State Second Division Final is Forfeit
April 22, 1973
A highly-anticipated state second division match for the Jack Chidgey Trophy never materializes as the Tacoma Heidelbergs fail to appear at Memorial Stadium. Consequently, Seattle Greek-Americans are awarded the division title and the trophy via forfeit, and about 800 fans are left frustrated. Tacoma's Frank Fletcher informs WSSA president Tom Webb one hour before kickoff that the Heidelbergs refuse to play because several weeks earlier the entire Greek-Americans roster was suspended for their conduct in a March 11 meeting in Tacoma. The WSSA later rescinded all but three of the suspensions. Webb states that all protests in such cases must be filed at least 48 hours in advance of the game.
NASL Boss Hints Expansion to Seattle
March 29, 1973
NASL commissioner Phil Woosnam says the nine-team league is ready to expand, and among the cities under consideration is Seattle. Woosnam says the league could grow by as many as seven teams. In addition to Seattle, he also mentions Los Angeles, Vancouver and San Francisco/San Jose. In June, Woosnam quietly visits Seattle and meets with potential owners.
Bruins Advance Over UW on Penalties
October 26, 1973
Sixth-ranked UCLA holds off a late Washington rally to advance in their Husky Classic semifinal, 3-3 (5-4), before 3,000 at Husky Stadium. Bruce Walyor sends the match to a 20-minute overtime by scoring the equalizer with 30 seconds to go. Sergio Velasquez, who scores twice for UCLA, converts the decisive penalty. The Bruins had beaten SPC, 3-0, in the first round.
Canadian Exchange Makes for Busy Border
October 27, 1973
The Peace Arch border begins three weekends of bustling boys crossing between Washington and British Columbia for the annual Canadian Exchange. The first 310 of 574 teams from throughout the state head north to destinations such as Powell River, Nanaimo, Victoria and Vancouver. Another 574 boys' teams from B.C. will come south before the exchange concludes Nov. 11. A total 18,368 players spend a night with a host family before playing and returning home.
Shorecrest Bests Blanchet in Penalties
March 1, 1973
Shorecrest keeps bragging rights in the Metro League for the fourth year in a row, winning the mythical state title over Wesco champ Blanchet, 1-1 (3-2), before 1,100 at Memorial Stadium. Mark McGuire puts the Braves ahead in regulation with a first-half free kick. The Scots' Ed DeArias converts a retaken penalty after the keeper moves early on his first attempt. Bruce Liles gets the decisive tiebreaker penalty. Kingco's Newport (7-0-0) and independent O'Dea (12-0-1) make their respective cases for No. 1 in what proves to be the final season before the WIAA sponsors a tournament.
Fans to Name Seattle's New Team
December 16, 1973
Walt Daggatt, managing general partner for Seattle's new NASL franchise, announces fans will have until Dec. 31 to send in their suggested names. Team officials will screen the list and select finalists which fans will vote on. All those voting for the winning name will receive two tickets to a home game.
Campeau Steers Santa Clara Toward Berth
October 20, 1973
Seattle native Ballan Campeau's record ninth shutout, a 7-0 victory over St. Mary's, helps Santa Clara remain in contention for its first NCAA tournament berth. It's the Broncos' third straight win and part of an eventual seven-game unbeaten run that clinches a postseason berth. Campeau attended Seattle Prep but his only soccer was played for the junior associations under Mike Ryan. The senior keeper finishes his season with a second straight all-Pacific Conference honor.
Huskies Add Scholarships
July 3, 1973
For the first time, the University of Washington athletics budget includes scholarship aid for soccer. The funds are made possible through the cooperation of AD Joe Kearney. Among coach Mike Ryan’s first scholarship recruits are Ron Johnson, a California junior college all-American center back and Ken Garrett, a top scorer in British Columbia junior ranks from Abbotsford.
Seattle 'Bergs Fall in Amateur Cup
March 18, 1973
San Jose's Grenadiers end the U.S. Amateur Cup bid by the Seattle Heidelbergs in the regional semifinals, 2-1, in San Jose. Manny Hernandez of the U.S. Olympic team stakes the Grenadiers to an early lead that doubles through Tony Suffle. Tage Christiansen brings the Heidelbergs within a goal with 10 minutes left.
