They were fearless from the first kick. And 45 seconds later, they began making believers of fans and foes alike.
If footy supporters around Puget Sound feared the Vancouver Whitecaps would wipe the Astroturf with the amateurs of Football Club Seattle, they were at least given pause when the local lads stormed in front in their inaugural match at Memorial Stadium.
Forty-five seconds into its challenge series versus Vancouver and two other NASL clubs, plus the U.S. Olympic Team, Bruce Raney bulged the west end netting. His former college coach, Cliff McCrath, climbed a railing and thrust his first in the air as fans, some yet to find their seats, screamed in delight.
Off and Running
FC Seattle was off and running. A win would come, and crowds would grow, albeit modestly, before that first season was finished. Soon after, a feeder system and league play, and a senior women’s team would be launched. Big name players would arrive, two overseas trips taken, and a trophy would be lifted.
Yet it was that belief may have been the biggest biproduct and most enduring legacy.
Some nights, Raney’s thoughts return to that afternoon 40 years ago. “There couldn’t have been a better start”, he says. “We shocked them. There, in the first minute, (Vancouver) knew they had a struggle on their hands. We had a good crowd (6,000) and that got them behind us. And I didn’t hit a harder ball in my life.”
The Whitecaps would return fire, twice to take the lead. But in the 85th minute, Raney’s Seattle Pacific teammate, Doug Backous, would equalize and the exhibition would finish tied, 2-2.
In terms of Seattle being able to hold its own against professionals, it was no fluke. They would hold Minnesota scoreless for 77 minutes (but lose 3-0), hang with the five-time champion New York Cosmos (lose 2-1) and strike first against the Olympians (1-3) in their Summer Games sendoff in front of more than 8,000.
Second Chances
All that was remarkable, given their youth. Only a handful of players had been with pro clubs and reserve roles at that. Raney had been drafted by San Jose when Jimmy Gabriel was coach of the Earthquakes. He trained a few times with George Best, but then Gabriel was fired, and Raney released. He signed three six-month amateur contracts with his hometown Sounders but never got beyond warming-up for a first team preseason match.
The Seattle coaching staff was comprised of former Sounders whom the players have watched and idolized just a couple summers earlier. Gabriel was the coaching director, Tommy Jenkins the head coach and Pepe Fernandez the assistant.
After deciding to redshirt before his final season at SPU, Peter Hattrup joined FC Seattle for its first road game.
Esprit de Corps
“We were in the locker room at BC Place, and we were pretty darn young (an average age of 22, with Hattrup 20),” he recalls. “There were a lot of nerves. Pepe came walking out with the football first-down marker, with his underwear hiked up, and walked around the locker room like the ring girl for a boxing match. He was saying, ‘Let’s win this one!’ It lightened the atmosphere quite a bit and from that point on we went out and played pretty well. We held our own. We didn’t have our backs to the wall.”
Tad Willoughby scored early for the visitors. Hattrup’s flick-on led to Raney scoring the late winner, 2-1, over the Whitecaps.
There was definitely an esprit de corps ethos at the outset, if not the entirety of FC Seattle’s existence. “We all enjoyed playing together,” Hattrup said. “In the beginning it was all guys you grew up playing with on clubs, and a chance to play meaningful games against quality opposition.”
At 19, Rick Blubaugh was the squad’s sole teenager. He had been a devout Sounders fan and was now learning his craft under their guidance as coaches.
“I worshipped those guys, and they believed in me and believed in our team,” shared Blubaugh. “It was just extraordinary. On top of that the players and coaches were just great people. You wanted to bend over backwards in everything you did, to do anything for them. That’s why I have such a special place in my heart for them.”
A Fresh Approach
Being coached by pros who could call upon a deep reservoir of experience was a significant departure from club and college mentors. While the coaches didn’t coddle, they were positive and uplifting.
Eddie Henderson was a 20-year-old University of Washington junior standing 5 feet, 1 inch but blessed with amazing quickness, speed and technical ability. He had represented the U.S. at the U-17 and U-20 levels and been drafted by the Stars out of Seattle’s O’Dea High School. Still, playing time at FC Seattle was not a given.
“I was starting ahead of some really talented players,” recalled Henderson. “Tommy Jenkins (head coach) started me off and gave me so much freedom as a player, and it helped develop my confidence. He pushed us but he encouraged me.”
Henderson instantly became a favorite of the fans and effective at breaking down defenses, earning first team all-league as a rookie.
From Friendlies to Founding a League
Friendlies gave way to league play in the second season, and FC Seattle, who would tack-on the nickname Storm by 1986, would become a perennial championship contender. There would still be exhibitions with touring clubs, and Seattle would claim victories over England’s Norwich City and Middlesbrough and Brazil’s famed Santos, plus draw with Scotland’s Hearts.
The USL Championship has roots in the Western Soccer Alliance, which later evolved into the APSL, following a merger with the American Soccer League. FC Seattle had explored starting a regional league as early as 1983. But in 1985, the WSA was kickstarted virtually overnight. The deadly Heysel Stadium disaster resulted in FIFA banning all English teams from traveling outside Britain; West Brom and Aston Villa had been booked for Seattle and other West Coast stops.
