Football Club Seattle Storm, also known as the F.C. Seattle Storm, was an American

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 ...

team based in Seattle, Washington. F.C. Seattle was a "super club" created to provide Seattle players an opportunity to play at a higher level than the local recreational and semi-pro leagues. In addition to playing exhibition matches against top international teams, F.C. Seattle was a member of the short lived Western Soccer Alliance, was a founding member of the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

and later spent three seasons in the Pacific Coast Soccer League.

History

1984: F.C. Seattle Challenge

In 1984, F.C. Seattle hosted the F.C. Seattle Challenge '84. This series pitted F.C. Seattle against three NASL teams, the Vancouver Whitecaps (2–2 tie), Minnesota Strikers (0–3 loss), New York Cosmos (1–2 loss), as well as the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team. For this challenge cup, the team filled its roster from local colleges, high schools and semi-pro teams. However, five F.C. Seattle players had previous professional experience: Jack Brand, Jerry Cameron, Eddie Krueger, Joe James and Robbie Zipp. The team was coached by former Sounders player Tom Jenkins and played its games in Seattle's Memorial Stadium. The series averaged just over six thousand fans per game. At the end of it, NASL officials approached F.C. Seattle about entering the NASL for the 1985 season. F.C. Seattle declined, noting that most NASL teams hemorrhaged money. The club's backers preferred to keep it on a semi-professional basis, build a fan base, then work towards taking the team fully professional an indeterminate time in the future.

1985: Western Alliance Challenge Series

In 1985, F.C. Seattle joined with three other independent "super clubs", F.C. Portland,

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

and Victoria Riptides, to create the Western Alliance Challenge Series. This series came in response to the cancellation of games F.C. Seattle had scheduled against English teams West Bromwich Albion and

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

. In June,

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

had banned English clubs from travelling for international games after Liverpool fans sparked massive deaths in fan violence in Belgium. F.C. Portland hosted F.C. Seattle for the first game of the series, a game F.C. Seattle won on the strength of a Bruce Raney hat trick. Other significant F.C. Seattle players included Jeff Durgan, the Schmetzer brothers - Andy, Brian and Walter, and Peter Hattrup. However, Bruce Rioch, who had replaced Jack Brand as head coach in February, released Durgan from the team after he was ejected for making several flagrant fouls in the game against the Canadian national team in July.

1986–1989: Western Soccer Alliance/League

In 1986, three of the four teams from 1985, decided to form the Western Soccer Alliance. Only Victoria declined to join the new alliance, but they were replaced by the Edmonton Brick Men. In 1987, the WSA instituted a two-game post-season playoff series. F.C. Seattle, which finished second in alliance standings, lost 3–0 to the

in the wild card game. Up to now F.C. Seattle had also been known as the F.C. Seattle Storm. In 1988, the team officially dropped the F.C. and became the Seattle Storm. However, they were still referred to as the F.C. Seattle Storm throughout the season and the new name was not widely used until the 1989 season. The 1988 season was one of the most successful for the Storm when it cruised to the top of the regular season standings, then crushed the Earthquakes 5–0 in the championship game. In 1989, the Storm failed to build on its previous year's success and finished out of playoff contention. As a side note, the WSA changed its name to the Western Soccer League.

1990: American Professional Soccer League

In 1990, the Storm, along with the rest of the WSL merged with the American Soccer League to form the

. Despite Chance Fry leading the league with 17 goals and 5 assists, the Storm finished last in the North Division of the West Conference. Following the season, Greer announced his intention to have the Storm sit out the 1991 season. However, in February 1992, he decided to fold the team.

1993–1995: Pacific Coast Soccer League

In December 1992,

Stuart Lee Stuart Lee (born 11 February 1953) is an English former football forward. Lee was born in Manchester, and played professionally in England, Wales and the United States. Player In 1971, Lee began his professional career when he signed with Bo ...

bought the rights to the team and entered it in the amateur Pacific Coast Soccer League. The team competed through the 1995 season then withdrew from senior competitions. It continues to operate as a local soccer club with boys and girls teams in all age competitions.

Yearly record

Ownership and staff

* Bud Greer - Chairman * William C. Sage - President / General Manager

Coaches

''Record includes both league and exhibition matches.''

Notable players

''This list includes those former players who received international caps while playing for the team, made significant contributions to the team in terms of appearances or goals, or who made significant contributions to the sport either before they played for the team, or after they left.'' * Scott Benedetti * Rick Davis * Jeff Durgan * Chance Fry * Brent Goulet * Peter Hattrup * Chris Henderson * Eddie Henderson *

Bernie James Bernie James (born November 25, 1958 in Coventry, England) is a former U.S. soccer player and current youth soccer coach. James spent twenty-four years as a professional, both beginning and ending his career with different versions of the Seatt ...

