American Soccer League (1977-1980)
Tombstone
Founded: 1977 – ASL expansion franchise
Folded: March 1981
First Game: April 23, 1977 (vs. Los Angeles Skyhawks)
Last Game: September 14, 1980 (T 1-1 @ Sacramento Spirits)
ASL Championships: None
Stadia
1977 & 1980: Santa Ana Stadium (10,069)11980 California Sunshine Program
1978: LeBard Stadium (8,200)21978 American Soccer League Press Radio Television Guide
1979: El Camino College (12,800)31979 American Soccer League Press Radio Television Guide
1979: West High School (6,000)41979 California Sunshine Program
Marketing
Team Colors: Orange & Blue51980 California Sunshine Program
Radio:
- 1979: KFOX (93.5 FM)
Broadcasters:
- 1979: Mike Ryan & Dave Greene
Ownership
Owners:
- 1977: Warren Hoffnung
- 1977: Vito Castellano
- 1977-1980: Dr. Robert Everakes & Alexandra Everakes
Trophy Case
ASL Most Valuable Player
- 1979: Poli Garcia
ASL Coach of the Year
- 1978: Derek Lawther
Our Favorite Gear
California Sunshine
Logo T-Shirt
We love the Super 70’s vibes on this logo Tee from the California Sunshine, Orange County’s 2nd Division pro soccer club from 1977 through 1980.
This design is available from American Retro Apparel in sizes small through 4XL.
American Retro Apparel has a ton of other 1970’s ASL throwback tees available including the Los Angeles Skyhawks, Las Vegas Seagulls, Indy Daredevils, Pennsylvania Stoners, and many more!
When you make a purchase through an affiliate link like this one, Fun While It Lasted earns a commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!
Background
The California Sunshine were an Orange County-based club that played in the chaotic American Soccer League (1933-1983). The ASL was the de facto 2nd division of American pro soccer in the latter half of the 1970’s. Southern California was an early hotbed of the youth soccer boom in the late 1970’s. The region was eagerly exploited by both the ASL and the more ambitious, bigger budgeted North American Soccer League (1968-1984). In 1978, the two leagues had five franchises active in Orange County and neighboring Los Angeles County.
The Sunshine were particularly strong on the field in 1978 and 1979. The 1979 club was a league-best 22-3-3, but crashed out of the playoffs in disappointing fashion, upset in the semis by the eventual champion Sacramento Gold. The club developed several players who would go on to long and successful careers in the indoor soccer in the 1980’s, including English striker Andy Chapman and American forwards Joey Fink and Poli Garcia. Garcia scored 15 goals for the Sunshine in 1979 and won the ASL’s Most Valuable Player award.
Financial Problems
As with most ASL clubs, the Sunshine’s financial condition was always touch-and-go. During, the club’s first season in the summer of 1977, the Sunshine cycled through three team Presidents, as two owners walked away from the club. At one point, players went unpaid for six weeks. By the end of that summer, a limited partner named Dr. Robert Everakes would emerge as the club’s primary owner.
Dr. Everakes and his wife Alexandra would run the Sunshine as a mom-and-pop operation for the remainder of the team’s existence. The Sunshine were kicked out of the league for a few hours in 1979 when the Everakes couldn’t come up with the money to pay their annual dues. After a dominant 22-3-3 season in 1979, the team was dismantled early in the 1980 season. The cash-strapped owners cut loose top performers like Andy Chapman and Alan Kelley and imposed 50% pay cuts on those who remained. Head Coach Derek Lawther would also resign over financial frustrations before the season was through.
The Sunshine’s final home appearance, a 4-3 playoff loss to the Sacramento Spirits on September 10, 1980, was played before “a hand counted crowd of 155 in the Santa Ana Bowl.”6Graswich, R.E. “Spirit Posts Playoff Win”. The Sacramento Bee. September 11, 1980
Retreat from the West Coast
After the 1980 season, the Golden Gate Gales and the Sacramento Gold folded, leaving the Sunshine as the only American Soccer League club still standing on the West Coast. The Everakes claimed they were ready to move forward with another hand-to-mouth season. But in March 1981 ASL Commissioner Mario Machado announced that the team would go into a “forced dormancy” due to the league’s geographic contraction. The Sunshine were never heard from again.
The American Soccer League went out of business in early 1984.
California Sunshine Soccer Shop
Our Favorite Stuff
American Soccer League
T-Shirt
For most of its existence, the American Soccer League was a collection of ethnically-based semi-pro clubs clustered in the northeast. But in the 1970’s, the ASL expanded nationwide and became American’s de facto 2nd Division, underneath the bigger-budgeted NASL. This logo was used by the league from the 1970’s until its demise in 1983.
We like this ASL logo tee from American Retro Apparel (they offer a grey version also) and it’s available today in sizes small through XXXL!
When you make a purchase through an affiliate link like this one, Fun While It Lasted earns a commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!
Downloads
4-22-1979 Sunshine vs. Las Vegas Seagulls Roster
4-22-1979 California Sunshine vs. Las Vegas Seagulls Roster
7-21-1979 Sunshine vs. Columbus Magic Game Notes
1978 American Soccer League Attendance Summary
5-7-1980 Sunshine vs. Miami Americans Roster
6-14-1980 Sunshine vs. Cleveland Cobras Game Notes
9-8-1980 Sunshine Captures Playoff Spot Press Release
Links
###
6 Responses
I’m looking a retro soccer jersey from the “California Sunshine” team. Size Large or X-Large. Don you know where can I purchased one?
Wow – That’s a tough one Alberto. There are a few companies that appropriate old team logo’s from the 70’s and 80’s to make retro t-shirts, but I haven’t seen anyone doing retro jerseys of obscure 2nd Division teams of the past, such as the Sunshine.
AC
I have a whole bunch of Sunshine jerseys, Alberto. I can hook you up with quite a few if you’d like
Do you still have jerseys? My father played for the sunshine.
obscure is right! are there any sources still out there for sunshine gear (I’ve seen the ’77 t-shirt)? I played in ’80-’81 when things were already shit, we were a balance sheet liability and we folded (‘went dormant’), anyway. we were only getting $45/week meal money and had to turn in all our uniforms and badges at the end. what a classic to tell my kids! thanks in advance –
I would love to get hold of an old jersey for Gerry Hall… please let me know if any of you have one to sell!
Debbie Hall