2004 USL Hall of Fame Class Announced

Published on October 18, 2004 under USL First Division (USL-1) News Release

TAMPA, FL – The 2004 Inductees for the United Soccer Leagues Hall of Fame were announced Monday. Eight individuals will be honored as Builders, seven franchises will be recognized as 10+ Clubs and Bret Hall will be inducted as a Coach at the organization's Annual Operations Meeting November 4-6.

Being inducted as Builders are Jere Irwin and Hector Vega (Yakima Reds), Marcie and Doc Laumann (Hampton Roads Piranhas), Bob Lenarduzzi (Vancouver Whitecaps), Jeff Robbins (Spokane Shadow), Joey Saputo (Montreal Impact) and Larry Smyth (Central Coast Roadrunners). The seven 10+ Clubs are the Cascade Surge, Hampton Roads Piranhas, Long Island Lady Riders, Rhode Island Stingrays, Spokane Shadow, West Michigan Edge and Yakima Reds.

Hall was the lone coach or player on the ballot to receive 70 percent of the vote from the Hall of Fame Election Committee, which is comprised of former inductees. Players Marcelo Balboa, Julie Foudy, Manny Lagos and Pat Onstad received over 50 percent in yes votes.

The Hampton Roads Piranhas and Long Island Lady Riders become the first W-League inductees into the Hall of Fame as 10+ Clubs. Both were among the 17 teams that took the field for the league's first official season of play in 1995. Long Island went on to win the championship that season.

Smyth, owner and general manager of the Central Coast Roadrunners, was voted into the Hall of Fame as a Builder, joining the seven automatic inductees who reached the 10-year plateau.

For more information about the USL Hall of Fame, including previous classes, visit USLsoccer.com's USL Hall of Fame section: http://www.uslsoccer.com/aboutusl/uslhalloffame/index_E.html

Inductee Biographies

Bret Hall (Chicago Stingers 1998, Chicago Sockers 1999-00, Chicago Fire Reserves 2001-02)

Hall is the only head coach in USL outdoor history to win three consecutive USL championships, leading the Chicago Stingers to the 1998 D3 Pro League championship and the team's successor Chicago Sockers to two straight Premier Development League titles in 1999 and 2000. He was also the initial coach of the Chicago Fire Reserves when the team replaced the Sockers in 2001. Through five seasons, he had a regular season mark of 67-21-2, a postseason record of 14-2 and a US Open Cup record of 3-2-1 that included fantastic performances in 1998 and 2000. The Stingers upset Hershey (A-League) in 1998, but the Sockers made headlines in 2000 as they and Mid Michigan were the first two PDL teams to advance past MLS clubs. Chicago tied Kansas City 1-1 and advanced on penalty kicks, falling to eventual champion Chicago Fire 1-0 in the following round. Hall's teams were renowned for their defense, never finishing worse than second in goals allowed and giving up just five goals in 15 playoff games over the first four years, including a perfect shutout run in 2000.

Jere Irwin and Hector Vega (Yakima Reds 1995-present)

Jere Irwin and Hector Vega have been the principle owners of the Yakima Reds from the club's inception in 1995 and have steadily improved the club into becoming one of the staples of the Northwest Division despite many limitations and bumps in the road. Vega also served as the club's first head coach in 1995, but was only able to lead the team to a 4-16 record as a member of the professional third division.

Doc and Marcie Laumann (Hampton Roads Piranhas 1995-present)

The husband-and-wife team of the Laumann's has made the Piranhas not only one of the most respected franchises in the W-League, but also in USL. Marcie has served as a member of the W-League Executive Committee and the USL Competition Committee. She was recognized as the W-League Executive of the Year in 2001 with the team receiving the W-League Organization of the Year award in 2003. Marcie was also the first recipient of the Archie Moylan Award, which recognizes outstanding courage or humanitarianism. She was honored in 2000 for her perseverance through difficulties stemming from her battle against Juvenile Onset Diabetes. Standing by Marcie's side, Doc has helped keep the team running smoothly through the years without recognition.

Bob Lenarduzzi (Vancouver Whitecaps 1993-present)

Bob Lenarduzzi is arguably the most influential soccer administrator in British Columbia and one of the most respected in all of Canada. His name is synonymous with Vancouver professional soccer whether it be associated with the NASL Whitecaps moniker, which he played under and the team adopted in 2001, or its previous name, 86ers, which the franchise was founded as and used when joining the A-League in 1993. Lenarduzzi has made the Whitecaps a flagship franchise in USL with the addition of the W-League team and its Super Y-League program in 2001. He has survived several ownership changes and times of serious financial difficulties to build the club into one of the premier organizations in USL.

Jeff Robbins (Spokane Shadow 1995-present)

The face of the Premier Development League Northwest Division, Spokane Shadow General Manager Jeff Robbins helped found the team in 1995 and has guided it to its status as one of the top clubs on and off the field in the entire league. Under his leadership, the team has consistently finished in the top four in the league in attendance over the last eight seasons, finishing first three times, with an average just over 1,500 a year. A longtime member of the PDL Executive Committee, Robbins has also served on the USL Competition Committee since 2001.

Joey Saputo (Montreal Impact 1993-present)

Joey Saputo has been the key figure for professional soccer in Montreal since 1993 when he led the founding of the Impact by the Saputo Group. The Impact quickly became one of the top franchises on and off the field. The team was sold prior to the 2001 season, but Saputo came to the rescue of the franchise just over a year later when the new ownership group ceased funding the team in the midst of the 2002 season. From near extinction, Saputo has resurrected the team to become a tremendous success and one of the top draws in the A-League and in Montreal sports, culminating in a sold-out crowd of over 13,000 witnessing the team winning its second A-League championship in 2004.

