Jose “Poli” Garcia (born in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

) is an American former soccer player. He spent at least four seasons in the American Soccer League, three in the North American Soccer League and four in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He was the 1979 American Soccer League MVP and earned two

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 Ja ...

with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 1975.

Professional

Born in San Diego, Garcia spent most of his youth in Mexico City, Mexico. His family returned to California when he was fifteen. Garcia signed with the expansion

California Sunshine The California Sunshine was an American soccer club based in Fountain Valley, California that was a member of the American Soccer League. The team was owned by Dr. Robert Everakes and his wife Alexandra, who was the general manager. Their home game ...

of the American Soccer League in 1977. In 1979, he and teammate Joey Fink tied for the league lead in goal scoring with fifteen apiece. Garcia also garnered league MVP and first team All Star recognition. In 1980, he moved from the Sunshine to the

Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs was an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 to 1981 as well as the 1975 NASL Indoor tourn ...

of the North American Soccer League (NASL). After the Aztecs folded following the 1981 season, and Garcia moved to the

Jacksonville Tea Men The Jacksonville Tea Men were a soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Overall, the Tea Men played a total of four seasons in Jacksonville, first in the major league-level North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1980–1982, ...

for the 1982 season. The Tea Men left the NASL and joined the ASL following and Garcia remained with the team through at least the 1983 ASL season.

Indoor years

Garcia began his indoor career with the Cleveland Force of Major Indoor Soccer League in 1979–80. After one season in MISL, he played NASL indoor with the Aztecs in 1980–81 and the Tea Men for 1981–82. He then moved back to the MISL with 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 ...

for the 1982–83 season. On February 27, 1987, the Lazers traded Garcia and

Jim Kavanaugh James P. "Jim" Kavanaugh (born 1963) is an American businessman. He is known as the CEO and co-founder of World Wide Technology. Early life Kavanaugh received his Bachelor of Science in business administration from Saint Louis University in 19 ...

to the St. Louis Steamers for

Don Ebert Don "Mad Hatter" Ebert is a retired U.S. soccer forward who spent most of his career with two indoor clubs, the St. Louis Steamers and the Los Angeles Lazers. Youth Ebert attended Rosary High School in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1976, Ebert and h ...

and Steve Pecher. The following year, his only full season with the Steamers, he led the team in scoring with 50 goals. When the Steamers folded, Garcia became a free agent and signed with 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 ( ...

on September 14, 1988. He began the season with the Sockers, but was traded to the Lazers in exchange for Waad Hirmez on February 3, 1989. When the Lazers folded at the end of the season, the St. Louis Storm selected Garcia in the MISL dispersal draft, but did not sign him.

National team

Garcia earned two

with the

in August 1975 at the Mexico City Cup. His first game was a 6–0 loss to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

on August 21. His second was a 2–0 loss to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

on August 24, 1975. In the second game, he replaced

Hank Liotart Hank Liotart (born November 15, 1943 in Baarn, Netherlands) is a Dutch-American former soccer player. Liotart played one season in the National Professional Soccer League, eight in the North American Soccer League and at least one in Major In ...

in the 71st minute.USA – Details of International Matches 1970–1979
/ref>

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Poli Living people 1958 births American Soccer League (1933–1983) players American men's soccer players California Sunshine players Cleveland Force (original MISL) players Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders Jacksonville Tea Men players American sportspeople of Mexican descent Los Angeles Aztecs players Los Angeles Lazers players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) indoor players Soccer players from San Diego St. Louis Steamers (original MISL) players United States men's international soccer players