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Clash Team Formation 1996
San Jose was an integral part of the launching of MLS, hosting the league’s inaugural game at Spartan Stadium before a crowd of 31,683 on April 6, 1996. The crowd did not go away disappointed as San Jose won its first game on the first goal in MLS history from Eric Wynalda, defeating D.C. United 1–0. One month later, the club made history again, as they hosted the Los Angeles Galaxy in a match that drew 31,728 fans to Spartan Stadium, setting the record for attendance at a sporting event in the city of San Jose. But Wynalda and Calloway were soon at each other’s throats again, eventually leading to a locker room brawl between Wynalda and John Doyle. The skirmish reached memorable proportions when Wynalda hired an airplane to tow a banner demanding Calloway’s firing.
In 1994, Daniel Van Voorhis, former owner of the American Professional Soccer League’s San Jose Hawks, successfully led a San Jose bidding group that was awarded one of Major League Soccer’s inaugural teams. At that time, he handed over all existing Hawks player contracts, front-office resources and the rights to play in San Jose State University’s Spartan Stadium to MLS in exchange for Type C stock in the league. He also became the franchise’s investor/operator until outside concerns forced him to divest himself of these positions prior to the league’s launch and accept a buyout from the league, leaving the franchise league-owned for several years. Meanwhile, a direct connection to the earlier Earthquakes came in the person of Peter Bridgwater, named as general manager of the MLS team. Although Bridgwater still owned the rights to the Earthquakes name and logo, the team became known as the Clash at the urging of Nike, a major investor in MLS.
Established
1994
City
San Jose
League History
1996 – Present / Major League Soccer
Team History
2000 – 2005, 2008 – Present / San Jose Earthquakes
1996 – 1999 / San Jose Clash
Nickname
Clash – The Clash, represented one of the names created by Nike to appeal to young soccer fans. The idea? To mark soccer as vibrant, of the current era (that is to say, the extreme 1990s), and decidedly American.
Championship
MLS Cups 0
2003, 2001
Stadium
2015 – Present / Earthquakes Stadium
2008 – 2014 / Buck Shaw Stadium
1996 – 2005 / Spartan Stadium
Owner
2007 – Present / Lewis Wolff and John J. Fisher (Earthquakes Soccer, LLC)
2003 – 2005 / Anschutz Entertainment Group
2002 – 2003 / Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment and Anschutz Entertainment Group
2001 – 2002 / Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment
1999 – 2000 / Robert Kraft
1996 -1998 / Major League Soccer
Retired Number
*Blue is this team’s history