Larry Smyth (Central Coast Roadrunners 1996-02)

From their founding in 1996, the Central Coast Roadrunners were the class of the Premier Development League in California and Smyth was the key factor. He led the club to success at the gate and on the field. The team won PDL championships back-to-back in 1996 and 1997 and hosted several playoff tournaments including the 1997 championship. Smyth was also a guiding influence in the growth and development of the PDL through his membership of the Executive Committee. Although the club ceased operations in San Luis Obispo in 2002, Smyth oversaw the transition of the club's franchise rights to the Fresno Fuego, who continue to carry on the tradition of representing the PDL in an exemplary manner. Smyth is the first person to be inducted into the USL Hall of Fame via vote in the Builder category, which has an automatic induction for owners and executives who have served 10 years in the USL.

Cascade Surge

Quietly plugging away despite limited success on the field over the years, the Cascade Surge franchise has been one of the constants in the Northwest Division of the Premier Development League. Founded as the Oregon Surge in the Pro League in 1995, the team finished its inaugural season with a postseason appearance at 14-6. As the region developed, the team joined the PDL in 1997, making the playoffs for a second time with an 8-8 record before enduring a four-year postseason drought. In 2002, the Surge ended the playoff absence with a 9-9 record. They improved to 11-5-2 in 2003 and made the playoffs for the third straight year in 2004 with an 11-4-1 mark, winning their division for the first time in team history.

Hampton Roads Piranhas

One of the original 17 franchises in the W-League's first official season in 1995, the Hampton Roads Piranhas franchise has seen its ups and downs on the field, but has long been one of the most respected franchises, hosting the W-League Championship twice. The club was recognized as the Organization of the Year in 2003 and owner Marcie Laumann was honored as Executive of the Year in 2001. The team was winless in its opening campaign (0-6), but rebounded in 1996 to finish 5-5 and went on to make the playoffs in 1997 at 7-3. When the league split in 1998, the team reached the W-2 Final despite finishing the regular season 5-7. The Piranhas finished 8-4 the following season and advanced to the league semifinals. Growing off the field, the franchise moved to W-1 in 2000 and finished out of the playoffs at 7-6-1. In 2001, the club was named the host of the W-League Championship tournament and finished the season 10-2-2, but fell in the semifinals. After an 8-5-1 season and playoff appearance in 2002, the team was again named the W-League Championship host and went on to record a 12-0-0 mark on the season en route to winning the division for the first time and, more importantly, the W-League Championship. At 12-1-1 in 2004, the Piranhas won the division for the second year running.

Long Island Lady Riders

One of the original 17 franchises in the W-League's first official season in 1995, the Long Island Lady Riders are one of the most successful teams on and off the field. The Lady Riders won the inaugural championship after going 9-1 on the season and won a second title in 1997 after missing the playoffs in their sophomore campaign. The team has missed the postseason only twice and has never finished with more than five losses in any season for an overall regular season record of 98-28-2 and has a playoff record of 9-6-1. The franchise has consistently been among the league leaders in attendance with an average of 956 per season over the last five year years and was honored as the Organization of the Year in 2000 when they finished second at 1,121. The club added a Super Y-League program in 2001.

Rhode Island Stingrays

Founded as a member of the Pro League in 1995, the Rhode Island Stingrays played at the third division level until 2001, making the playoffs three straight years from 1996-98. After missing the postseason for three consecutive seasons, longtime coach and general manager Mario Periera took over ownership of the club and moved it to the Premier Development League, where it has seen steady improvement competitively, posting 10-win seasons for the first time since 1998. The club has participated in the Super Y-League and launched a W-League team in 2004.

Spokane Shadow

One of the flagship franchises in the Premier Development League, the Spokane Shadow were founded in 1995 and have been one of the league's most successful teams on and off the field. The team has consistently finished in the top four in the league in attendance over the last eight seasons, finishing first three times, with an average just over 1,500 a year. The team has hosted numerous playoff tournaments and the 1999 PDL Championship tournament, during which the team reached the final. On the field, the team has won five regular season division titles, has never had a losing season and has missed the postseason only once, posting an all-time regular season record of 112-45-7.

West Michigan Edge

Founded in 1995 as the Grand Rapids Explosion, the West Michigan Edge franchise has seen several changes over the years, starting with a change to the West Michigan Explosion during an ownership transfer that included current CEO Bob Dykstra in 1999. In 2000, the club changed its moniker to the Edge and in 2004 added a W-League team. The changes in 2000 coincided with a shift in the team's success on the field in a positive direction. The team, which previously had 13 wins in its first five seasons, finished 9-9 to make the postseason and then went on to post 13 and 11 wins the next two years, respectively.

Yakima Reds

Quietly plugging away despite limited success on the field over the years, the Yakima Reds franchise has been one of the constants in the Northwest Division of the Premier Development League. Founded in the Pro League in 1995, the team finished its inaugural season with a 4-16 record, but rebounded to finish 8-8 the following year. As the region developed, the team joined the PDL in 1997, making the playoffs for the first time with a 7-9 record. In 1998, the team finished 9-7 and made a brief run in the playoffs. After finishing 6-10 in 1999, the club bounced back to win the regular season division title with a 12-5-1 record and advance to the league semifinals. Since reaching the PDL Championship tournament in 2000, however, the team has been unable to reach the playoffs despite the club seeing growth off the field, which included the addition of a Super Y-League program in 2001.

USL First Division Stories from October 18, 2004

• Timbers loan Alvarez, Antoniuk to MISL - Portland Timbers
• 2004 USL Hall of Fame Class Announced - USL-1

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