* Billy Crook *

Rick Blubaugh Rick Brian Blubaugh (born December 28, 1964, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri) is an American former Professional Soccer Player. He spent four seasons in the Western Soccer Alliance, one in the Major Indoor Soccer League and one in the Continental Ind ...

* Brian Schmetzer *

Jeff Stock Jeff Stock (born August 1, 1960 in Baltimore, Maryland) is a retired U.S. soccer defender who spent five seasons in the North American Soccer League and two in the Western Soccer Alliance. He also played in the Major Indoor Soccer League with ...

* Wade Webber

Exhibition games

As an independent soccer team, F.C. Seattle original purpose was to play exhibition games. Even after the establishment of the Western Soccer Alliance, exhibition games remained one of the most significant elements of the team's seasons.

1984

1985 results

June 2: Dundee F.C. 0–1
June 9: Santos 2–1
June 16:

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

2–3
June 23: US National Team 2–3

1986

April 24: Canadian national team 2–3
May 27:

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

0–1
June 6: Dundee F.C. 1–2
July 19: SC Cleveland 2–1

1987

May 31: Hearts 1–1
June 5: Norwich City 2–0
June 20: Neza, Mexico City
July 10: Herfølge 2–1
July 15: Vancouver Whitecaps 0–1
Stormin the Isles Tour of Britain: :July 27: Middlesbrough 1–2 :July 29:

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

0–1 :July 31: Queens Park Rangers F.C. 2–2 :August 4:

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

0–3 :August 6: Portsmouth 1–3

1988

May 7: Calgary Strikers 3–1
June 11: Middlesbrough 2–1
June 26:

Atlante Atlante or Atlantes may refer to: * Atlas (architecture), a column in the shape of a man * Atlante San Alejo, a Salvadoran football club * Atlante F.C., a Mexican football club * Atlante (private equity fund) * ''Atlante''-class tugboat * Atlante ...

August 3: Oldham Athletic 0–2
August 6: Lincoln City F.C. 2–2
August 10: Middlesbrough 0–3
August 13:

Sunderland F.C. Sunderland Association Football Club (, ) is an English professional football club based in the city of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Formed in 1879, Sunderland play in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club has won six ...

0–3
August 16: Hull F.C. 2–2

1989

May 7: Vancouver 86ers 2–1
August 3: Victoria Vistas 3–0

1990

May 5: Victoria Vistas 3–0
May 20:

1–0
May 29: Dnepr 1–2
August 1: at Victoria Vistas 1–0
August 5: at Vancouver 86ers 5–3
August 8: Vancouver 86ers 3–2

All time roster (1984–1990)

Goalkeepers

:* Jack Brand: 1984 :* Sergio Soriano: 1984 :* Mark Schuur: 1985-1986, 1988 :* Bill Glandon: 1986 :* Jeff Koch: 1986-1989 :* Jeff Storrs: 1987-1990 :* Mark Berry: 1987 :* Rolf Norton: 1988-1989 :* Jim Neighbors: 1988 :*

Matthew Olson Matthew Olson is a retired American soccer goalkeeper. Player College Olson graduated from Lindbergh Senior High School. In 1986, he began his collegiate career at Indiana University where he won the 1988 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Cham ...

: 1989 :* Chris Bell: 1990 :*

Jim Brazeau Jim Brazeau is a retired American soccer goalkeeper. He played one season in the American Professional Soccer League and five in the Continental Indoor Soccer League. He earned the first shutout in CISL history on August 25, 1993. Playing Braze ...

: 1990

Defenders

:* Doug Backous: 1984 :* Pat Blann: 1984 :* Dave Felt: 1984 :* Eddie Krueger: 1984 :* Terry McGill: 1984 :* Steve Englebrick: 1984-1985 :* Robbie Zipp: 1984-1985 :*

: 1984, 1986-1989 :* Joe James: 1984, 1989 :* Jeff Durgan: 1985 :* Don Farler: 1985-1990 :* Peter Fewing: 1985-1990 :* Dan Pingrey: 1985 :* Tom Blahous: 1986-1987 :*

Daryl Green Daryl Green is an American former professional soccer player. He played four seasons in the Western Soccer Alliance, one in the American Professional Soccer League and two in Major Indoor Soccer League. He later became a youth soccer coach. ...