First Girls' State Cups Decided
February 18, 1973
Bellevue High School is the site of the first four Washington State Junior Soccer Association girls' state cup finals. Susan Ray's four goals lead Tacoma's Sweetfoot past the Federal Way Honey Bees, 4-0, in U10. Cindy Breed's three goals and Beth Schorsch's two pace Midway Dirty Dozen's 5-0 win over Auburn Valley Theatre Flickers in U14. In other action, the U17 Finn Hill Newporters defeat the Snohomish Napa Wheels, 4-1, and the U12 Seattle Roadrunners beat the Nor-Tac Fast Steps, 2-0. Beth Schorsch of Tacoma Nick's Chicks earns the honor of Miss Junior Soccer. A total of 120 participating teams statewide make the WSJSA girls' tournament the largest in North America.
State League Begins Charging User Fee
January 28, 1973
The Washington State Football Association begins charging a user fee in addition to spectator admission for weekly state league matches at Memorial Stadium. Finding that fans alone couldn't pay the rent, the WSFA institutes "Pay as You Play," charging each adult player, coach and manager $1 each and juniors 75 cents. West Seattle, White Center and Interbay are all virtually unplayable during the wet winter months, leaving no alternative to the artificial turf at Memorial.
Youthful Olys Advance in Open Cup
February 11, 1973
Youth prevails over experience in the contest to see who represents Washington in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup. The youthful Olympia Olys topple Rainier Brewers, 4-1, before several hundred at Memorial Stadium. Harold Myrhold, Greg McKeown, Bobby Hough and Doc Grundy tally for the winners, and Scott Shoemaker replies for the Brewers.
Campeau Stars in Santa Clara Turnaround
October 13, 1973
Ballan Campeau of Seattle earns a record eighth shutout as Santa Clara downs California, 2-0. Behind Campeau, the Broncos are enjoying their best season since starting the program in 1967 and have improved by 11 wins over the previous year. Campeau, a senior, started the fall with four shutouts in the first five games.
Prep Players OK to Play Outside
December 21, 1973
An agreement reached by the Washington State Junior Soccer Association and several high school athletic leagues will enable high school players to participate in non-school tournaments. It applies to players in the Metro, Tacoma and Central Sound leagues, although in Metro it will be school by school with permission required from the principal. Two West Seattle players had been suspended in February for playing outside competition during the prep season, but they were later reinstated.
Eastside Prep League Organizes
April 14, 1978
The Eastside High School League begins as a bootstrap operation of club programs aspiring for varsity status in the fall. Mercer Island, Bellevue, Juanita, Newport, Lake Washington, Issaquah and Sammamish are entered. Play will conclude with a championship game in late May. WSJSA backs league through leadership and assistance. Six Tacoma schools also organize programs. Twenty schools are in Seattle's Metro and Wesco leagues. In the absence of a WIAA tournament, the Metro and Wesco winners meet in a championship playoff.
NASL Seattle Names Management Team
December 11, 1973
The press conference introducing Seattle's new NASL team is full of announcements, including the management executives and ownership. Walter Daggatt, head of soft drink bottler Alpac Corporation, will serve as managing director. Other owners are David Skinner (Space Needle owner), Lamont Bean (Pay 'N' Save drug stores), Lynn Himmelman (Westin Hotels), Lloyd Nordstrom (Nordstrom Best), Herman Sarkowsky (Portland Trailblazers), Walter Schoenfeld (clothing magnate), Lester Smith (Kaye-Smith media) and Howard Wright (construction). Six of the nine are part of a group seeking and NFL team. Jack Daley, formerly of Toronto, is general manager. Former Sonics executives Dick Vertlieb and Hal Childs are also involved.
