Chris Dangerfield
Christopher George Dangerfield (born 9 August 1955) is an English former footballer who spent most of his career in the United States.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christopher George Dangerfield[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 9 August 1955[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Coleshill, Warwickshire, England[1] | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward / Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1972–1976 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1975–1976 | → Portland Timbers (loan) | 36 | (6) |
| 1976 | Port Vale | 2 | (0) |
| 1976–1977 | Coventry City | 0 | (0) |
| 1977 | Las Vegas Quicksilvers | 16 | (2) |
| 1977 | Team Hawaii | 6 | (0) |
| 1978 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 1 | (0) |
| 1978 | California Surf | 22 | (0) |
| 1979–1981 | Los Angeles Aztecs | 99 | (69) |
| 1982 | San Jose Earthquakes | 45 | (25) |
| 1982–1984 | Golden Bay Earthquakes (indoor) | 75 | (57) |
| 1984–1988 | Minnesota Strikers (indoor) | 159 | (60) |
| 1985 | San Jose Earthquakes | ||
| 1988 | San Jose Earthquakes | ||
| San Jose Oaks | |||
| Total | 461+ | (219+) | |
| National team | |||
| 1973–1974 | England U-20 | 3 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1992–1996 | San Jose Oaks | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
He began his career in England before playing ten seasons in the North American Soccer League and at least one in the Western Soccer Alliance. A former England under-20 international, he played for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Portland Timbers, Port Vale, Las Vegas Quicksilvers, Team Hawaii, Tulsa Roughnecks, California Surf, Los Angeles Aztecs, San Jose Earthquakes / Golden Bay Earthquakes, Minnesota Strikers, and San Jose Oaks.
Playing career
Dangerfield grew up in Sutton Coldfield and attended John Willmott School.[2] Preferring rugby as a youth, he began playing football around fourteen.[2] In 1972, he began his career with Wolverhampton Wanderers, but made no first-team appearances.[2] In 1975, he went on loan with the expansion Portland Timbers of the North American Soccer League, and scored four goals in 14 games in the 1975 season.[3] Timbers reached Soccer Bowl '75, losing 2–0 to the Tampa Bay Rowdies at the Spartan Stadium. He was kept on by manager Vic Crowe for the 1976 season, scoring another two goals in 22 appearances.[3] He was then released from his contract at Molineux by Wolves boss Bill McGarry.[2] He returned to England to have a trial with Port Vale in August 1976, but only made two substitute appearances at Vale Park in the Third Division for Roy Sproson's "Valiants".[1] He then signed with Coventry City, where he spent the entire 1976–77 season with the team's reserves in The Central League and then turned down a new contract offer from manager Jimmy Hill to search for first team football elsewhere.[2]
In 1977, he moved permanently to the United States, and signed with Derek Trevis's Las Vegas Quicksilvers, who boasted the legendary Eusébio on their playing staff. Dangerfield scored two goals in 16 games in the 1977 season.[3] He was traded to Team Hawaii, playing six games.[3] At the end of the season both Quicksilvers and Team Hawaii were disbanded. In 1978, he began the season with the Tulsa Roughnecks, but saw time in only one game before being sent to the California Surf, where he made 22 appearances.[3] In 1979, he signed with the Los Angeles Aztecs, scoring nine goals in 22 games in his first season at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.[3] He then scored 15 goals in 12 games in the 1979–80 Indoor season.[3] He scored two goals in 19 games in the 1980 season, before hitting 35 goals in 16 matches in the 1980–81 Indoor season.[3] He scored eight goals in 30 appearances in the 1981 season.[3]
Dangerfield moved to the San Jose Earthquakes in 1982, and scored 16 goals in 15 games in the 1981–82 Indoor season and then nine goals in 30 appearances in the 1982 season.[3] At the end of the 1982 season, the Earthquakes were renamed the Golden Bay Earthquakes. They entered the Major Indoor Soccer League for the winter indoor season. Dangerfield was the 15th leading scorer with 48 games, 52 goals, 20 assists, and 72 points.[4] The Earthquakes returned to the NASL for the 1983 outdoor seasons. Dangerfield injured his knee during the 1983–84 NASL indoor season and lost the entire 1984 outdoor season. In February 1985, the Kansas City Comets of the Major Indoor Soccer League made an offer to purchase Dangerfield's contract from the Earthquakes, but the deal fell through when Dangerfield was unable to pass a physical.[5]
In March 1985, he signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Strikers of the MISL.[6] He scored four goals in seven games in 1984–85, 24 goals in 47 games in 1985–86, 20 goals in 49 appearances in 1986–87, and hit 12 goals in 52 matches in the 1987–88 season.[3] In June 1985, he returned to the renamed San Jose Earthquakes for the Western Soccer Alliance.[7] He played one more season, 1988, for the Earthquakes in the Western Soccer Alliance after which he retired from playing professionally. However, he continued to play for the San Jose Oaks, eventually also becoming the team's coach.
