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 club hosted a "10th Anniversary Reunion Game" on May 12, 1984, to celebrate the founding of the club. The game pitted alumni who primarily were members of the original 1974 team against the 1984 Golden Bay squad.
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: SeasonLeagueWLTGFGAFinishPlayoffsAvg. Attend.1974NASL98343382nd WestLost Quarterfinal16,5841975NASL81437485th Westdid not qualify17,9271976NASL141047301st SouthLost Conference Finals19,8261977NASL141237442nd SouthLost in 1st round17,7391978NASL82236814th American Westdid not qualify14,2811979NASL82241744th American Westdid not qualify15,0921980NASL92345684th American Westdid not qualify13,1691981NASL1121 44784th Westdid not qualify12,4001982NASL1319 47625th Westdid not qualify11,0121983NASL2010 71542nd WestLost Semifinal11,9331984NASL816 61625th Westdid not qualify10,6761985WACS4211091stN/A1986WSA34713236thN/A1987WSA67 21133rdRunners-up1988WSA75 20193rdRunners-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 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.
SeasonLeagueWLGFGAPlacePlayoffs1975NASL4037171st WestNASL Champions1976NASL3135181st West3rd place1980–81NASL1081181153rd Westdid not qualify1981–82NASL513831413rd National Westdid not qualify1982–83MISL17312402905th Westdid not qualify1983–84NASL19132061904thLost Semifinal
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 2023 Steve Zungul
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