Major League Soccer (1996-1999)
Tombstone
Born: June 15, 1994 – MLS founding franchise11996 San Jose Clash Media Guide
Re-Branded: October 27, 1999 (San Jose Earthquakes)
First Game: April 6, 1996 (W 1-0 vs. D.C. United)
Last Game: October 6, 1999 (W1-0 vs Kansas City Wizards)
MLS Cup Championships: None (during Clash era)
Stadium
Stadium: Spartan Stadium (26,000)21998 Major League Soccer Official Media Guide
Marketing
Team Colors: Cloudy Jade, Juniper Red & Black31998 Major League Soccer Official Media Guide
Ownership
Investor-Operators:
- 1996-1998: Major League Soccer
- 1998-1999: Robert Kraft
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Background
The San Jose Clash were one of ten original franchises in Major League Soccer and are considered the forerunners of today’s San Jose Earthquakes club.
In the two-year run up to MLS’ debut in April of 1996, the league partnered with several apparel partners, including Adidas, Nike, Puma and Reebok to create the brand names and identities for its clubs. Nike headed up the effort for San Jose, along with Dallas, Los Angeles, New York-New Jersey and Tampa Bay4West, Phil. “How DC United and the San Jose Clash got their names and original look”. mlssoccer.com. April 5, 2020 and the Nike cities ended up with some of the league’s more idiosyncratic branding. Of the five Nike clubs, the Tampa Bay Mutiny folded in 2002 and three of the surviving four clubs abandoned their original brands by the end of MLS’ first decade. Of the five, only the Los Angeles Galaxy play under their original name today.
In Competition
The original Clash of 1996 retained several ties to the popular San Jose Earthquakes clubs from the North American Soccer League of the 1970’s and 1980’s. Clash President & GM Peter Bridgwater ran the original ‘Quakes during the NASL’s final season in 1984 and was responsible for keeping the club alive during its years in the semi-pro wilderness during the mid-to-late 80’s. English head coach Laurie Calloway was an original ‘Quake from 1974 who played 75 matches for the club during the 70’s and coached the semi-pro ‘Quakes teams of the late 1980’s.
In January of 1996, each MLS club received an allocation of four “marquee players” ahead of the league’s larger player draft in February. Each club (except Dallas, who got 3 international allocations) received 2-3 American players and 1-2 internationals. On the international front, the Clash received a pair of veterans of Nigeria’s 1994 World Cup side: midfielder Michael Emenalo and midfielder/defender Ben Iroha. Both were gone by the start of the 1998 season.
The Clash fared better with their American allocations. Stalwart John Doyle anchored the Clash backline and would go on the win MLS first Defender-of-the-Year award at the end of the 1996 season. 26-year old forward Eric Wynalda was the U.S. National Team’s all-time leading scorer. Wynalda would score the first goal in MLS history on April 6, 1996. His 87th minute tally lifted the Clash to a 1-0 win over D.C. United before a Spartan Stadium crowd of 31,683 and a national television audience.
The Clash finished the 1996 season with a 12-17-3 record and squeaked into the playoffs with the lowest seed in the Western Conference. The L.A. Galaxy eliminated the Clash in the opening round of the playoffs in a best-of-three quarterfinal series.
The playoff loss to L.A. marked the competitive high water mark of the Clash era. Calloway was dismissed midway through the 1997 campaign. The Clash missed the playoffs in each of the next three seasons.
22-year old El Salvadoran forward Ronald Cerritos arrived for the 1997 season. Cerritos scored 40 goals over the next three seasons, surpassing Wynalda as San Jose’s top scorer of the Clash era. In all, he would spent five seasons in San Jose from 1997-2001 and, as of 2020, Cerritos still ranks second on San Jose’s all-time MLS scoring list with 61 goals. Wynalda (ranked 8th, 21 goals) and Jeff Baicher (T-9th, 20 goals) are the only other Clash-era players still ranked in San Jose’s all-time Top 10.
‘Quakes Redux
After playing three seasons as an owner-less ward of the league, New England Revolution and New England Patriots (NFL) owner Robert Kraft took over as San Jose’s investor-operator ahead of the 1999 season. After a fourth straight losing season, Kraft’s leadership team announced a re-branding of the club in October 1999. The Clash name, colors and logo were out and the team took back the Bay Area’s NASL-era identity, the Earthquakes. The new colors were blue, black, silver & white.
“It [the Clash brand] was something that didn’t make sense to a lot of people and rather than just arrogantly sticking to our guns, we decided to do something we probably should have done three-and-a-half years ago,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber told The San Francisco Examiner.5Smith, Michelle. “Clash now ‘Quaking in their boots”. The Examiner (San Francisco, CA). October 28, 1999
The Earthquakes won MLS Cup in 2001 and again 2003. At the end of the 2005 season, investor-operator Anschutz Entertainment Group, who had replaced the Kraft family in 2001, moved the franchise to Texas where it became the Houston Dynamo. MLS officials’ decided the history and records of the Clash/Earthquakes club would remain with the city of San Jose, much like the franchise records of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns were retained by the city of Cleveland after the Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996.
MLS returned to San Jose in 2008 under shared ownership with Major League Baseball’s Oakland A’s franchise. The team was effectively an expansion franchise but took back the Earthquakes name and also took custody of the records of the original Clash/’Quakes of 1996-2005. For example, the latter day Earthquakes franchise formed in 2008 is officially considered to be the winner of the 2001 and 2003 MLS Cup trophies.
Trivia
Chris Wondolowski, who would go on to become the all-time leading scorer for San Jose’s MLS franchise(s) as a member of the Earthquakes, attended the inaugural MLS game between the Clash and D.C. United at Spartan Stadium on April 6th, 1996 as a 13-year old fan.6Almond, Elliott. “MLS launched its soccer start-up in San Jose 20 years ago”. The Mercury News (San Jose, CA). April 1, 2016
San Jose Clash Shop
San Jose Clash Video
The inaugural MLS game. Clash vs. D.C. United at Spartan Stadium. April 6, 1996.
In Memoriam
President/General Manager Peter Bridgwater (Clash ’96-’98) passed away on June 21, 2005 after a battle with cancer. He was 70 years old.
Links
“How DC United and the San Jose Clash got their names and original look“. Phil West. mlsoccer.com. April 5, 2020
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