Football Club Seattle Storm, also known as the F.C. Seattle Storm, was an American soccer team based in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. F.C. Seattle was a "super club" created to provide Seattle players an opportunity to play at a higher level than the local recreational and semi-pro leagues. In addition to playing exhibition matches against top international teams, F.C. Seattle was a member of the short lived

Western Soccer Alliance 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 All ...

, was a founding member of 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 ...

and later spent three seasons in the

Pacific Coast Soccer League The Pacific Coast Soccer League is an amateur soccer league, currently featuring teams from British Columbia. In the past clubs from Washington and Oregon have competed. PCSL is considered to be British Columbia's premier summer league. The ...

History

1984: F.C. Seattle Challenge

In 1984, F.C. Seattle hosted the F.C. Seattle Challenge '84. This series pitted F.C. Seattle against three NASL teams, the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on Marc ...

(2–2 tie),

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 metrop ...

(0–3 loss),

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 ...

(1–2 loss), as well as the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team. For this challenge cup, the team filled its roster from local colleges, high schools and semi-pro teams. However, five F.C. Seattle players had previous professional experience: Jack Brand, Jerry Cameron,

Eddie Krueger Eddie Krueger is a retired American soccer defender who played professionally in the North American Soccer League. In 1977, Krueger graduated from Seattle Preparatory School and signed as a seventeen-year-old with the Seattle Sounders of the ...

, Joe James and Robbie Zipp. The team was coached by former Sounders player Tom Jenkins and played its games in Seattle's Memorial Stadium. The series averaged just over six thousand fans per game. At the end of it, NASL officials approached F.C. Seattle about entering the NASL for the 1985 season. F.C. Seattle declined, noting that most NASL teams hemorrhaged money. The club's backers preferred to keep it on a semi-professional basis, build a fan base, then work towards taking the team fully professional an indeterminate time in the future.

1985: Western Alliance Challenge Series

In 1985, F.C. Seattle joined with three other independent "super clubs", F.C. Portland,

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 franchis ...

and Victoria Riptides, to create the Western Alliance Challenge Series. This series came in response to the cancellation of games F.C. Seattle had scheduled against English teams

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional Association football, football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English foo ...

and

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa P ...

. In June, FIFA had banned English clubs from travelling for international games after

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

fans sparked massive deaths in fan violence in Belgium. F.C. Portland hosted F.C. Seattle for the first game of the series, a game F.C. Seattle won on the strength of a Bruce Raney hat trick. Other significant F.C. Seattle players included Jeff Durgan, the Schmetzer brothers -

Andy Andy may refer to: People * Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds *Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and pian ...

Brian Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word m ...

and Walter, and

Peter Hattrup Peter Hattrup (born March 31, 1964) is a retired American soccer player who played professionally in Major League Soccer and the USL A-League. Player Youth Hattrup was a four-year starter as a star player for the Seattle Preparatory School bo ...

. However,

Bruce Rioch Bruce David Rioch (; born 6 September 1947) is a football manager and former player for the Scotland national team. His last managerial post was at AaB in the Danish Superliga in 2008. As a player, he made more than 550 appearances in the Fo ...

, who had replaced Jack Brand as head coach in February, released Durgan from the team after he was ejected for making several flagrant fouls in the game against the Canadian national team in July.

1986–1989: Western Soccer Alliance/League

In 1986, three of the four teams from 1985, decided to form the

. Only Victoria declined to join the new alliance, but they were replaced by the

Edmonton Brick Men The Edmonton Brick Men (also Edmonton Brickmen) were a Canadian soccer team in Edmonton, Alberta that competed in the Canadian Soccer League and the Western Soccer Alliance. During their time in the WSA and the CSL, the team played at both John ...

. In 1987, the WSA instituted a two-game post-season playoff series. F.C. Seattle, which finished second in alliance standings, lost 3–0 to the

in the wild card game. Up to now F.C. Seattle had also been known as the F.C. Seattle Storm. In 1988, the team officially dropped the F.C. and became the Seattle Storm. However, they were still referred to as the F.C. Seattle Storm throughout the season and the new name was not widely used until the 1989 season. The 1988 season was one of the most successful for the Storm when it cruised to the top of the regular season standings, then crushed the Earthquakes 5–0 in the championship game. In 1989, the Storm failed to build on its previous year's success and finished out of playoff contention. As a side note, the WSA changed its name to the Western Soccer League.

