Jean Harbor (born 19 September 1965 in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

) is a former

Nigerian American Nigerian Americans ( ig, Ṇ́dị́ Naìjíríyà n'Emerịkà; ha, Yan Najeriyar asalin Amurka; yo, Àwọn ọmọ Nàìjíríà Amẹ́ríkà) are an ethnic group of Americans who are of Nigerian ancestry. The number of Nigerian immigran ...

soccer

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

who played for numerous teams in Nigeria and the US He earned fifteen

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

with the US national team after becoming a US citizen in 1992.

Youth

While born and raised in Nigeria, Harbor attended college at

Alabama A&M University Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (Alabama A&M) is a public historically black land-grant university in Normal, Huntsville, Alabama. Founded in 1875, it took its present name in 1969. AAMU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marsha ...

Normal, Alabama Normal, Alabama is the home of Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (AAMU), the largest HBCU in Alabama. The university is situated in Huntsville, Alabama's northern city limits in Madison County. Normal was established in 1890, when A ...

the United States. He majored in chemistry and was a

on the men's soccer team from 1983 to 1986. He was a three time second and third team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n and held the school's career scoring record when he graduated.

Early career

Before coming to the US, Harbor had spent time with two Nigerian teams, Nepa F.C. and

Enugu Rangers Rangers International Football Club, commonly known as Enugu Rangers, is a Nigerian professional association football team. They are based in Enugu and play their home games at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium. Enugu Rangers are one of the three olde ...

. However, he does not appear to have played professionally for two years after graduating from Alabama A&M. One article mentions that he worked in a Maryland laboratory for several years after leaving Alabama. He apparently even continued to work at the facility after he began his professional playing career.

Professional

In June 1988, the

Washington Diplomats The Washington Diplomats were an American soccer club representing Washington, D.C. Throughout their playing existence, the club played their home games at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and indoor home matches at the neighboring D.C. Arm ...

of the new American Soccer League (ASL) signed Harbor. Diplomats coach,

Julio Pinon Julio is the Spanish equivalent of the month July and may refer to: *Julio (given name) *Julio (surname) *Júlio de Castilhos, a municipality of the western part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * ''Julio'' (album), a 1983 compilation albu ...

, spotted Harbor when Harbor was playing in the Embassy Cup Tournament in Washington, D.C. The Diplomats had been having difficulty scoring up to that point in the season, but Harbor made an immediate positive impact. The team went on to win the ASL championship. Harbor continued his high scoring ways in the 1989 season, but was suspended by the league after striking

Pedro Magallanes Pedro Magallanes (born June 14, 1956) is a retired Argentine football (soccer) midfielder who played professionally in Argentina and the United States. Magallanes had an extensive career in Argentina. He played the 1978-1979 season with Indepen ...

in the face during a game with 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 ...

. The suspension ran for a month and helped limit Harbor to seven goals that season. In 1990, Harbor moved to the

Maryland Bays The Maryland Bays were an inaugural franchise of the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1988.They were based in Catonsville, Maryland, and played their games at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. The team joined the Ameri ...

. By this time the ASL had merged with the

Western Soccer League Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer Alli ...

to form 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 ...

(APSL). Harbor would spend two seasons with the Bays. In 1990, he scored eight goals as the Bays took the league championship in a 2–1 victory over the

San Francisco Bay Blackhawks San Francisco Bay Blackhawks were a professional soccer team which came into existence in 1989 as a team in the Western Soccer League (WSL). The Blackhawks spent time in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL) and the United States Interr ...

. In 1991, he led the league in scoring with seventeen goals and eleven assists in twenty games as the Bays fell to the

Albany Capitals The Albany Capitals joined the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1988. The team joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the ASL merged with the Western Soccer League. The club played in Albany, New York. After ...

in the semi-finals. Harbor took first team All APSL and league MVP honors. The team folded at the end of the season. With the collapse of the Bays, Harbor moved indoors in the fall of 1991 with the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The team has won 10 championships since it was founded in 1980. Beginning with t ...

of Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). However, Harbor once again saw his team fold, this time along with the entire league, at the end of the season. In 1992, Harbor returned to the APSL, this time with the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...

. By this time, the league was struggling and had only five teams remaining. However, Harbor continued his high scoring ways and took the scoring title with thirteen goals and four assists in fifteen games, earning first team All Star honors. The Rowdies reached the championship game, only to fall to the

Colorado Foxes The Colorado Foxes were a professional soccer team, based in Commerce City, Colorado, that played in the American Professional Soccer League, and later in the A-League, between 1990 and 1997. The Foxes won two APSL titles, in 1992 and 1993. In 19 ...

. His five goals in four matches led all scorers in the 1992

Professional Cup The Professional Cup was an international soccer tournament that took place in 1992 and involved eight, professional clubs from three different leagues in North America; the American Professional Soccer League, the Canadian Soccer League, and the ...

, which involved eight clubs from three different leagues; the APSL, the

CSL CSL as an abbreviation may stand for: Places * Coordinated Science Laboratory, at the University of Illinois * Liège Space Center (Centre spatial de Liège), at the University of Liege in Belgium * Central Science Laboratory, a former UK DEFRA ...

