The Las Vegas Quicksilvers were 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 that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) during the 1977 season. The team was based in

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 Veg ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

and played their home games at Las Vegas Stadium. After the 1977 season, the team relocated to

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 eighth most populous city in the United States ...

and became 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 ( ...

Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of ...

, considered by many "Africa's greatest-ever player" played seventeen games for the Quicksilvers scoring two goals.

History

Origins

The team that would become the Quicksilvers was founded in January 1974 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 at ...

when 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 ba ...

added six expansion teams following the 1973 season. After two seasons in Baltimore, the team was sold and moved to

becoming the

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 ...

. After finishing last in the Southern Division for the

1976 North American Soccer League season Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1976. This was the 9th season of the NASL. Overview Twenty teams contested the league. The Toronto Metros-Croatia defeated the Minnesota Kicks in the finals on August 28 to win the championship ...

, the team announced it would move to

1977 NASL Season and Demise

The Quicksilvers opened the season on April 9, 1977, at home with a 1-0 win against 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 Independ ...

with 11,896 fans in attendance at Las Vegas Stadium. The game was the tenth meeting in history between

and

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 ...

, considered by many to be the two finest players of the era. After starting the season with nine wins and three loses, the team lost seven of their next eight games; head coach

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 ...

was fired and replaced by

Jim Fryatt James Fryatt (2 September 1940 – 5 June 2020) was an English footballer who played as a striker. During his playing career he was nicknamed ''Pancho''. Football League A regular scorer for all of his club sides, the stockily built forward w ...

. The team finished the season in last place of the Pacific Conference Southern Division with eleven wins and fifteen losses and averaging 7,092 fans a game. In late October 1977, it was reported the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

considered purchasing the team. However, less than a week later the Clark County District Attorney filed civil suit against the team for deceptive trade and false advertising. The

Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is a government agency and the official destination marketing organization for Southern Nevada. It was founded by the Nevada Legislature in 1955. The LVCVA owns and operates the Las Vegas ...

also threatened the team with legal action over $32,000 in unpaid rent for the Las Vegas Stadium. In December, the team was sold and moved to San Diego becoming the

Year-by-year

Coaches

Honors

NASL All-Stars * 1977:

Wolfgang Sühnholz Wolfgang Sühnholz (14 September 1946 – 27 December 2019) was a German-American soccer coach and former player. He won in the 1971–72 Bundesliga with Bayern Munich and in 1976 the North-American Soccer Bowl with Toronto Metros-Croatia. Late ...

''(1st team)'';

Humberto Coelho Humberto Manuel de Jesus Coelho (born 20 April 1950) is a Portuguese retired Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager. In a career mainly associated with S.L. Benfica, Benfica, the Defender (association footba ...

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 ...

''(2nd team)'' Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame members * 2019:

References

{{North American Soccer League (1966–85) Sports teams in Las Vegas North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams Defunct soccer clubs in Nevada 1976 establishments in Nevada

1978 disestablishments in Nevada Soccer clubs in Nevada Association football clubs disestablished in 1978 Association football clubs established in 1976 Sam Boyd Stadium