1990: American Professional Soccer League

In 1990, the Storm, along with the rest of the WSL merged with the American Soccer League to form the

. Despite

Chance Fry Chance Fry (born June 29, 1964, in Bellevue, Washington) is a retired U.S. soccer forward who began his career straight out of high school with the Seattle Sounders of the North American Soccer League. With the collapse of the NASL, he moved t ...

leading the league with 17 goals and 5 assists, the Storm finished last in the North Division of the West Conference. Following the season, Greer announced his intention to have the Storm sit out the 1991 season. However, in February 1992, he decided to fold the team.

1993–1995: Pacific Coast Soccer League

In December 1992,

Stuart Lee Stuart Lee (born 11 February 1953) is an English former football forward. Lee was born in Manchester, and played professionally in England, Wales and the United States. Player In 1971, Lee began his professional career when he signed with Bo ...

bought the rights to the team and entered it in the amateur

. The team competed through the 1995 season then withdrew from senior competitions. It continues to operate as a local soccer club with boys and girls teams in all age competitions.

Yearly record

Ownership and staff

* Bud Greer - Chairman * William C. Sage - President / General Manager

Coaches

''Record includes both league and exhibition matches.''

Notable players

''This list includes those former players who received international caps while playing for the team, made significant contributions to the team in terms of appearances or goals, or who made significant contributions to the sport either before they played for the team, or after they left.'' *

Scott Benedetti Scott "Benny" Benedetti (born November 13, 1966 in Portland, Oregon) is an American retired soccer player. He began his professional career with the semi-professional F.C. Portland in 1986 and ended it with the U.S. second division club Portlan ...

Rick Davis Richard Dean Davis (born November 24, 1958) is an American former soccer midfielder, and former captain of the U.S. National Team for much of the 1980s. He is considered by fans the best U.S.-born player of the North American Soccer League e ...

* Jeff Durgan *

Brent Goulet Brent Goulet (born June 19, 1964) is a retired American soccer forward who later coached SV Elversberg from 2004 to 2008. He began his career in the United States before moving to England and Germany, and also earned eight caps with the U.S. ...

Chris Henderson Christopher Henderson (born December 11, 1970) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. He earned 79 caps with the U.S. national team and part of the U.S. team at the 1992 Summer Olympics. At the time of hi ...

* Eddie Henderson *

Bernie James Bernie James (born November 25, 1958 in Coventry, England) is a former U.S. soccer player and current youth soccer coach. James spent twenty-four years as a professional, both beginning and ending his career with different versions of the Seatt ...

* Billy Crook * Rick Blubaugh *

Brian Schmetzer Brian Schmetzer (born August 18, 1962) is an American soccer coach and retired player. He is the head coach of the Seattle Sounders FC, who play in Major League Soccer (MLS), having been assistant coach for the team until Sigi Schmid's departur ...

* Jeff Stock * Wade Webber

Exhibition games

As an independent soccer team, F.C. Seattle original purpose was to play exhibition games. Even after the establishment of the Western Soccer Alliance, exhibition games remained one of the most significant elements of the team's seasons.

1984

1985 results

June 2:

Dundee F.C. Dundee Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Dundee, Scotland, founded in 1893. The team are nicknamed "The Dark Blues" or "The Dee". The club plays its home matches at Dens Park. The club was formed after a mer ...

0–1
June 9: Santos 2–1
June 16: Guadalajara 2–3
June 23: US National Team 2–3

1986

April 24: Canadian national team 2–3
May 27:

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The two ...

0–1
June 6:

1–2
July 19: SC Cleveland 2–1

1987

May 31: Hearts 1–1
June 5:

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 2 ...

2–0
June 20: Neza, Mexico City
July 10:

Herfølge Herfølge is a suburb of the town of Køge, Denmark, located about 5 kilometers south of Køge, and is a part of Køge Municipality. The suburb is connected to Køge and Næstved by the Lille Syd railway line. Residential areas Holmebækh ...