, and the NPSL. Just as in the APSL regular season and APSL championship game, the Rowdies were again bested by Colorado in the Cup final. Harbor saw a significant drop in his point production in 1993 as he scored only five goals, adding seven assists, in fourteen games. The Rowdies saw more playoff disappointment as they fell to the Foxes again, this time in the semi-finals. At the end of the season, Harbor again saw his team fold. In 1994, Harbor moved to the Montreal Impact. He gained a measure of revenge on the Colorado Foxes this season as the Impact defeated them in the title game; Harbor scored the lone goal in the Impact's 1–0 victory. In March 1995, Harbor signed with the indoor

Buffalo Blizzard The Buffalo Blizzard was a soccer club that existed from 1992 to 2001 in Buffalo, New York. History The team was originally owned by the Knox brothers who owned the Buffalo Sabres at the time, and additionally by the Riches who owned the minor l ...

of the NPSL. The Blizzard were making a final push for the playoffs. While the Blizzard made the playoffs, they fell to the

Cleveland Crunch The Cleveland Crunch are an American professional indoor soccer club located in Cleveland, Ohio competing in as a charter member of the Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS). The rebranded Crunch returned to indoor play as a member of the MASL 2 in ...

in the first round. Harbor played seven regular season games, scoring two goals, then another three games in the playoffs for the Blizzard. In April 1995,

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

(MLS) signed Harbor. However, when the league delayed its first season by a year, the league loaned him to the

Seattle SeaDogs The Seattle SeaDogs are a defunct indoor soccer team that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) from 1995 to 1997. They won the last CISL championship in 1997. History In 1995, the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) awarded a ...

of the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice Pre ...

(CISL). In twenty-six games, he scored forty goals. In February 1996, MLS held its

first draft In the context of written composition, "drafting" refers to any process of generating preliminary versions of a written work. Drafting happens at any stage of the writing process as writers generate trial versions of the text they're developing. ...

. The

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...

selected Harbor with the second pick of the draft. In that first season, Harbor led the team in scoring with eleven goals in twenty-nine games, but the Rapids finished at the bottom of the table and failed to make the playoffs. Harbor then injured his knee in the 1997 pre-season, requiring surgery. The Rapids released Harbor in June 1997. After being released by the Rapids, Harbor returned to the

where he was MVP of the All Star game. That season Harbor also helped lead Seattle to the final CISL Championship defeating the Houston Hotshots 2 games to 0. Once again, Harbor saw a team and a league fold at the end of the season. In October 1997, Harbor moved to the

Florida ThunderCats The Florida ThunderCats were an indoor soccer club based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida that competed in the National Professional Soccer League. The team folded after one season. Year-by-year References Soccer clubs in Miami Soccer clubs ...

of the NPSL as the team began preparations for its first, and ultimately, its only season. The ThunderCats had significant financial problems during the 1998–1999 season and sold Harbor's contract to the

Philadelphia KiXX The Philadelphia KiXX was a professional indoor soccer team based in Philadelphia, USA. The team competed as an NPSL expansion franchise and then played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. History The team's original owner was Ed Tepper, also pr ...

just prior to the 1999 playoffs. Harbor's time in Philadelphia included only the end of the 1998–1999 season and the playoffs.

National team

In 1992, Harbor became an American citizen. US coach

Bora Milutinović Velibor "Bora" Milutinović ( sr-Cyrl, Велибор Бора Милутиновић; born 7 September 1944) is a Serbian former professional footballer and manager. He has managed at five editions of the FIFA World Cup, tied for the record a ...

quickly called him up for a 9 October match with

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Harbor went on to earn fourteen

while Milutinovic was coach, but he was unable to score. Milutinovic dropped him from the national team after the

1993 Copa America File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The White House (Moscow), Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Cze ...

, but he earned one more cap under

Steve Sampson Mark Stephen Sampson (born January 19, 1957) is an American soccer coach. He is also the former head coach of both the United States men's national team and the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer. Collegiate career Sampson attended UCLA ...

on 16 October 1996. The regular national team players had gone on strike and USSF was forced to field an ad hoc player line up for a game against

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Post playing career

In 2004, Harbor worked for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

. In Spring of 2004, Harbor will be holding Soccer Clinics for Global Perspective Youth Sports of Buckeye, AZ

References

External links

Rapids announcing signing of Harbor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harbor, Jean 1965 births Living people Sportspeople from Lagos 1992 King Fahd Cup players 1993 Copa América players Alabama A&M Bulldogs men's soccer players American soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Canada American expatriate soccer players American Professional Soccer League players American Soccer League (1988–89) players Baltimore Blast (original MISL) players Buffalo Blizzard players Colorado Rapids players Continental Indoor Soccer League players Expatriate soccer players in Canada Expatriate soccer players in the United States Florida ThunderCats players Association football forwards Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Major League Soccer players Maryland Bays players Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players Rangers International F.C. players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Nigerian expatriate footballers Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Nigerian footballers Nigerian emigrants to the United States Philadelphia KiXX (NPSL) players Seattle SeaDogs players Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players United States men's international soccer players Washington Diplomats (1988–1990) players