Falcons Travel Beyond Northwest
September 21, 1973
Seattle Pacific becomes the state's first collegiate program to travel outside the Pacific Northwest for regular season play, competing at the Far West Classic in Riverside, Calif. The Falcons open the season with a 3-1 win over host UC Riverside. The only previous trips outside Cascadia had been postseason games for SPC and Washington in California. The Falcons fall to Calvin in FWC semifinal, 1-0, in overtime. SPC finishes third, defeating Cliff McCrath’s former Spring Arbor side, 3-0.
Picinich Hat Trick Clinches for Heidelberg
April 8, 1973
A Tony Picinich hat trick is more than enough offense for the Seattle Heidelbergs to clinch the state league first-half title with a 5-1 win over Hillwood Metro VW at Interbay Playfield. Heidelberg's win and a Seattle Pacific Falcons draw cinches the outcome with one week to go. Heidelberg will meet first-half victor Olympia Olys for the overall title in two weeks.
Olys Clinch First-Half Title
November 18, 1973
Mikko Niemela nets the winner as the Olympia Olys capture the state league first division first-half title by rallying past the Rainier Brewers, 2-1, at Interbay. An own goal gives the Brewers the lead but Tim Allen equalizes.
Brewers Reclaim NW Title for Washington
June 24, 1973
Mike Kuczi and Les Mueller score a pair of goals as the Rainier Brewers reclaim the Northwest championship for Washington state. The Brewers defeat two-time defending champion Germania of Portland, 4-1, at Delta Park. Kuczi and Mueller had both been members of the Seattle Hungarians, six-time Northwest champion. Brian Franklin and Scott Shoemaker scored the other goals.
Violence Erupts, Game Abandoned
March 11, 1973
An important state league second division game is stopped with four minutes remaining in Tacoma after Seattle Greek-American players attack officials. Referee Al Corey, seeing fouls and physical play grow increasingly violent, halts the match with the Greeks trailing Tacoma Heidelbergs, 1-nil. Corey and linesman Doug Howard are then assaulted by Greek-American players and injured, with Howard sustaining a fractured jaw. Both he and Corey are knocked unconscious from a beating, and taken to the hospital. Five days later, three Greeks players are suspended for life and the rest of the team suspended for the remainder of the season, although a judiciary committee overturns the latter.
Three Invited to Olympic Camp
August 18, 1973
Greg McKeown of Auburn, and Tacoma's Greg Dillard and Elgin Olragg are invited to Olympic development camp. Meanwhile, Seattle's Walter Schmetzer and Auburn’s Bill Logie become the first in the state to receive USSF A coaching licenses.
Huskies' Walyor Scores Six
November 17, 1973
Bruce Walyor of Washington scores a reported NCAA record six goals as the Huskies thrash Puget Sound, 9-1, at Baker Stadium. Walyor, a freshman from Bellevue, comes into the game with four goals. He adds another the following day at Green River as UW clinches a second straight NCSC championship.
UCLA Eliminates Washington from NCAAs
November 23, 1973
Firooz Fowzi's hat trick supplies all the offense in UCLA's 3-0 victory over Washington in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Los Angeles. The Huskies, who had won five in a row, are blanked for only the second time. The Bruins proceed to reach the NCAA championship game where they fall to St. Louis in overtime. Neither Washington nor Seattle Pacific have won a first-round NCAA tournament game, going a combined 0-6-0.
NASL Awards Seattle Expansion Franchise
December 11, 1973
After months of whispers that pro soccer is looking westward, the North American Soccer League awards expansion franchises to Seattle and three other West Coast markets. The ownership group is all local business leaders who have been seeking to secure an NFL team, and they are swayed to consider the NASL by Lamar Hunt, a key owner in both leagues. The franchise cost is a reported $25,000, and the incubation period is brief. In just five months a 20-game schedule will commence and play begins at 13,000-seat Memorial Stadium. Los Angeles, San Jose and Vancouver will join Seattle in the new Western Division.
Seattle Names John Best First Coach
December 21, 1973
John Best, a five-time all-NASL defender and assistant coach at Dallas, is chosen to become the Seattle expansion team's first head coach. Best, 33, is a native of Liverpool, England. His hiring comes just nine days after the franchise was awarded. Best helped Dallas win the 1971 league title, and the Tornado was runner-up in 1973.