2–1
July 15:

0–1
Stormin the Isles Tour of Britain: :July 27:

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

1–2 :July 29: AFC Bournemouth 0–1 :July 31:

Queens Park Rangers F.C. Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus ...

2–2 :August 4: Dundee 0–3 :August 6:

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

1–3

1988

May 7:

Calgary Strikers Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, making ...

3–1
June 11:

2–1
June 26: Atlante
August 3:

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

0–2
August 6:

Lincoln City F.C. Lincoln City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the "Imps" after the legend of t ...

2–2
August 10:

0–3
August 13:

Sunderland F.C. Sunderland Association Football Club (, ) is an English professional football club based in the city of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Formed in 1879, Sunderland play in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club has won six ...

0–3
August 16:

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and wer ...

2–2

1989

May 7:

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. Th ...

2–1
August 3:

Victoria Vistas The Victoria Vistas were a professional soccer team based in Victoria, British Columbia that competed in the original Canadian Soccer League. The Vistas joined the CSL for the 1989 season and folded after the 1990 season. Victoria All-star team ...

3–0

1990

May 5:

3–0
May 20: AFC Bournemouth 1–0
May 29: Dnepr 1–2
August 1: at

1–0
August 5: at

5–3
August 8:

3–2

All time roster (1984–1990)

Goalkeepers

:* Jack Brand: 1984 :* Sergio Soriano: 1984 :* Mark Schuur: 1985-1986, 1988 :* Bill Glandon: 1986 :* Jeff Koch: 1986-1989 :* Jeff Storrs: 1987-1990 :* Mark Berry: 1987 :* Rolf Norton: 1988-1989 :* Jim Neighbors: 1988 :*

Matthew Olson Matthew Olson is a retired American soccer goalkeeper. Player College Olson graduated from Lindbergh Senior High School. In 1986, he began his collegiate career at Indiana University where he won the 1988 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Cham ...

: 1989 :* Chris Bell: 1990 :*

Jim Brazeau Jim Brazeau is a retired American soccer goalkeeper. He played one season in the American Professional Soccer League and five in the Continental Indoor Soccer League. He earned the first shutout in CISL history on August 25, 1993. Playing Braze ...

: 1990

Defenders

:* Doug Backous: 1984 :* Pat Blann: 1984 :* Dave Felt: 1984 :*

: 1984 :* Terry McGill: 1984 :* Steve Englebrick: 1984-1985 :* Robbie Zipp: 1984-1985 :* Rick Blubaugh: 1984, 1986-1989 :* Joe James: 1984, 1989 :* Jeff Durgan: 1985 :* Don Farler: 1985-1990 :* Peter Fewing: 1985-1990 :* Dan Pingrey: 1985 :* Tom Blahous: 1986-1987 :*

Daryl Green Daryl Green is an American former professional soccer player. He played four seasons in the Western Soccer Alliance, one in the American Professional Soccer League and two in Major Indoor Soccer League. He later became a youth soccer coach. ...

: 1986-1989 :* James Hodgson: 1986 :* Kevin Iverson: 1986 :* Dave Wittrell: 1986 :* Randy Hanson: 1987 :* Kevin O’Keefe: 1987 :* Jeff Stock: 1987-1989 :* Billy Crook: 1988 :*

Grant Gibbs Grant Gibbs is a former U.S. soccer defender who spent his professional career in clubs F.C. Portland, Seattle Storm and Miami Freedom. Biography Gibbs grew up in Federal Way, Washington, where he attended Thomas Jefferson High School. Aft ...

: 1988-1990 :* Rob Goff: 1988, 1989 :*

: 1988-1989 :*

Ray Evans Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and song-writing duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films. Evans wrote the lyrics and Livi ...

: 1989 :* Steve McCrath: 1989-1990 :* Bob McLaughlin: 1989 :* Ian MacLean: 1989 :* Craig Ottosen: 1989 :* Wade Webber: 1990 :*

Garrett Smith Garrett Smith (born December 14, 1967) is an American former soccer defender who played professionally in the Western Soccer League, American Professional Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League and Continental Indoor Soccer League. Since 1 ...

