL Legends: "Krazy George" Henderson (with San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo) NASL Quotes: "I couldn't believe a player that size could move that fast, the first time I played against him. He was here and then he was gone. Mike Stojanovic is easily one of the best center forwards in the league." - Al Trost, St. Louis Stars NASL Action: New York Cosmos attackers Angelo DiBernardo, François Van der Elst and Julio Cesar Romero line up to defend a Fort Lauderdale Strikers' free kick during Soccer Bowl '80 at RFK Stadium.
Coiurtesy of Mark Demling , original 1974 Earthquake...... Hands down, without question the real and true GOAT, PELE ASL Merchandise: New Jersey Americans NASL Dateline: On 19 March 1981, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers played to a 1-1 draw with Alianza before 35,000 at Estadio Alendra Villanueva, the 2nd of Fort Lauderdale's 3-match pre-season tour of South America. NASL Memories: Iraj Danaifard was a World Cup hero for Iran who joined the NASL at the height of the anti-Iran sentiment in the United States caused by the Iran hostage crisis - yet enjoyed 5 top-flight seasons without incident. Born on 19 March 1951, Danaifard (number 9) was a steady, holding midfielder who helped Taj SC win the 1971 Iranian league, then scored Iran's 1st-ever World Cup goal in the 1978 tournament against Scotland. After playing for the World All Stars against the New York Cosmos in a Giants Stadium exhibition in 1978, Danaifard offered himself unannounced to the Tulsa Roughnecks and quickly became an NASL star, racking up 3 goals and 18 assists in 5 NASL seasons and helping Tulsa win Soccer Bowl '83. Sadly, Danaifard passed away in 2018 at the age of 67. Happy 64th birthday to Joe Morrone Jr., the son of legendary University of Connecticut coach Joe Morrone, who won All America honors and the Hermann Trophy for the Huskies in 1980, then was the 1st overall pick of the 1981 NASL Draft and won the NASL Rookie of the Year after scoring 8 goals for the Tulsa Roughnecks, and later played for the San Jose Earthquakes (1982) and MISL's Pittsburgh Spirit (1983-84). MISL Dateline: On 20 March 1979, Steve Zungul scored 5 goals in a 9-4 win over the Cincinnati Kids at Nassau Coliseum to propel New York to the inaugural best-of-3 MISL Championship Series. Sad to learn of the death this past week of John Carenza (number 11), the 6-foot-4 forward who played in the 1972 Olympic Games and crafted a 5-year pro career with the St. Louis Stars. He was 73. An All American who led Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville to national prominence, Carenza also finished runner-up twice in the Hermann Trophy balloting. The Stars made Carenza a 1st-round pick in the 1973 NASL Draft and converted him to a defender, where he still notched 5 goals in 52 games. Carenza is the son of legendary college coach Joe Carenza Sr. and Carenza's younger brother, Chris, also played in the NASL. John Carenza was elected to the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame in 2002. Happy 60th birthday to Canada international Barry Dearden (top row, far left), the Vancouver native who played for the hometown Vancouver Whitecaps in the 1981 and 1984 NASL seasons
Happy 69th birthday to Jerry Kazarian (pictured at right), the Armenian-American forward who played two NASL seasons with the Los Angeles Aztecs (1974-75) and San Jose Earthquakes (1975), helped Los Angeles win the 1974 NASL title, then later won the 1976 ASL championship with the Los Angeles Skyhawks. Happy 76th birthday to Elton John (pictured at right, with Sergio Mendes and Pelé), the English pop star and songwriter whose 33 albums have sold over 300 million copies and spawned over 50 Top 40 hits, but whose passion for soccer led him to purchase a minority stake in the Los Angeles Aztecs in 1976 and usher in an era of rock star glamour that characterized the NASL heyday, and inspired John to also buy his favorite English team, Watford FC, that same year, remaining the club's president through 1987. NASL National Team: USA, 1978 (Jim Pollihan, Al Trost, Don Droege, Arnie Mausser, Greg Villa, Steve Pecher, Steve Ralbovsky, Mark Liveric, Greg Makowski, George Nanchoff, Colin Fowles, Glenn Myernick, Dale Russell, Louie Nanchoff, Boris Bandov, David Brcic, Jim McAlister, Gary Etherington, Rick Davis; Staff: Walt Chyzowych, Steve Parker) Happy 65th birthday to Val Fernandes (number 5), the Brazilian-American defender who made 47 appearances in a 3-year NASL career with the California Surf (1981), San Diego Sockers (1983), and Tulsa Roughnecks (1983-84) -- winning Soccer Bowl '83 with the latter -- and also playing indoors with the MISL's Chicago Sting (1984-85) and Los Angeles Lazers (1985-86). Happy 76th birthday to Scotland international Archie Gemmill, the rugged midfielder who won English league titles with Derby County (1972, 1975) and Nottingham Forest (1978) -- and later added the 1979 European Cup with Forest -- yet is best-remembered for the miracle goal he scored against The Netherlands in the 1978 FIFA World Cup, and still managed to squeeze the 1982 NASL season into his schedule, notching 2 goals and 5 assists in 32 games for the Jacksonville Tea Men. Happy 67th birthday to U.S. international Ante "Tony" Donlic (number 16), the Croatian-born forward who played 5 seasons in the NASL with the New York Cosmos -- winning Soccer Bowl titles in 1977 and 1978 -- and the San Diego Sockers (1979). Happy 74th birthday to The Netherlands international Ruud Krol, a 2-time FIFA World Cup finalist -- and captain of the Dutch in the 1978 final -- who shone at Ajax and won 6 Eredivisie titles, 4 KNVB Cups, 3 European Cups and 2 UEFA Super Cups, then joined the Vancouver Whitecaps for 14 games midway through the 1980 NASL season and still managed to earn all-NASL honors. NASL Memories: Horst Bertl was a West German midfielder who helped Hamburg SV win major trophies, then became a standout player in North America and ultimately a coach, player-agent and promoter widely credited with helping craft the soccer culture of Texas. Born on 24 March 1947, Bertl (pictured at left, with Nino Zec and Howie Charbonneau) teamed with Kevin Keegan, Felix Magath and Horst Hrubesch to win the the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1977), the German cup (1976) and the Bundesliga title (1979), then jumped to North America in 1979 and added another 4 years to his playing career. Catching the last great NASL expansion, Bertl notched 1 goal and 8 assists in 33 games with the Houston Hurricane (1979-80), and later served as player and coach for the Memphis Americans of MISL from 1981-84. After retiring, Bertl became a top player agent and represented U.S. stars land European contracts at a time when American players were under-valued. Sadly, Bertl passed away earlier this month at the age of 74.
