The San Diego Jaws were a professional

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

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 States ...

, playing their home games at the Aztec Bowl on the campus of

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

. Founded in 1976, the team was a member of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

, and was the league's second attempt to place a franchise in San Diego with the

Toros Toros may refer to: Sports *Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, an American soccer team in Edinburg, Texas * Austin Toros (2005-2014) a minor league basketball team from Austin, Texas *Western District Toros, a soccer club from Adelaide, South Australia ...

having folded in 1968 after two seasons. The franchise lasted only one season and relocated to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

for the 1977 NASL season.

History

Founded as the in 1973 as the

Baltimore Comets The Baltimore Comets were a professional soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1974, the Comets were an expansion team that played two seasons in the North American Soccer League. The team originally played its home matches a ...

the bankrupt franchise was sold after two unsuccessful seasons on the east coast and moved by new owner Ken Keegan to the

San Diego 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 List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. It January 1976, it was announced the team had been renamed "Jaws". The team hired English midfielder

Derek Trevis Derek Alan Trevis (9 September 1942 – 21 December 2000) was an English professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Active in both England and the United States, Trevis made nearly 500 career league appearances. Career Born in Birming ...

who had won the NASL championship in 1973 as part of the

Philadelphia Atoms The Philadelphia Atoms were an American soccer team based out of Philadelphia that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL). They played from 1973 to 1976, at Veterans Stadium (1973–75) and Franklin Field (1976). The club's colors wer ...

to acts as player-manager of the new franchise. Former

Chapman College Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California. It encompasses ten schools and colleges, including Fowler School of Engineering, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Fowler School of Law, and Schmid College of Scien ...

baseball coach Paul Deese, who claimed to have only seen two soccer games in his life, was hired as General Manager. Even though the team still had five open roster spots, include two of three forwards, the Jaws faced their first opponent the Dallas Tornados in a preseason game on March 12, 1976, losing 2-0 in front of a mostly unpaid crowd of 6,754. A week later, the team competed in the

1976 NASL Indoor tournament Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

Daly City, California Daly City () is the second most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with population of 104,901 according to the 2020 census. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and immediately south of San Francisco (sharing its ...

, losing both games in which they participated. In another preseason game on March 24, 1976, this one held at

Balboa Stadium Balboa Stadium is an American football and soccer stadium on the west coast of the United States, located in San Diego, California. Just east of San Diego High School, the original stadium was built in 1914 as part of the 1915 Panama–California ...

, in front of 18,128 people in attendance the Jaws tied the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independe ...

holding

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA, ...

scoreless in the 1-1 draw. San Diego began the outdoor season with a 1–0 win in overtime against the

San Antonio Thunder The San Antonio Thunder were an American soccer team based in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 1975 as a member of the North American Soccer League, the team played two seasons in San Antonio before the franchise rights were moved to Hawaii. The t ...

with 5,200 fans in attendance. Later that month, the team hosted the Mexican Olympic team at Southwestern College in

Chula Vista, California Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the Largest cities in Southern California, seventh largest city in Southern California, the List of largest California cities by population, fifteenth largest city ...

losing 2-1 with

Hugo Sánchez Hugo Sánchez Márquez (born 11 July 1958) is a Mexican former professional footballer and manager, who played as a forward. A prolific goalscorer known for his spectacular strikes and volleys, he is widely regarded as the greatest Mexican fo ...

scoring both of Mexico's goals. It was reported that team owner Ken Keegan was seeking investors from the local community, with five limited partners added to the ownership group by mid July. The Jaws ended the season at home losing to the

Minnesota Kicks The Minnesota Kicks were a professional soccer team that played at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota, from 1976 to 1981. The team was a member of the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL). Initiall ...

1-0 before 9,400 fans after two overtime periods. The Jaws finished the season with a record of 9 wins and 15 losses, last place in the Pacific Conference Southern Division. For the season, the team averaged over 6,000 fans at each home game, but it was reported the average paid attendance was only about 2,500. After weeks of speculation, on October 19, 1976, it was reported the team would be moving to

. After one season in Las Vegas, the franchise was sold and returned to San Diego as the

San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996), a soccer team in the North American Soccer League *San Diego Sockers (2001–2004), a soccer team in the World Indoor Soccer League and second Major Indoor Soccer League *San Diego S ...

Year-by-year

Honors

Indoor All-Stars * 1976:

Archie Roboostoff Archie Vincent Roboostoff (October 9, 1951 – July 29, 2019) was an American soccer forward who spent five seasons in the North American Soccer League. He was also a member of the U.S. Olympic soccer team at the 1972 Summer Olympics. He ...

(West All-Regional Team) Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame members * 2019:

Alan Mayer Alan Mayer (born July 3, 1952) is an American retired soccer goalkeeper. He played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League and earned six caps with the United States men's national soccer team. In 2019 ...

References

{{North American Soccer League (1966–85)

Jaws Jaws or Jaw may refer to: Anatomy * Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth ** Mandible, the lower jaw Arts, entertainment, and media * Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker'' * ...

North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States Soccer clubs in California Defunct soccer clubs in California 1976 establishments in California 1976 disestablishments in California

San Diego Jaws The San Diego Jaws were a professional soccer team based in San Diego, California, playing their home games at the Aztec Bowl on the campus of San Diego State University. Founded in 1976, the team was a member of the North American Soccer Leag ...

Association football clubs established in 1976 Association football clubs disestablished in 1976