Gregory Stewart Ion (born March 12, 1963 in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

) 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

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Professional

The son of

Gordie Ion Gordon Ion (born 26 August 1934) is a Canadians, Canadian former soccer player. He was a standout player that played for several teams, most notably North Shore FC with whom he reached the 1954 and 1957 The Challenge Trophy, Canadian final. He ...

, Ion graduated from

Burnaby North Secondary School Burnaby North Secondary School is a secondary school in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. It encompasses two buildings at 751 Hammarskjold Drive in Burnaby. Nearly 1,800 students from grades 8 to 12 attend the school. A statue of a Viking hea ...

. In 1981, the Portland Timbers selected him in the first round of the North American Soccer League draft. However, he lost the entire 1981 season with a knee injury. He came back in 1982 and played nine games, but the team folded at the end of the season. He then signed with the Montreal Manic, but that team collapsed at the end of the 1983 season. On November 10, 1983, the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...

purchased his contract from the Manic. The Strikers sent Ion to the Tulsa Roughnecks during the 1984 pre-season. When the NASL collapsed at the end of the season, Ion moved to the

Los Angeles Lazers The Los Angeles Lazers were an indoor soccer team that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1982 to 1989. History Jerry Buss, the owner of California Sports, the parent company of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kings and Strings of ...

of the Major Indoor Soccer League. He remained with the Lazers until March 26, 1987 when the team traded him to the

Minnesota Strikers The Minnesota Strikers were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1984 season and in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1984 through 1988. The team was based in Minneapolis/St. Paul metropol ...

in exchange for

Thompson Usiyan Thompson Usiyan (27 April 1956 – 31 August 2021) was a Nigerian professional footballer who played as a forward. He holds the NCAA Division I career scoring record and played in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League, ...

. He finished the season with the Strikers. On October 2, 1987, the Strikers traded him to the

San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) The San Diego Sockers were a soccer and indoor soccer team based in San Diego, California. The team played in the indoor and outdoor editions of the North American Soccer League ( ...

in exchange for draft picks and cash. On November 6, 1987, the Sockers waived Ion during the pre-season as part of a salary reduction move. The

Chicago Sting The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from ...

quickly signed him and he spent the 1987–1988 season in Chicago. The Sting, facing financial collapse, released Ion and ten other players on June 2, 1988. Ion then moved to the Kansas City Comets for two seasons. In 1990, he moved to the Tacoma Stars for two seasons. During the 1986 and 1989, Ion played for the

Vancouver 86ers Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

of the Canadian Soccer League. He is inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame as member of the record setting 1989 team.

National team

Ion was part of the Canadian team that participated in their only

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

to date in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

Post-playing career

Ion was soccer marketer for Adidas and is Program Director of their ESP youth program. He currently runs his own marketing compan

He has also been Administrative Director of Club Development with youth soccer club Washington Premier Football Club, in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Pa ...

. He is a USSF A licensed coach. Greg has three daughters Kelsey, Claire and Katelynn.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ion, Greg 1963 births Living people 1986 FIFA World Cup players American soccer coaches Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Canadian expatriate soccer players Canada men's international soccer players Canadian soccer coaches Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players Canadian soccer players Canadian people of Scottish descent Chicago Sting (MISL) players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Association football midfielders Kansas City Comets (original MISL) players Los Angeles Lazers players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Montreal Manic players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Soccer players from Tacoma, Washington Soccer players from Vancouver Portland Timbers (1975–1982) players Tacoma Stars players Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984) players Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players