Portland Timbers

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Portland Timbers

Full name

Portland Timbers

Nickname(s)

The Boys or The Lads

Founded

1975 reconstituted 2001

Ground

PGE Park,
Portland, Oregon

Capacity

19,566

Chairman

Gavin Wilkinson

Manager

Gavin Wilkinson

League

USL First Division

2006

11th





Home colours





Away colours

The Portland Timbers are Portland, Oregon's entry in the USL First Division, the second tier of professional soccer in the United States. The club was formed in 2001, and took the name of the local franchise which was an entry in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1982. Their jerseys are green and white. The team's mascot is a grizzled lumberjack named Timber Jim (aka: Jim Serrill). The Timbers play their home games in Portland's PGE Park.

1 NASL
- 1.1 NASL Year by Year
2 WSL/APSL
- 2.1 WSL/APSL Year by Year
3 A-League/USL
4 Club Rivalries
5 The fans
6 Current squad
7 Head coaches
8 Notable players
9 External links

[edit] NASL

In the inaugural 1975 season, the Timbers made it all the way to the championship game Soccer Bowl but were beat by the Tampa Bay Rowdies 2-0.

[edit] NASL Year by Year

Year	League	W	L	T	Pts	Reg. Season	Playoffs
1975	NASL	16	6	—	138	1st, Pacific Division	Won Quarterfinal (Seattle) Won Semifinal (St. Louis) Lost Soccer Bowl '75 (Tampa Bay)
1976	NASL	8	16	—	71	4th, Pacific Conference, Western Division	Did not qualify
1977	NASL	10	16	—	98	4th, Pacific Conference, Western Division	Did not qualify
1978	NASL	20	10	—	167	2nd, National Conference, Western Division	Won 1st Round (Washington) Won Conference Semifinal (Vancouver) Lost Conference Championship (Cosmos)
1979	NASL	11	19	—	122	4th, National Conference, Western Division	Did not qualify
1979/80	NASL Indoor	Did not enter
1980	NASL	15	17	—	133	4th, National Conference, Western Division	Did not qualify
1980/81	NASL Indoor	10	18	—	—	2nd, Western Division	Lost 1st Round (Chicago)
1981	NASL	17	15	—	141	3rd, Northwest	Lost 1st Round (San Diego)
1981/82	NASL Indoor	7	11	—	—	2nd, National Conference, West Division	Did not qualify
1982	NASL	14	18	—	122	4th, Western Division	Did not qualify

[edit] WSL/APSL

In 1985, a local amateur Portland club, F.C. Portland, became a charter member of the Western Soccer League (WSL). In 1989, the team adopted the name Portland Timbers, becoming the second Timbers team. This Timbers team lasted only two years, 1989 and 1990, before folding. However, in 1990, the WSL merged with the American Soccer League to form the American Professional Soccer League the predecessor of the A-League. While this iteration of the Timbers lasted only two years, it had five significant players, national team goalkeeper and University of Portland alumnus, Kasey Keller, former NASL Timbers player John Bain, who also coached the team, Scott Benedetti who would return as a star of the A-League/USL Timbers, and future MLS player Shawn Medved and finally, Peter Hattrup who is best known as a member of the Seattle Sounders.

For more information see F.C. Portland.

[edit] WSL/APSL Year by Year

Year	League	Record	Goals For	Goals Against	Points	Regular Season	Post Season
1989	WSL	11-5-0	32	25	92	2nd, North Division	Did not qualify
1990	APSL	10-10 -0	42	36	99	4th, West Conference, North Division	Did not qualify

[edit] A-League/USL

[edit] 2003 and earlier

Through the 2003 season, the Timbers compiled an inconsistent record, qualifying for league playoffs two out of the three years. They have, however, established themselves as one of the best-drawing teams in the A-league, averaging attendance above 5,000 in each of their four years of existence.

[edit] 2004

In the 2004 season, the Timbers finished first in the Western Conference, with a record of 18 wins, 7 losses, and 3 draws (57 points). However, they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by their long-standing rival, the Seattle Sounders.

[edit] 2005

2005 proved to be a bittersweet year for the Portland Timbers. A sweet end of the year playoff run ended by a bitter playoff loss to once again arch-rival Seattle Sounders. However, many exciting moments went along with the 2005 season:

A 6-1 thumping of the Atlanta Silverbacks on September 8, 2005
Portland being the only team to give the Montreal Impact a home loss
Timbers players Scot Thompson, Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar, and Dan Antoniuk all won league awards

[edit] 2006

2006 was a very disappointing season for many reasons for the Portland Timbers, and their fans.

The team finishing tied for last in the table with a franchise worst 7-15-6 (27 points) record.
Offensive production was last in the league as the club only netted 25 goals.
Losing their derby with heated rival Seattle Sounders.

[edit] A-League/USL Year by Year

Year	League	Reg. Season	Playoffs	Open Cup
2001	USL A-League	4th, Western	Quarterfinals	Did not qualify
2002	USL A-League	5th, Pacific	1st Round	Did not qualify
2003	USL A-League	3rd, Pacific	Did not qualify	3rd Round
2004	USL A-League	1st, Western	Quarterfinals	4th Round
2005	USL First Division	5th	Quarterfinals	4th Round
2006	USL First Division	11th	Did not qualify	3rd Round
2007	USL First Division	N/A	N/A	Qualified

[edit] Club Rivalries

Seattle Sounders

The Portland and Seattle soccer rivalry dates back to the NASL days of the 1970's and 1980's. In this very intense American soccer rivalry, gameday activities between these clubs usually involve heavy taunting from the crowd, items being thrown onto the pitch, and players clashing with one another. Several cards being given out are a common sight in these derby matches. The two club supporters groups, Timbers Army & Emerald City Supporters, have an extreme distaste for each other, which dates back from when the Timbers entered the league in 2001. Both teams compete in the three way Cascadia Cup derby.

Vancouver Whitecaps

The Portland Timbers also have a rivalry with their Cascadian Cup opponent, the Vancouver Whitecaps. Although less intense than the Seattle rivalry, Whitecap-Timber games always involve exciting soccer that the fans cheer extensively about. Both teams compete in the three way Cascadia Cup derby.

[edit] The fans

Timbers fans engage in great amounts of cultural appropriation. The Timbers' hardcore fans are known as the Timbers Army. The lead fan is Timber Jim, a wild man who wields a live chainsaw around the field, cutting off a slab of a log each time the team scores. Timber Jim is often seen running and climbing around PGE Park during the games.