Mike Hunter is a retired U.S.
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 ...
defender who played five seasons in the
North American Soccer League as well as one in the
Western Soccer Alliance and three in the
Major Indoor Soccer League.
Hunter grew up in the Los Angeles area, attending
Damien High School in
La Verne, California. He then played soccer at
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...
from 1976 thru 1979. In the fall of 1979, he signed with the expansion
Detroit Lightning in the
Major Indoor Soccer League as the first pick of the first MISL draft. The Lightning folded at the end of the 1979-1980 season and Hunter moved to the
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 ...
as their first pick in the
North American Soccer League draft. He would play five outdoor seasons with the Earthquakes in the NASL. In 1983 and 1984, the team was renamed the Golden Bay Earthquakes. In the fall of 1984, the Earthquakes dealt Hunter to the
Los Angeles Lazers of the
Major Indoor Soccer League. According to the San Diego Union, Hunter "a five-year indoor veteran . . . was acquired from Golden Bay."
[''Sockers may be class of stronger MISL''; The San Diego Union(CA) - Friday, November 2, 1984] Hunter spent two seasons with the Lazers before a contentious release after the trade deadline on March 1, 1986, as the team prepared for the play-offs. In addition to playing the winter indoor seasons with the Lazers, on June 5, 1985, Hunter returned north to sign with the Earthquakes for an eighteen-game non-league exhibition season. By this time the NASL had collapsed and the Earthquakes no longer belonged to a league. In October 1986, Hunter went on trial with the
San Diego Sockers, but there is no indication that he played for them.
References
External links
NASL/MISL Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Mike
1958 births
Living people
American men's soccer players
Detroit Lightning players
San Jose Earthquakes (1974–1988) players
Golden Bay Earthquakes (MISL) players
Los Angeles Lazers players
Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players
Santa Clara Broncos men's soccer players
Western Soccer Alliance players
Men's association football defenders
Damien High School alumni
Soccer players from Los Angeles