Falcons Ousted in NCAA First Round
November 16, 1973
For the third year in a row, Seattle Pacific's postseason ends abruptly. In a first-round game at Davis, Calif., the Falcons go down, 3-1, to Westmont. SPC is behind 2-nil early before briefly pulling a goal back through Kit Zell in the 79th minute.
B Team wins Five-a-Side
April 29, 1973
Going into the annual Five-a-Side final, the Olympia Olys couldn't lose. The Olys fielded two teams, and they both met in the tournament final at Memorial Stadium, with the Oly Bs prevailing on a tiebreaker, 0-0 (2-1). The Oly Bs, also featuring members of Mr. Pro, scored six unanswered goals to reach the final.
Huskies Extend Unbeaten Start
October 25, 1973
Washington remains undefeated and reaches the Husky Classic semifinals by beating California, 1-0. Ward Forrest’s first-half goal, his ninth so far, and freshman Bill Scott’s goalkeeping boost UW to 9-0-2. All nine wins have been by shutout.
Olys Sent Out of Open Cup
February 25, 1973
The Olympia Olys take the lead over San Jose Portuguese in the U.S. Open Cup second-round clash, but they are unable to hold it. The Portuguese win, 4-2, at the Police Athletic League Stadium in San Jose. The Olys go in front, 2-1, on scores by Greg McKeown and Ward Forrest before the hosts, beginning in the 79th minute, score three times in three minutes, the last two by John Franco. San Jose is later eliminated by eventual champion L.A. Maccabee in the quarterfinals.
Covell Smashes SPC Scoring Mark
November 28, 1973
Eight days after Seattle Pacific is eliminated from the NCAA Division II tournament, the Falcons resume the regular season, and sophomore Ken Covell keeps scoring. Covell scores his 21st goal of the year in a 4-0 win over Puget Sound. He's the first collegian in the state to score 20 or more goals, and registers four hat tricks in the process. Covell had set the school scoring record of 18 as a freshman.
Olys Prevail in Epic State League Final
April 22, 1973
A three-hour, four-overtime match for the state league championship is finally decided by penalties, and the Rainier Brewers take the Eddie Craggs Trophy at the expense of the Seattle Heidelbergs, 2-2 (5-4) at Memorial Stadium. Goals come early and very late in regulation. Tage Christensen of Heidelberg begins in the 8th minute and is answered by Rainier's Les Mueller in the 12th. Zoltan Dolt appears to get the winner in the 84th but a Donny Wagner penalty a couple minutes later forces extra time. Scoreless after four periods, penalties ensue. Porter Tollefson wins it for Rainier when his shot hits the post and caroms off keeper Willi Lindner and into the net.
Van Gaver Ties Seattle U Record
October 6, 1973
Steve Van Gaver and Seattle University pull no punches in an 11-0 beating of Puget Sound in a steady rain at Lower Woodland Park. Van Gaver, a freshman, ties the Chieftains record by scoring four goals. Scott Shoemaker, Tim Allen and Mikko Niemela each add two goals.
Bellevue Wins Junior College Title
December 19, 1973
Three late second-half goals, including two by Tom Turner, lift Bellevue Community College over South Seattle, 3-1, for the NCSC Community College Division title at Husky Stadium. Tom McDonald puts South ahead early. Bob Cullen also scores for BCC in this precursor to an NWAACC championship.
Big Crowd for Husky Classic Final
October 27, 1973
The largest soccer crowd of the year comes to Husky Stadium for the final night of the Husky Classic, and UCLA tops defending NAIA champion Westmont, 1-0. Before 3,460, the Bruins' Sergio Velasquez beats two defenders to drill home the lone goal. In the third-place match, San Jose State beats Washington, 3-2. The Huskies' Chris Whitworth and Ward Forrest join Seattle Pacific's Ken Covell on the all-tournament team.
We feel very strongly that the soccer fans of the area should be heard with regard to naming the team. This, after all, will be their team.
