DFW Tornados (also known as Dallas–Fort Worth Tornados) was an American

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

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, United States. Founded in 1986, the team played in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

(PDL), the fourth tier of the

American Soccer Pyramid The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are not linked by the system of prom ...

, in the Mid South Division of the Southern Conference. The franchise folded at the end of the 2010 season and left the league thereafter. The team played its home games at Pizza Hut Park (the home of

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 ...

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...

) in nearby Frisco, Texas. The team's colors were black, blue and white.

History

In 1986, the club, known as Garland Genesis, based in Garland, Texas, became a founding member of the

Southwest Indoor Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

. The team topped the standings during the 1986-1987 season before defeating the

Lubbock Lazers The Lubbock Lazers were a soccer club based in Lubbock, Texas that competed in the SISL and USISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several m ...

in the championship game. The team moved to

Addison, Texas Addison is an incorporated town in Dallas County, Texas, in the United States. Addison is situated to the immediate north of the city of Dallas, with a 2020 census population of 16,661. Addison and Flower Mound were the only two Texas municipaliti ...

in 1987 and changed their name to the Addison Arrows. They remained in Addison for two years. In 1989, the league added a summer outdoor season and Addison promptly went to the championship game, this time losing to the Colorado Comets. In 1989, owner Ken Mulhall sold the team. At the time, he also coached the Arrows. The new owner fired Mulhall as coach and named Billy Pettigrew as head coach. The team continued its excellent play during the 1989-1990 indoor season, defeating the Phoenix Hearts to take their second indoor championship. Following the completion of the indoor season, the team moved to the Dallas/Fort Worth are and was renamed North Texas United. In November 1990, they merged with the

Waco Kickers The Waco Kickers were a soccer club owned by Dr. Albert F. Mikulencak based in Waco, Texas that competed in the SISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It ...

and became the Fort Worth Kickers.''Sockadillos have new look as indoor season kicks off'' Austin American-Statesman - Saturday, November 10, 1990 After team owner Pat Parker was unable to gain financial backing for the team, it moved to Dallas and became the Dallas Kickers for the 1991/92 indoor season. The team was renamed the Dallas Americans before the 1992 outdoor season. They were renamed the Dallas/Fort Worth Toros in 1993, and remained as such until 1996, when they were renamed the Dallas Toros for the 1997 outdoor season. They became the Texas Toros in 1998, and the Texas Rattlers for the 2000 season. Upon their move to the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

for 2001 they changed their name, and were bought by the Texas Spurs, which they maintained until 2003, when the Spurs club sold the team to the owner of Arena Athletics in

Euless, Texas Euless ( ) is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth. Euless is part of the Mid-Cities region between Dallas and Fort Worth. In 2020 Census, the population of Euless was 61,032. The population of the ...

. They finally took their current name, the DFW Tornados, beginning in 2004.

Players

Final roster

This list is a historical record of the final group of players on the last Tornados roster for their final game in August 2010. ''Source:'

Notable former players

''This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for the team in the Premier Development League, or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.'' *

Kyle Altman Kyle Marten Altman (born January 31, 1986) is an American former soccer player, who last played for Minnesota United FC in the North American Soccer League. He was the 2003 New Mexico High School Coaches Association's Class 4A boys' soccer player ...

Cody Bragg Richard "Cody" Bragg (born June 26, 1980 in San Antonio, Texas) is an American soccer player, currently without a club. Career College Bragg grew up in Plano, Texas, played club soccer for the Dallas Texans and in the Dallas Cup in the U19 Sup ...

* Kyle Brown *

Jeff Agoos Jeffrey Alan Agoos (born May 2, 1968) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a defender. He is one of the all-time appearance leaders for the United States national team. Agoos served as the Sporting Director for the N ...

* John Hedlund * Caesar Cervin *

Andres Cuero Andres Cuero (born July 8, 1989) is an American soccer player who played for Austin Aztex in the USL Pro. Career College and Amateur Cuero played his college soccer at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he was third-team NSCAA ...

