The Boston Bulldogs were a soccer club founded in 1996 as the Worcester Wildfire. The team debuted in the

USISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

and would play in the A-League from 1997 to 2000. Before folding, the team played its final season in the USL D3 Pro Soccer League in 2001. The club played its games at Bowditch Field in

Framingham Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a popul ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

History

The first year in the A-League was fraught with financial problems and lack of a regular training facility. The owner was John Curtis from

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

who also owned the

Cape Cod Crusaders Cape Cod Crusaders were an American soccer team based in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1994, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2008, when ...

and the new women's franchise the

Boston Renegades Boston Renegades was an American women’s soccer team, founded in 2003. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues USL W-League, the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada. The team plays in the Northeast Divisi ...

. Curtis was forced to sell the club before the start of the second season. The first coach of the A-League Wildfire was

Nigel Boulton Nigel Boulton is a Welsh former footballer who currently coaches in the United States. Playing career Boulton played semi-professionally for Sully A.F.C., a three-time Wales Premier League champion and three time Senior Cup Winner. In 1988, he ...

, a native of

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. Boulton resigned following the completion of the first year to take up the State Director of Coaching position in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. He now coaches the men's program at

William Carey University William Carey University (also known as Carey, William Carey, or WCU) is a private Christian university in Mississippi, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Mississippi Baptist Convention. The main campus is in Hattiesbur ...

in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The Wildfire were the official 'farm team' for the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...

of Major League Soccer. Notable former players on the Wildfire/Bulldogs roster include

Jon Busch Jon Busch (born August 18, 1976) is an American professional soccer coach and former player, who played as a goalkeeper. Busch is currently the goalkeeping coach for USL Championship club Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. He is best remembered for ...

(1997) (who played for the US National Team in 2005) and

Steve Nicol ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

, (a legend with Liverpool FC in England, and the Scottish National team) both of whom have also found success in Major League Soccer. Image:WorcesterWildfire.GIF, Worcester Wildfire logo used from 1996 to 1998

Year-by-year

Coaches

: 1997 * John Kerr: 1998-99 *

: 1999, 2000–01

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boston Bulldogs (Soccer) 1996 establishments in Massachusetts 2001 disestablishments in Massachusetts A-League (1995–2004) teams Association football clubs established in 1996 Association football clubs disestablished in 2001 Defunct soccer clubs in Massachusetts Sports in Framingham, Massachusetts USISL teams

History

Year-by-year

Coaches

See also

References