: 1990

Midfielders

:* Jerry Cameron: 1984 :* Teddy Mitalas: 1984 :*

Tad Willoughby Tad Willoughby (born September 8, 1960) is a retired American soccer midfielder who played four seasons in the Western Soccer Alliance and three in the Major Indoor Soccer League. Playing Willoughby grew up in Bellevue, Washington. He attend ...

: 1984, 1986-1989 :* Ken Fuegmann: 1985-1988 :* Dennis Gunnell: 1985-1988 :*

Andy Schmetzer Andy M. Schmetzer (born April 26, 1967) is a former U.S. soccer midfielder and indoor soccer coach. Player Youth Schmetzer grew up in Seattle, Washington, where he attended Nathan Hale High School. He learned to play soccer under the tutelage o ...

: 1985 :*

: 1985 :* Rob Fossett: 1985-1986 :*

: 1986, 1988-1989 :*

Geoff Wall Geoff Wall is a retired American soccer midfielder who played professionally in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League and Western Soccer Alliance. Wall graduated from Ballard High School in 1982. He was a 1981 Parade Ma ...

: 1986, 1987, 1988 :* Ken Coplin: 1987, 1989 :*

John Hamel John Hamel (born January 31, 1967) is a retired American soccer midfielder who played three seasons in the Western Soccer Alliance, one in the American Professional Soccer League, one in the Continental Indoor Soccer League and at least one in th ...

: 1987-1990 :* Fran O’Brien: 1988-1990 :* Ralph Black: 1989 :*

: 1989 :*

: 1989 :* Jimmy McAlister: 1989 :* Jim Weber: 1990 :* Robb Sakamoto: 1990 :* James Forgette: 1990

Forwards

:* Eric Knapp: 1984 :* Sasha Shefts: 1984 :*

Gerard McGlynn Gerard McGlynn is a retired American soccer midfielder who played professionally in the Western Soccer Alliance and Major Indoor Soccer League. He is currently the Vice President of Crossfire Premier Soccer Club. McGlynn graduated from O'Dea ...

: 1984-1985 :* Tom Blahous: 1984-1985 :* Mike Hiatt: 1984-1985 :* Bruce Raney: 1984-1986 :* Sean Connors: 1985 :*

Walt Schmetzer Walter M. Schmetzer (born April 26, 1967 in Seattle, Washington) is a former U.S. soccer midfielder who played professionally in the Western Soccer Alliance and Major Indoor Soccer League. Schmetzer grew up in Seattle, Washington where he atte ...

: 1985 :* Eric Guise: 1986-1987 :* Gary Hunter: 1986 :* Sean McGlynn: 1986, 1987 :* Sean Connors: 1987 :*

Mike Enneking Mike Enneking is a retired American soccer player who played professionally in the Western Soccer Alliance and Major Indoor Soccer League. He is the Vice President of Crossfire Premier Soccer Club. Enneking graduated from Bellarmine Preparato ...

: 1987 :*

: 1987-1990 :* Mark Peterson: 1987 :* Eddie Henderson: 1988-1990 :* Clint Carnell: 1989 :*

: 1989 :*

Gary Heale Gary John Heale (born 15 July 1958) is a former English professional footballer who played for teams in England, the Netherlands, and the United States. Heale began his career in 1975 with Canvey Island. In 1978, he moved to Luton Town. Afte ...

: 1989 :* John Klein: 1989 :*

: 1990 :* Jason Russ: 1990 :*

Chris Saari Chris Saari is a retired American soccer midfielder who played professionally in the American Professional Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. Saari graduated from Nathan Hale High School. He then played soccer at The Evergreen State ...

: 1990

References

External links

GOALSeattle.com FC Seattle Museum Pages
{{American Professional Soccer League seasons Soccer clubs in Seattle Defunct soccer clubs in Washington (state) Western Soccer Alliance teams American Professional Soccer League teams Pacific Coast Soccer League teams 1984 establishments in Washington (state) 1995 disestablishments in Washington (state) Association football clubs disestablished in 1995 Association football clubs established in 1984