The day of WSA’s formation, Seattle played the inaugural league match, at FC Portland, winning 6-1. Victoria Riptides and San Jose Earthquakes also joined. Each team also played a league-counting game vs. the Canadian National Team, which was approaching the final round of World Cup qualifying.
With the demise of the NASL in 1984, invention was born of necessity. In its second year the league would expand to southern California. With the ban lifted, Manchester City visited along with World Cup-bound Canada. The U.S. National Team, already eliminated, was also on the menu.
Name Recognition
The notion of returning home and pulling on an FC Seattle shirt became appealing. Twins Andy and Walter Schmetzer signed professional contracts straight out of high school and were joined by older brother Brian for 1985. Tacoma native Jeff Durgan, 1980 NASL Rookie of the Year and national team captain, opted to leave the Cosmos. FC Seattle was paying players, but not much.
“I made $250 per game for my first two games, against Santos and Dundee,” said Peter Fewing. “That’s why Bruce Rioch loved us; he knew we weren’t making a ton or sometimes any money.”
More ex-Sounders became involved. Rioch, once an NASL Best XI sweeper, stayed one year as coach before returning to England to manage Middlesbrough and, later, Arsenal. Gabriel took over as coach but left after 1986 to join Harry Redknapp at Bournemouth. David Gillett served as general manager.
Among the 17 former NASL or current MISL players were Chance Fry, Fran O’Brien and Jeff Stock. In 1989, U.S. internationals Brent Goulet and Ricky Davis, were added. Both were bidding to make the 1990 World Cup team. Never mind that the Storm stopped paying players between 1986-89. The pros played for free, and the club’s amateur status enabled it to welcome youth internationals Eddie Henderson and Chris Henderson (no relation).
Fringe Benefits
In lieu of compensation, owner Bud Greer twice took the Storm to Great Britain for postseason tours. Rioch and Redknapp opened the gates of Boro and Bournemouth. QPR, Dundee and Portsmouth rounded out the first excursion. Stopovers at Sunderland, Boro and Hull highlighted second time around.
“When we went to England, that was huge,” said Jeff Koch, Storm goalkeeper from 1986-89. “You’re playing against all those teams you might’ve only heard and read about. To go over there and experience English professional soccer at a young age and realize we’re not that far off, that we can play. I would take that trip in a heartbeat over pay.”
Koch has said that the first trip was also a confidence-builder. Seven months later, when the team reunited, their poise was palpable.
The Championship
After runner-up finishes for three consecutive years, the Storm were frontrunners. They won 10 of 12 games during the regular season, defeated Middlesbrough and Mexico’s Neza in friendlies and then added an exclamation point by smashing San Jose, 5-0, in the final.
Said Hattrup: “We had been confident before, but we didn’t know if we should be confident. It confirmed that we can really play here and confirmed for us that we’re good enough to play at higher levels.”
All 13 players who saw action in the were American and had either attended high school or college in Washington.
By 1988, Hattrup had played two pro seasons with the Tacoma Stars, three with FC Seattle and played in an Open Cup final for Seattle Mitre Eagles. The WSA was still a couple years away from merging and playing a national final to culminate the season. “In ‘88 I wish there had been a final against the ASL winner,” he added, “because I think we were better than anybody we would’ve played.”
In the Storm’s final two summers, attendance bumped upward to 3,500 and several games both home and away were aired over cable television. The United States had been named host of the 1994 World Cup. However, costs and the level of competition were rising. Players were paid in 1990, when a new coaching regime headed by Clive Charles took over.
The End Is Near
FC Seattle was among the top teams but did not make the playoffs those final two years. Greer, who had been more than generous in funding the club that was professionally operated, would face even greater financial demands following the merger and formation of the APSL for 1991. He opted to mothball the club for 1991, but once the league was winnowed from 22 to nine to five teams for 1992, the plug was pulled.
“We didn’t have the prescience to come to the conclusion that things were going to blossom like they did (in 1994 and beyond),” said Greer in 2015. “If we had, we might have come to a very different decision. But when you attract a thousand people to Memorial Stadium, you just have to sit back and say, Is this really worth it? We felt we gave it everything we could.”
Within four months of FC Seattle shuttering, the Tacoma Stars also went down the tube. For the next year, there was no local activity above the college or senior amateur level.
For Some, the Pinnacle
For those who had worn the FC Seattle badge or ‘Storm’ emblazoned jersey, it was time to move along or focus on finding a new career. Some players would become involved in coaching, such as Peter Fewing at Seattle University or Bernie James at Crossfire. Others kept chasing their dream.
For those whose last league playing experience was with FC Seattle, there are fond memories.
“Bud Greer deserves a ton of thanks and love for what he gave all of us,” said Fewing. “Bud made it first class and lost a lot of money on that deal.
“I may have been a role player,” he added, “but I played 27 games against foreign teams and national teams. I am grateful for the experience.”
Eddie Henderson, who play indoor before going into investment banking, learned a lot of life lessons. “Guys (who) were 3-4 years older took me under their wing. They helped steer me in the right direction and I embraced it; I was in the right environment.”
Blubaugh, who coaches youth in southern California, said, “I felt extremely fortunate. There were great people to be around and talk to.”
For Koch, it surpassed his dreams. “Growing up watching the Sounders, Tommy Jenkins and Jimmy Gabriel and Dave Gillett were huge; they were my favorite players. I absolutely loved it. That experience was the pinnacle.”