Seattle Sounders (1974–1983)

The Seattle Sounders were a U.S. professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1974, the team belonged to the North American Soccer League where it played both indoor and outdoor soccer. The team folded after the 1983 NASL outdoor season.[1]

For other similarly named teams, see Seattle Sounders (disambiguation).
See also: History of Seattle Sounders
Seattle Sounders
Full nameSeattle Sounders
Nickname(s)Sounders
FoundedDecember 11, 1973
DissolvedSeptember 6, 1983 (1983-09-06)
GroundMemorial Stadium
Kingdome
Capacity17,000
58,218
LeagueNASL

History

A Seattle expansion team for the North American Soccer League was proposed in early 1973 as part of a new Western Division that would include Los Angeles, San Jose, and Vancouver.[2] On December 11, 1973, the league awarded an expansion team to Seattle that would be owned by a group of local businessmen led by Walter Daggatt of the Alpac Corporation; the team would play at Memorial Stadium in the Western Division alongside new teams in Los Angeles, San Francisco (later moved to San Jose), and Vancouver.[3] A naming contest was held in January 1974, with a shortlist of six finalists: Cascades, Evergreens, Mariners, Schooners, Sockeyes, and Sounders.[4] "Sounders" was announced as the winner of the contest on January 21, having been chosen in 32 percent of the 3,735 votes cast by the public.[5]

The franchise folded on September 6, 1983, after majority owners Frank and Vince Coluccio struggled to keep the club afloat until the team did not qualify for the playoffs.[6] The Coluccio family bought the franchise in 1979.[7]

Stadium

The Sounders played at Memorial Stadium for their first two seasons before moving to the Kingdome. On April 25, 1976, 58,218 watched the Seattle Sounders and the New York Cosmos in the first sports event held in the Kingdome.[8]

From 1979 to 1982, they competed in three NASL Indoor campaigns, playing their home games also at the Kingdome.

Supporters

The Seattle Sounders were supported by the "Seattle Sounders Booster Club" in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Year-by-year
Main article: List of Seattle Sounders FC seasons

This is a complete list of seasons for the NASL club. For a season-by-season history including the current Seattle Sounders FC MLS franchise, see List of Seattle Sounders FC seasons.

Season League Position Playoffs USOC Continental Average
attendance		 Top goalscorer(s)
Div League Pld W L D GF GA GD Pts PPG Conf. Overall Name Goals
1974 1 NASL 20 10 7 3 37 17 +20 101 5.05 3rd 5th DNQ DNE Ineligible 13,434 John Rowlands[9] 10
1975 NASL 22 15 7 0 42 28 +14 129 5.86 2nd 3rd QF 16,818 John Rowlands[10] 9
1976 NASL 24 14 10 0 40 31 +9 123 5.13 3rd 8th QF 23,828 Gordon Wallace 13
1977 NASL 26 14 12 0 43 34 +9 123 4.73 5th 8th RU 24,226 Micky Cave[11] 12
1978 NASL 30 15 15 0 50 45 +5 138 4.60 7th 12th R1 22,572 Micky Cave[12] 13
1979 NASL 30 13 17 0 58 52 +6 125 4.17 10th 17th DNQ 18,998 John Ryan[13] 12
1980 NASL 32 25 7 0 74 31 +43 201 6.28 2nd 2nd QF 24,246 Roger Davies[14] 25
1981 NASL 32 15 17 0 60 62 −2 137 4.28 4th 15th R1 18,224 Kevin Bond 16
1982 NASL 32 18 14 0 72 48 +24 166 5.19 1st 2nd RU 12,359 Peter Ward 18
1983 NASL 30 12 18 0 62 61 +1 119 3.97 3rd 9th DNQ 8,181 Mark Peterson
Peter Ward		 13
Total – – 278 151 124 3 538 409 +129 1362 4.90 – – – – – – 'Unknown X

^ 1. Avg. Attendance include statistics from league matches only.
^ 2. Top Goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in League, League Cup, U.S. Open Cup, CONCACAF Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, and other competitive continental matches.

Indoor
Season League Position Playoffs Average
attendance		 Top goalscorer(s)
League Pld W L GF GA GD Conf. Overall Name Goals
1975 NASL 2 0 2 8 23 –15 4th 16th DNQ N/A Unknown X
1980–81 NASL 18 9 9 106 98 +8 4th 11th 6,751 Unknown X
1981–82 NASL 18 9 9 95 97 –2 4th 7th QF 6,137 Unknown X
Total – 38 18 20 209 218 –9 – – – – Unknown X

Honors

Team honors

NASL Championships

NASL Conference Championships

NASL Division Championships

  • 1977 Western Division, Pacific Conference[15]

NASL Division Titles (regular season)

  • 1980 Western Division, National Conference
  • 1982 Western Division

Trans-Atlantic Challenge Cup

  • 1981 Winner

Europac Cup

  • 1982 Winner

League MVP

Rookie of the Year

North American Player of the Year

Coach of the Year

NASL Leading Goalkeeper

Individual honors

All-Star First Team Selections

All-Star Second Team Selections

All-Star Honorable Mentions

NASL Indoor All-Stars

U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame

Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame

Coaches

References
  1. "Seattle Sounders folding". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. September 7, 1983. p. C1.
  2. Zimmerman, Hy (September 6, 1973). "Soccer to get succor in L. A.". The Seattle Times. p. E2.
  3. Zimmerman, Hy (December 11, 1973). "Seattle business elite back pro soccer team". The Seattle Times. p. E1.
  4. "What name do you like?". The Seattle Times. January 13, 1974. p. H6.
  5. "Sounders is the new name, soccer's the name of the game". The Seattle Times. January 22, 1974. p. D3.
  6. Smith, Craig (September 6, 1983). "Sounders call it quits". The Seattle Times. p. D1.
  7. Garnick, Coral (April 12, 2014). "Frank Coluccio dies; founder of construction company that began in 1953". The Seattle Times. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  8. "The Kingdome". King County. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  9. "The Year in American Soccer - 1974". homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
  10. Steve Holroyd (January 31, 2010). "The Year in American Soccer, 1975". American Soccer Archives. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
  11. "The Year in American Soccer - 1977". homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on July 1, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
  12. "The Year in American Soccer - 1978". homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on February 17, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
  13. "The Year in American Soccer - 1979". homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on May 10, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
  14. "The Year in American Soccer - 1980". homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
  15. "The Year in American Soccer - 1977". Sover.net.
  16. http://www.oocities.org/colosseum/Arena/6925/nasl.html
  17. Mudry, Richard (September 18, 1983). "Rookie Thompson captures NASL honors". Tampa Tribune. p. 15-D. Retrieved 15 December 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  18. Henderson, Jim (April 21, 1981). "For Keith Bailey, The Long Wait Is Finally Over". The Tampa Tribune. p. 5-C. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  19. http://www.thesoccerhalloffame.ca/en-us/halloffame/halloffameinducteeannouncements/2014inductees.aspx
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