Oakland Stompers
June 22, 2014
The Oakland Stompers were a One-Year Wonder in the North American Soccer League in 1978. Club founder Milan Mandaric previously started up the NASL’s other Bay Area franchise, the popular San Jose Earthquakes, in 1974. In late 1977 he divested himself of the Earthquakes and bought the league’s struggling Connecticut Bicentennials club and moved it across the country to the Oakland Coliseum. It was bold move considering that many at the time wondered if the Bay Area could even support its two Major League Baseball franchises. But the NASL was riding at a peak of investor enthusiasm in 1978 amidst the belief that pro soccer would be the Sport of the 80’s.
