We continue our march towards the upcoming 50th
anniversary reunion of the North American Soccer League (as
part the rechristening of the National Soccer Hall of Fame in
Frisco, TX on October 19-21, 2018), with one of the coaching
pioneers from the league’s heyday, Gordon Jago (A
Soccer Pioneer: The Autobiography of Gordon Jago).
After a sparkling youth career with England’s Charlton Athletic
and the national Under-20s, Jago quickly segued to coaching in the
mid-1960s as an assistant coach with First Division Fulham – where
he, during a summer exhibition in Oakland, CA, became smitten with
the idea of professional soccer in the US.
Persuaded by eventual NASL co-founder (and Episode #74 guest) Clive Toye,
Jago jumped the pond in to become head coach of the newly
consolidated league’s 1968 Baltimore Bays, whose beer baron/owner
Jerold Hoffberger soon gave up on the team, the league and the
sport by the following season. After a brief stint overseeing
the US National team later that year for World Cup ’70 qualifying,
Jago returned to England to hone his coaching skills with Queens
Park Rangers (who he guided to First Division promotion in 1973)
and Millwall (promoted from Third Division to Second in 1976).
But it was the US for good
when Tampa Bay Rowdies owner George Strawbridge came calling in
1978 to replace the recently absconded Eddie Firmani as the
successful Florida NASL franchise’s head coach – a team he promptly
led to back-to-back Soccer Bowl championship games with perennial
league all-stars like Rodney Marsh, Oscar Fabbiani, Steve Wegerle,
Mike Connell, and John Gorman.
It was also there
(actually, St. Petersburg’s cozy Bayfront Center) where Jago got
his first taste of the professional indoor game (including an NASL
indoor championship in 1980) – experience that would later serve as
foundation for a nearly 20-year coaching and management career
leading the formidable Dallas Sidekicks, netting league
championships across the MISL (1987), CISL (1993), Premier Soccer
Alliance (1998), and World Indoor Soccer League (2001).
Check out all of our great
sponsors this week, including: MyBookie, SportsHistoryCollectibles.com, and OldSchoolShirts.com!