Happy 68th birthday to Ray Hudson (number 4), the outspoken English midfielder known as "Rocky" who joined the Fort Lauderdale Strikers on loan from Newcastle United in 1977 at the age of 22 and wound up staying 8 years, finishing as the 14th leading scorer in NASL history (187 points) and 3rd all-time in assists (99), earning 5 all-NASL nods and leading Fort Lauderdale to the Soccer Bowl '80 final, then transitioning indoors when the franchise relocated to Minneapolis, winning all-MISL honors in 1984, helping the club reach the 1986 MISL finals and nabbing the Eastern Division title in 1988. NASL Dateline: On 24 March 1983, the Chicago Sting signed forward Pato Margetic (pictured with Quakes defender Mike Huner) to a multi-year contract extension. NASL Dateline: On 25 March 1980, the New York Cosmos concluded a 5-game pre-season tour of Latin America with a 2-1 loss to the Nuevo Leon Tigres before 40,000 in Monterrey, Mexico. MISL Fans: Paul Child / Pittsburgh Spirit MISL Dateline: On 25 March 1979, Shep Messing made 26 saves and Steve Zungul contributed a hat trick as the New York Arrows captured the inaugural MISL championship with a 9-5 win over the Philadelphia Fever in Game 2 of the finals before 6,096 at the Spectrum. NASL Dateline: On 25 March 1983, veteran English goalkeeper Joe Corrigan concluded a 16-year career with Manchester City when he was acquired by the Seattle Sounders for a $45,000 transfer fee. MISL Action: Dallas Sidekicks defender Eddie Radwanski sticks close to Tacoma Stars midfielder Rick Davis during the 1987 MISL Championship Series in the Tacoma Dome. NASL Action: San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Tibor Molnar pushes the attack at Spartan Stadium.
Courtesy of Gary Singh.... 7 years ago today, 2016, this tifo from the @SJEarthquakes supporter's group — @san_jose_ultras_official — George Best, Peter Bridgwater, Gabbo Gavric. And then it says, honor our roots - believe in our future. And there's a dove above them, it looks like. (All three of those guys are no longer with us.) Best was the best, of course; Bridgwater was the GM in 1984 and also the one who brought the World Cup games to Stanford in 1994, and who got Spartan Stadium widened in order to make it FIFA compliant, and he was also the prez and GM of San Jose's MLS franchise when the league started in 1996. Gabbo was the the player/coach and heart & soul of the original teams in the 1970s. We have a multi-generational family here that no other soccer club in the US has. That same night, the Quakes honored the 1996 team from the inaugural MLS game. I hope to do another book about all this, so for these ghosts to emerge today, right now, right as I'm thinking about it, means the muses of synchronicity remain with me. That's usually an indication I'm in the zone, so to speak....
NASL Action: San Jose Earthquakes forward Paul Child flicks a header towards goal against the Chicago Sting at Spartan Stadium. Happy 68th birthday to Canadian-American forward Steve Reid, who jumped from Mercer County Community College straight to the NASL, scoring 1 goal in 12 appearances with the New England Tea Men in 1979 and adding another goal in 14 games for the Philadelphia Fury in 1980 before committing full-time to indoor soccer, playing 3 MISL seasons with the Philadelphia Fever (1979-81). Happy 75th birthday to George Ley, the veteran Portsmouth defender who made 174 appearances at Fratton Park over 7 seasons -- and was inducted into the Portsmouth FC Hall of Fame in 2014 -- but also spent 8 years in North America, playing with the Dallas Tornado from 1974-79 and scoring 8 goals in 124 games en route to 2 all-NASL selections, then joining the Wichita Wings for 3 MISL seasons (1979-82), making the MISL All Star team in 1980. Happy 74th birthday to Willie McVie (number 5), the 6-foot-2 Scottish youth international who made 197 appearances for Clyde (1968-75) and Motherwell (1975-79) in Scotland, then joined the Toronto Blizzard for 28 games over 2 NASL seasons (1979-80). NASL Dateline: On 7 April 1979, Wes McLeod and Mirandinha (pictured) scored goals to pace the Tampa Bay Rowdies to a 2-0 win over the New England Tea Men before 30,429 at Tampa Stadium. NASL Dateline: On 7 April 1982, Patrick "Ace" Ntsoelengoe scored 2 goals and the Toronto Blizzard kicked off their 1982 NASL season with a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps before 16,084 at Empire Stadium. NASL National Team: Teofilo Cubillas, Peru MISL Merchandise: Pittsburgh Spirit / McDonald's placemat Soccer in the 1970s: New York Cosmos guest star Johan Cruyff looks for an opening against the World All Stars in an exhibition match in 1978 at Giants Stadium. Soccer in the 1970s: Detroit Express teammates David Bradford, Ted MacDougall and Trevor Francis share a pre-game laugh during warm-ups at the Pontiac Silverdome.