DFW Tornados (also known as Dallas–Fort Worth Tornados) was an American soccer team based in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, United States. Founded in 1986, the team played in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...

(PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Mid South Division of the Southern Conference. The franchise folded at the end of the 2010 season and left the league thereafter. The team played its home games at

Pizza Hut Park Toyota Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium located in Frisco, a suburb of Dallas, Texas, United States. Built and owned by the city of Frisco, the 20,500-seat stadium opened in 2005. Its primary tenants are Major League Soccer club FC Dallas ...

(the home of Major League Soccer's

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...

) in nearby

Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Its population was 200,509 at the 2 ...

. The team's colors were black, blue and white.

History

In 1986, the club, known as Garland Genesis, based in

Garland, Texas Garland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located northeast of Dallas and is a part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is located within Dallas County except for small portions located in Collin and Rockwall Counties. At the ...

, became a founding member of the Southwest Indoor Soccer League. The team topped the standings during the 1986-1987 season before defeating the Lubbock Lazers in the championship game. The team moved to

Addison, Texas Addison is an incorporated town in Dallas County, Texas, in the United States. Addison is situated to the immediate north of the city of Dallas, with a 2020 census population of 16,661. Addison and Flower Mound were the only two Texas municipali ...

in 1987 and changed their name to the Addison Arrows. They remained in Addison for two years. In 1989, the league added a summer outdoor season and Addison promptly went to the championship game, this time losing to the

Colorado Comets The Colorado Comets were an American soccer club based in Denver, Colorado founded in 1985 which later competed in the SISL and USISL. History Founded by Ed Eid in 1985, the team began as an amateur club coached by Kelvin Norman. That year, they l ...

. In 1989, owner Ken Mulhall sold the team. At the time, he also coached the Arrows. The new owner fired Mulhall as coach and named Billy Pettigrew as head coach. The team continued its excellent play during the 1989-1990 indoor season, defeating the Phoenix Hearts to take their second indoor championship. Following the completion of the indoor season, the team moved to the Dallas/Fort Worth are and was renamed North Texas United. In November 1990, they merged with the Waco Kickers and became the Fort Worth Kickers.''Sockadillos have new look as indoor season kicks off'' Austin American-Statesman - Saturday, November 10, 1990 After team owner Pat Parker was unable to gain financial backing for the team, it moved to Dallas and became the Dallas Kickers for the 1991/92 indoor season. The team was renamed the Dallas Americans before the 1992 outdoor season. They were renamed the Dallas/Fort Worth Toros in 1993, and remained as such until 1996, when they were renamed the Dallas Toros for the 1997 outdoor season. They became the Texas Toros in 1998, and the Texas Rattlers for the 2000 season. Upon their move to the Premier Development League for 2001 they changed their name, and were bought by the Texas Spurs, which they maintained until 2003, when the Spurs club sold the team to the owner of Arena Athletics in

Euless, Texas Euless ( ) is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth. Euless is part of the Mid-Cities region between Dallas and Fort Worth. In 2020 Census, the population of Euless was 61,032. The population of t ...

. They finally took their current name, the DFW Tornados, beginning in 2004.

Players

Final roster

This list is a historical record of the final group of players on the last Tornados roster for their final game in August 2010. ''Source:'

Notable former players

''This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for the team in the Premier Development League, or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.'' *

Kyle Altman Kyle Marten Altman (born January 31, 1986) is an American former soccer player, who last played for Minnesota United FC in the North American Soccer League. He was the 2003 New Mexico High School Coaches Association's Class 4A boys' soccer pla ...

* Cody Bragg * Kyle Brown * Jeff Agoos * John Hedlund * Caesar Cervin * Andres Cuero *

Chad Deering Chad Deering (born September 2, 1970) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. Deering spent his professional career in Germany, Norway, Major League Soccer and Major Indoor Soccer League. He earned eighteen ...

* Aaron DeLoach * Hunter Freeman * Bruno Guarda * Stephen McCarthy * Ryan Mirsky * Jordan Murch *

Jay Needham Jay Charles Needham (born September 30, 1984) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a central defender or defensive midfielder for teams in Norway, Puerto Rico and the United States. College and amateur career Needham was ...

* Gifton Noel-Williams * Dane Saintus *

Shea Salinas Robert O'Shea "Shea" Salinas (born June 24, 1986) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a winger. Career Youth and college After attending Grapevine High School in Grapevine, Texas, Salinas played college soccer at F ...

Chad Smith Chad Gaylord Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who has been the drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1988. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Smith is also the drummer of the ...

T. J. Tomasso Thomas J. Tomasso (born September 10, 1983 in Hackensack, New Jersey, Hackensack, New Jersey) is an American Association football, soccer player, who was a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for the New England Revolution in Major Leag ...

* Jamie Watson *

Daniel Woolard Daniel Woolard (born May 22, 1984 in Bedford, Texas) is an Americans, American former professional Association football, soccer player. Early career Woolard played college soccer at Midwestern State University earning First Team All-American hono ...

Year-by-year

New indoor team (2004-2012)

DFW Tornados played in the

Premier Arena Soccer League The Premier Arena Soccer League (PASL) is an indoor soccer league with mostly semi-professional teams; along with a number of amateur teams across North America. The PASL was previously known as the Federation of Sports Arenas (FSA). The PASL logo ...

in the South Central Division. The team played its home games at Arena Athletics in

Euless, TX Euless ( ) is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth. Euless is part of the Mid-Cities region between Dallas and Fort Worth. In 2020 Census, the population of Euless was 61,032. The population of the ...

Honors

* USL PDL Mid South Division Champions 2001 * USL D-3 Pro League Southern Division Champions 2000 * USISL Pro League Central Division Champions 1996

Head coaches

* Ken Muhall (1986-1989) * Ken Billy Pettigrew (1989-1990) * Caesar Cervin (1991) * Ed Puskarich (1998, 2001–2003) * Bernard Brodigan (2004) * Paul Robinson (2005–2010)

Stadia

Pennington Field Pennington Field is a multi-purpose stadium located in Bedford, Texas. The 12,500-capacity facility is primarily used for local high school football and soccer teams of Trinity High School and L.D. Bell High School. It is owned and operated by ...

;

Bedford, Texas Bedford is a city located in northeast Tarrant County, Texas, in the " Mid-Cities" area between Dallas and Fort Worth. It is a suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth. The population was 46,979 at the 2010 census. Bedford is part of the Hurst-Euless-Be ...

(2004–2010) *

;

(2010)

Average attendance

Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive a

* 2005: 207 * 2006: 349 * 2007: 389 * 2008: 320 * 2009: 188 * 2010: 179

References

External links

Official Site
{{Authority control DFW Tornados, USL League Two teams Sports in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Soccer clubs in Dallas Indoor soccer clubs in the United States Association football clubs established in 1986 Association football clubs disestablished in 2010 1986 establishments in Texas 2010 disestablishments in Texas Defunct soccer clubs in Texas