With all of the certainty a 12-year-old can muster, I was quick to dismiss my aunt Mary’s tale as just another example of Seattle silliness.
It was the summer of 1974, and I remember laughing at the notion that Seattleites were flocking by the thousands to watch the Sounders play soccer. Worldly sports fan that I was at such a ripe young age, I had a hard time fathoming such behavior.
Then came the summer of ’75.
On Friday, May 2, 1975, my uncle Jim took me and a friend to Civic Stadium. We were among the 8,131 curious witnesses to the Portland Timbers’ first match in the North American Soccer League.
The Timbers didn’t score that night. Worse yet to us, the Sounders did, winning 1-0.
But at age 13 in a city with only the fledgling Trail Blazers to follow, there was a magic to attending a live professional game — even one I didn’t really understand.
With surprising swiftness, that magic captivated this region. A team made up mostly of British pros embraced the role of soccer ambassadors, charming new fans off the field — and (this was their real secret) winning a lot on the pitch.
Barely three months after the debut, a crowd of 31,523 and a local TV audience celebrated when Tony Betts’ overtime goal knocked the Sounders from the playoffs.
The next day I headed to the stadium early to get tickets for the semifinal match against St. Louis. At least I thought I was early.
I joined the ticket line in front of the Multnomah Athletic Club on the south side of the stadium, and snaked with it around the east side of the park, arriving at the north side ticket booth (maybe taking cuts, that part is a bit fuzzy) in time to snag one of the last tickets. My dedication was rewarded when the Timbers beat the Spirit 2-1 before an announced crowd of 33,503.
The first-year Timbers were going to Soccer Bowl 1975.
To this day I am convinced the narrow playing field at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, Calif., kept the Timbers from completing that magical season as champions. But the loss to Tampa Bay didn’t dampen the region’s enthusiasm for soccer.
John Bain, who played for the Timbers from 1978 to 1982, experienced the passion first hand.
“Just a great atmosphere,” recalls the NASL Timbers’ all-time scoring leader. “Through 1980, there was a real good feel for soccer here.”
The NASL Timbers never matched their initial success on the field in the seven seasons that followed before the demise of the NASL left America without a top-flight soccer league — and left Portland without a second big-league pro team.
For me there were plenty of unforgettable moments: Watching the Timbers and Sounders battle in front of crowds upwards of 50,000 at the Kingdome. Watching the great Pelé, in his final competitive match, help the Cosmos beat the Sounders in the 1977 championship match at Civic Stadium. “Timber Jim” Serrill climbing stadium light polls and sawing log slices. The drama of the unique NASL shootout tiebreakers. The post-match parties where fans and players mingled.
When Bain lists his fondest memories as a Timber, he mentions scoring a playoff winner in overtime to beat the Washington Diplomats, and helping the Timbers sweep the Vancouver Whitecaps to reach the 1978 NASL semifinals, where they lost to the Cosmos.
The Timbers will play before a full house of almost 19,000 fans in a renovated stadium on Thursday. That the first-year MLS team is close to selling out all of its home matches is a testament to the efforts of Bain, Clive Charles, Jimmy Conway, Bernie Fagan, Mick Hoban, and others — guys who came to Portland to play soccer and stayed to build the sport.
Bain said Timbers fans of the 1970s were plenty passionate, if not always soccer savvy.
“There was a spirit of fun and newness to the game,” Bain said. “Now the fans and supporters have a much better grasp of game.”
Bain helped with that, too.
After retiring as a player, the native of Scotland returned to Portland and in 1991 and 1992 coached Mountain View High School to the first two of three consecutive boys soccer state titles for the Thunder. These days he coaches with the Beaverton, Ore., youth club Westside Metros, and looks forward to having the Timbers back in America’s top soccer league.
“Being in the top-tier league again — that’s what’s exciting about it,” Bain said.
He is also thrilled to see the Timbers name return to prominence.
“We have a little bit of history,” Bain said.
It’s a history of boom and bust, of heartache and heroes.
Snicker if you will, like I did at age 12. Skepticism is expected.
But for those of us who experienced the NASL Timbers, this is a chance to recapture some magic.
So allow us cross our fingers and dream that four decades from now area soccer fans will still be supporting the Timbers in an MLS that has strong roots in our community and the American sports landscape.
Paul Danzer covers the Portland Timbers for The Columbian. Reach him at 360-735-4521 or paul.danzer@columbian.com.
