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MLS Portland Timbers

Timbers' Caleb Porter Receives Sportsperson of the Year Award at Oregon Sports Awards

March 9, 2014 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Portland Timbers News Release


PORTLAND, Ore. - Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter was awarded the Slats Gill Award for Sportsperson of the Year as part of the Oregon Sports Awards, it was announced Sunday evening at the Oregon Sports Awards show held in Beaverton, Ore.

The Sportsperson of the Year, an award named after legendary Oregon State University coach and administrator Slats Gill, is given to an outstanding coach, administrator or organization from an Oregon-based team at any level of competition during the calendar year.

Under Porter, the Timbers assembled one of the biggest turnaround seasons in MLS history in 2013. In his first year as the club's head coach, Porter helped guide the Timbers to a 23-point improvement in points and an MLS-record 43-goal improvement in goal differential over the team's 2012 totals. The 2013 MLS Coach of the Year, Porter's winning percentage (.632) in 2013 ranked among the best in league history for first-year MLS head coaches, and the Timbers' 15-game unbeaten streak during the 2013 regular season set the mark for the longest by an MLS head coach in his first full season at the helm.

Among Porter's achievements in 2013, Portland finished as the top seed in the Western Conference and qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since joining the league in 2011. By defeating rival Seattle Sounders FC in the Western Conference Semifinal, the Timbers became just the fifth club in MLS history to reach the conference championship in their MLS Cup Playoff debut. With a first-place finish in the Western Conference during the 2013 regular season, the Timbers qualified for the 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League. Additionally, the Timbers made their deepest run in club history in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 2013, reaching the semifinals of the tournament.

In 2013, the Timbers ranked third in MLS in goals scored and conceded the second-fewest goals at 33, giving the club a league-best, plus-21 goal differential. The club also led the league with 15 shutouts, tied for third-most in a single season in MLS history. During the 2013 regular season, the Timbers assembled one of the longest unbeaten streaks in MLS history at 15 games, and also put together a league-best, nine-match unbeaten run on the road.

With the honor, Porter, one of three finalists for the Sportsperson of the Year award, became the fourth soccer-related figure to receive the award since it was founded in 1957. The others are Timbers Owner and President Merritt Paulson (2011), legendary NASL Timbers player and Portland soccer icon Clive Charles (1995, 2002) and NASL Timbers head coach Vic Crowe (1975).

Slats Gill Award/Sportsperson of the Year Winners:

2013: Caleb Porter - soccer

2012: Chip Kelly - football; Erik Spoelstra - basketball

2011: Merritt Paulson - soccer

2010: Chip Kelly - football

2009: Chip Kelly - football

2008: Mike Riley - football

2007: Pat Casey - baseball

2006: Pat Casey - baseball

2005: Pat Casey - baseball

2004: Danny Miles - basketball

2003: Ernie Kent - basketball

2002: Clive Charles - soccer

2001: Mike Bellotti - football

1996: Brad Smith - basketball

1995: Clive Charles - soccer

1994: Rich Brooks - football

1993: Gordie James - basketball

1992: Rick Adelman - basketball

1991: Ad Rutschman - football

1990: Rick Adelman - basketball

1989: Rich Brooks - football

1988: Pokey Allen - football

1987: Pokey Allen - football

1986: Ad Rutschman - football

1985: Jeff Mozzochi - volleyball

1984: Ad Rutschman - football

1983: Ken Hodge - hockey

1982: Ad Rutschman - football

1981: Ralph Miller - basketball

1980: Ralph Miller - basketball

1979: Rich Brooks - football

1978: Ad Rutschman - football

1977: Jack Ramsey - basketball

1976: Darrel "Mouse" Davis - football

1975: Vic Crowe - soccer

1974: Laurence (Doc) Savage - football

1973: Jack Dunn - baseball

1972: Dale Thomas - wrestling

1971: Bill Bowerman - track and field

1970: Harry Glickman - basketball

1969: Dick McCLain - baseball

1968: John Allen - football

1967: Dee Andros - football

1966: Paul Valenti - basketball

1965: Hal Laycoe - hockey

1964: John Lipon - baseball

1963: Joe Huston - football

1962: Bill Bowerman - track and field

1961: Paul Durham - football

1960: Ted Ogdahl - football

1959: Fred Spiegelberg - football

1958: Tom DeSylvia - football

1957: Len Casanova & Tommy Prothro - football

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