Bruce Gant (born September 26, 1956) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

retired

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who spent five seasons in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

. Gant attended

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...

, playing on the men's soccer team. He was a 1976 First Team NAIA All American with the Clan. In 1979, the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

selected Gant, brother of Timbers midfielder Brian Gant, in the first round of the

draft.Portland Timbers All Time Draft
He remained with the Timbers until they folded in 1982, playing four outdoor and two indoor seasons with them. In 1983, he played one game for the Montreal Manic. In 1973, Bruce won a gold medal with British Columbia at the

Canada Games The Canada Games (french: Jeux du Canada) is a multi-sport event held every two years, alternating between the Canada Winter Games and the Canada Summer Games. They represent the highest level of national competition for Canadian athletes. Two ...

. From February to June 1976, Bruce played for Canada in preparation for the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

. While he played in eight exhibition matches against local sides, he did not make any international appearances and was not selected to the final team. In 1990, Bruce helped Vancouver Firefighters FC win

The Challenge Trophy The Challenge Trophy (french: Trophée Challenge) is a national amateur soccer cup in Canada contested by the champions of individual provincial soccer competitions. It is one of the oldest soccer competitions in Canada, being held since 1913. ...

Personal

Bruce's brother Brian Gant was also a professional and international soccer player. His brother-in-law Bill Sinclair played in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

while his niece

Christine Sinclair Christine Margaret Sinclair (born June 12, 1983) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a forward and captains both National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club Portland Thorns FC and the Canadian national team. An Olympic go ...

is a star Canadian player for

Portland Thorns FC The Portland Thorns FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), which receives support from the Uni ...

References

Sources

*
NASL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gant, Bruce 1956 births Living people Association football defenders Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Canadian expatriate soccer players Canadian soccer players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Montreal Manic players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Sportspeople from Burnaby Soccer players from Portland, Oregon Portland Timbers (1975–1982) players Simon Fraser Clan men's soccer players Soccer people from British Columbia