* Chad Deering * Aaron DeLoach *

Hunter Freeman Hunter Freeman (born January 8, 1985 in Tyler, Texas) is a retired American soccer player who currently is the director of domestic scouting for FC Cincinnati Career College and amateur As a teenager, Freeman trained in residency at the United ...

Bruno Guarda Bruno Ernesto Guarda (born February 6, 1986), also known as Peter Jackson and DJ - BG is a Brazilian footballer who last played for the Dallas Sidekicks in the Major Arena Soccer League. Career College Guarda moved to the United States in high ...

* Stephen McCarthy * Ryan Mirsky *

Jordan Murch Jordan Murch (born 15 September 1989) is a Scottish footballer who plays for Petershill in the SJFA West Region Premiership. He has previously played in the Scottish Football League First Division for Clyde. Career Murch signed a YTS contrac ...

Jay Needham Jay Charles Needham (born September 30, 1984) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a central defender or defensive midfielder for teams in Norway, Puerto Rico and the United States. College and amateur career Needham wa ...

Gifton Noel-Williams Gifton Ruben Elisha Noel-Williams (born 21 January 1980) is an English former footballer who played for Watford, Stoke and Burnley among other clubs. After a serious knee injury in 1999, he was affected by rheumatoid arthritis for much of the r ...

Dane Saintus Dane Saintus (born March 23, 1987, in Arlington, Texas) is an American soccer player. Career College and amateur Saintus attended Southern Methodist University. In his freshman year, he made 15 appearances and recorded one assist. He started al ...

Shea Salinas Robert O'Shea "Shea" Salinas (born June 24, 1986) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a winger. Career Youth and college After attending Grapevine High School in Grapevine, Texas, Salinas played college soccer at F ...

Chad Smith Chad Gaylord Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who has been the drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1988. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Smith is also the drummer of the h ...

* T. J. Tomasso * Jamie Watson *

Daniel Woolard Daniel Woolard (born May 22, 1984 in Bedford, Texas) is an American former professional soccer player. Early career Woolard played college soccer at Midwestern State University earning First Team All-American honors during his senior season. Afte ...

Year-by-year

New indoor team (2004-2012)

DFW Tornados played in the

Premier Arena Soccer League The Premier Arena Soccer League (PASL) is an indoor soccer league with mostly semi-professional teams; along with a number of amateur teams across North America. The PASL was previously known as the Federation of Sports Arenas (FSA). The PASL logo ...

in the South Central Division. The team played its home games at Arena Athletics in Euless, TX.

Honors

* USL PDL Mid South Division Champions 2001 * USL D-3 Pro League Southern Division Champions 2000 * USISL Pro League Central Division Champions 1996

Head coaches

* Ken Muhall (1986-1989) * Ken Billy Pettigrew (1989-1990) * Caesar Cervin (1991) *

Ed Puskarich Ed Puskarich (born April 4, 1962, in Hanover Park, Illinois) is a retired U.S. soccer Defender (association football), defender who had an extensive career which began in 1984 in the United Soccer League (1984–85), United Soccer League and ended ...

(1998, 2001–2003) * Bernard Brodigan (2004) * Paul Robinson (2005–2010)

Stadia

* Pennington Field;

Bedford, Texas Bedford is a city located in northeast Tarrant County, Texas, in the "Mid-Cities" area between Dallas and Fort Worth. It is a suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth. The population was 46,979 at the 2010 census. Bedford is part of the Hurst-Euless-Bedf ...

(2004–2010) * Pizza Hut Park; Frisco, Texas (2010)

Average attendance

Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive a

* 2005: 207 * 2006: 349 * 2007: 389 * 2008: 320 * 2009: 188 * 2010: 179

References

External links

Official Site
{{Authority control DFW Tornados, USL League Two teams Sports in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Soccer clubs in Dallas Indoor soccer clubs in the United States Association football clubs established in 1986 Association football clubs disestablished in 2010 1986 establishments in Texas 2010 disestablishments in Texas Defunct soccer clubs in Texas