: 1986-1989 :* James Hodgson: 1986 :* Kevin Iverson: 1986 :* Dave Wittrell: 1986 :* Randy Hanson: 1987 :* Kevin O’Keefe: 1987 :*

: 1987-1989 :* Billy Crook: 1988 :* Grant Gibbs: 1988-1990 :* Rob Goff: 1988, 1989 :*

: 1988-1989 :*

Ray Evans Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and song-writing duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films. Evans wrote the lyrics and Living ...

: 1989 :* Steve McCrath: 1989-1990 :* Bob McLaughlin: 1989 :* Ian MacLean: 1989 :* Craig Ottosen: 1989 :* Wade Webber: 1990 :*

Garrett Smith Garrett Smith (born December 14, 1967) is an American former soccer defender who played professionally in the Western Soccer League, American Professional Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League and Continental Indoor Soccer League. Since 1 ...

: 1990

Midfielders

:* Jerry Cameron: 1984 :* Teddy Mitalas: 1984 :*

Tad Willoughby Tad Willoughby (born September 8, 1960) is a retired American soccer midfielder who played four seasons in the Western Soccer Alliance and three in the Major Indoor Soccer League. Playing Willoughby grew up in Bellevue, Washington. He attend ...

: 1984, 1986-1989 :* Ken Fuegmann: 1985-1988 :* Dennis Gunnell: 1985-1988 :* Andy Schmetzer: 1985 :* Brian Schmetzer: 1985 :* Rob Fossett: 1985-1986 :* Peter Hattrup: 1986, 1988-1989 :*

Geoff Wall Geoff Wall is a retired American soccer midfielder who played professionally in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League and Western Soccer Alliance. Wall graduated from Ballard High School in 1982. He was a 1981 Parade Ma ...

: 1986, 1987, 1988 :* Ken Coplin: 1987, 1989 :*

John Hamel John Hamel (born January 31, 1967) is a retired American soccer midfielder who played three seasons in the Western Soccer Alliance, one in the American Professional Soccer League, one in the Continental Indoor Soccer League and at least one in th ...

: 1987-1990 :* Fran O’Brien: 1988-1990 :* Ralph Black: 1989 :* Rick Davis: 1989 :* Chris Henderson: 1989 :* Jimmy McAlister: 1989 :* Jim Weber: 1990 :* Robb Sakamoto: 1990 :* James Forgette: 1990

Forwards

:* Eric Knapp: 1984 :* Sasha Shefts: 1984 :*

Gerard McGlynn Gerard McGlynn is a retired American soccer midfielder who played professionally in the Western Soccer Alliance and Major Indoor Soccer League. He is currently the Vice President of Crossfire Premier Soccer Club. McGlynn graduated from O'Dea ...

: 1984-1985 :* Tom Blahous: 1984-1985 :* Mike Hiatt: 1984-1985 :* Bruce Raney: 1984-1986 :* Sean Connors: 1985 :* Walt Schmetzer: 1985 :* Eric Guise: 1986-1987 :* Gary Hunter: 1986 :* Sean McGlynn: 1986, 1987 :* Sean Connors: 1987 :*

Mike Enneking Mike Enneking is a retired American soccer player who played professionally in the Western Soccer Alliance and Major Indoor Soccer League. He is the Vice President of Crossfire Premier Soccer Club. Enneking graduated from Bellarmine Preparato ...

: 1987 :* Chance Fry: 1987-1990 :* Mark Peterson: 1987 :* Eddie Henderson: 1988-1990 :* Clint Carnell: 1989 :* Brent Goulet: 1989 :*

Gary Heale Gary John Heale (born 15 July 1958) is a former English professional footballer who played for teams in England, the Netherlands, and the United States. Heale began his career in 1975 with Canvey Island. In 1978, he moved to Luton Town. Afte ...

: 1989 :* John Klein: 1989 :* Scott Benedetti: 1990 :* Jason Russ: 1990 :*

Chris Saari Chris Saari is a retired American soccer midfielder who played professionally in the American Professional Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. Saari graduated from Nathan Hale High School. He then played soccer at The Evergreen State ...

: 1990

References

External links

GOALSeattle.com FC Seattle Museum Pages
{{American Professional Soccer League seasons Soccer clubs in Seattle Defunct soccer clubs in Washington (state) Western Soccer Alliance teams American Professional Soccer League teams Pacific Coast Soccer League teams 1984 establishments in Washington (state) 1995 disestablishments in Washington (state) Association football clubs disestablished in 1995 Association football clubs established in 1984