Coaching career
In 1992, he became the coach of the amateur San Jose Oaks, taking them to the 1992 U.S. Open Cup title.[8] He remained in that position until 1996.
He holds a USSF "National-A" coaching license and has coached for the De Anza Soccer Club of Cupertino, Saratoga, West San Jose, area of California, and has worked as the head coach of teams in the US Soccer Development Academy League until the end of the 2011 season.[9][10]
After coaching for De Anza Force's club and Academy teams, Chris went on to work with Comcast SportsNet Bay Area as a color commentator for the San Jose Earthquakes, working in that role from 1996 to 1999 and returning to the role in 2014.[11] He was inducted into the San Jose Earthquakers Hall of Fame in March 2018.[12]
Statistics
Source:[13]
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Port Vale | 1976–77 | Third Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Portland Timbers (loan) | 1975 | NASL | 14 | 4 | – | – | – | – | 14 | 4 |
| 1976 | NASL | 22 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 22 | 2 | |
| Total | 36 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 6 | ||
| Las Vegas Quicksilvers | 1977 | NASL | 16 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 16 | 2 |
| Team Hawaii | 1977 | NASL | 6 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 6 | 0 |
| Tulsa Roughnecks | 1978 | NASL | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 |
| California Surf | 1978 | NASL | 22 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 22 | 0 |
| Los Angeles Aztecs | 1979 | NASL | 22 | 9 | – | – | – | – | 22 | 9 |
| 1979–80 | NASL Indoor | 12 | 15 | – | – | – | – | 12 | 15 | |
| 1980 | NASL | 19 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 19 | 2 | |
| 1980–81 | NASL Indoor | 16 | 35 | – | – | – | – | 16 | 35 | |
| 1981 | NASL | 30 | 8 | – | – | – | – | 30 | 8 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| San Jose Earthquakes | 1981–82 | NASL Indoor | 15 | 16 | – | – | – | – | 15 | 16 |
| 1982 | NASL | 30 | 9 | – | – | – | – | 30 | 9 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Golden Bay Earthquakes | 1982–83 | MISL | 48 | 52 | – | – | – | – | 48 | 52 |
| 1983 | NASL | 30 | 5 | – | – | – | – | 30 | 5 | |
| 1984 | NASL | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 78 | 57 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 57 | ||
| Minnesota Strikers | 1984–85 | MISL | 11 | 4 | – | – | – | – | 11 | 4 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 1985 | WSL | ||||||||
| Minnesota Strikers | 1985–86 | MISL | 47 | 24 | – | – | – | – | 47 | 24 |
| 1986–87 | MISL | 49 | 20 | – | – | – | – | 49 | 20 | |
| 1987–88 | MISL | 52 | 12 | – | – | – | – | 52 | 12 | |
| Total | 148 | 56 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 148 | 56 | ||
| San Jose Earthquakes | 1988 | WSA | ||||||||
Honours
- Individual
- San Jose Earthquakes Hall of Fame inductee: March 2018[12]
- Portland Timbers
- Soccer Bowl runner-up: 1975
- San Jose Earthquakes
- Western Soccer Alliance runner-up: 1988
- San Jose Oaks
- US Open Cup champion: 1992
References
- Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 76. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
- Bamforth, Charlie. "Star-laden Travels of Molineux Reserve". wolvesheroes.com. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- "Stats". nasljerseys.com. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- "The Year in American Soccer – 1983". Archived from the original on 17 June 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
- "Here's a quick peek ahead at playoff picture" Evening Tribune (San Diego) Tuesday, 19 February 1985
- "Cooper blasts MISL officials – what's new?" Evening Tribune (San Diego) Tuesday, 12 March 1985
- "EARTHQUAKES SIGN TWO FORMER QUAKES" San Jose Mercury News (CA) Monday, 3 June 1985
- 1992 U.S. Open Cup final
- "De Anza Force U-17/18". ussda.demosphere.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
- "De Anza Force U-17/18 (2011–2012)". ussda.demosphere.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
- "Quakes, Comcast SportsNet unveil 2014 broadcast schedule". sjearthquakes.com. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
- "Chris Dangerfield Elected to Earthquakes Hall of Fame". sjearthquakes.com. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
- Chris Dangerfield at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)