— Seattle NASL owner Walt Daggatt announcing a name-the-team contest
There are three sports that pay their own way for equipment, officials, etc.: Football, basketball and wrestling. We hope to make soccer No. 4.
— Jon Parkinson, chair of Kingco soccer coordinators, advocating for a formalized league
True, our area abounds with thousands of kid booters. But do they constitute a market? Is the American public familiar enough with the sport, hitherto considered as ethnic pastime here? Right now, a Seattle soccer team could make it on an average attendance of about 6,000, which as been forthcoming in other cities.
— Seattle Times columnist Hy Zimmerman on the prospects for pro soccer succeeding in Seattle
A 1974 soccer start would have timeliness going for it…The sooner, the better. Sooner would give Seattle a better chance to consolidate a piece of the sports market (before NFL, MLB and NHL arrive).
— Seattle Times columnist Vince O'Keefe on the NASL arrival time
Soccer made the headlines when acquisition of a major league franchise was announced. People who couldn’t tell a soccer ball from an eggplant sat up and took notice when they read the list of solid financial figures who are backing the Seattle team.
— Seattle Times columnist Vince O'Keefe noting the impressive Seattle NASL ownership group
Most of our games involve a ball. A golf ball is hard and small, appropriate since it was invented by Scotsmen. A baseball is hard and full of curves. A basketball is too big to handle. This (soccer) ball is softer. You can hit it with your head. It's multiracial. This is the ball of the future.
— Walt Daggatt, NASL Seattle managing director, on the growing allure of soccer
It’s true that soccer at the professional level isn’t where one would like to see it yet, but in actual fact, it’s here and it just kind of sneaked around the corner on everybody.
— John Best, Seattle's newly named head coach, on the NASL trajectory
Seattle is tremendously ripe for professional soccer. I think this town is absolutely ready. There is a lot of soccer feeling and the crowds at Husky Stadium have been good. Your junior program is certainly thriving, your high schools are thickly in it and more and more of your colleges are taking up the sport.
— Al Miller, Philadelphia Atoms coach, assessing Seattle as a pro soccer market
There is some anti-U.S. feeling in Europe, as you know. Well, kids are out best ambassadors. The English complimented us on the good behavior of our boys, of the friendships made between young Americans and Britons.
— Fred Pingrey, Redmond Dragsters coach, after returning from the boys' tour of England, France, Austria and West Germany
This is the year we’ll put Washington in the national college soccer limelight. We’ll be able to look St. Louis U., UCLA and those others right in the eye...We have depth for the first time, two or more good men at every position. In previous years we were in trouble if any of our starting 11 got hurt.
— UW coach Mike Ryan on the effect having scholarship for the first time
We don't foresee a profit for eight or 10 years, hope to break even in three.
— NASL Sounders managing director Walt Daggatt on the business-side expectations
Collegiate Men's Records
Central Washington |
n/a (club) |
Gonzaga |
n/a (club) |
Pacific Lutheran |
9-8-0 |
Puget Sound |
1-8-3 |
Seattle University |
8-2-2 |
Seattle Pacific |
14-4-1 |
Washington |
15-4-4 |
Washington State |
10-1-7 (club) |
Western Washington |
2-10-2 (club) |
Whitman |
n/a |
Washington State Youth Champions
Age |
Boys | Girls |
U9 |
McGilvra Donover (SYSA) |
U10 |
Totem Tornado (FWSA) | Fircrest Sweetfoots (TPCJSA) |
U11 |
Lake City Hawks (SYSA) |
U12 |
Alpine House Apaches (EYSA) | Roadrunners (SYSA) |
U13 |
Tacoma Quicksteps (TPCJSA) |
U14 |
Lake Washington Royals (LWYSA) | Highline Dirty Dozen (HAS) |
U16 |
South Tacoma Cougars (TPCJSA) |
U17 |
Tacoma Vista Vikings (TPCJSA) | Finn Hill Newports (LWYSA) |
U19 |
Cheney Studs Hustlers (TPCJSA) |