As the 2011 season comes to a close for the San Jose Earthquakes, one of the more enjoyable fixtures on the calendar occurs this Wednesday evening — the Soccer Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SSVCF) annual banquet. Featuring a keynote speech from Troy Dayak, who this weekend will officially become the newest member of the Earthquakes Hall of Fame, the event will also feature the presentation of Earthquakes player awards and a silent auction of prized team photos and memorabilia.
This year the reception and dinner will be held inside the magnificent Rotunda building at San Jose City Hall, which promises to be the best venue yet for the four-year-old event. In addition to a whole host of former and current team players and coaches, over 240 lucky Earthquakes supporters and local soccer advocates will attend the sold-out banquet. Not often does the entire Earthquakes community have a chance to get together for an event of such magnitude, so the chance to mingle with some of soccer’s local heroes will only serve to strengthen the relationship the team has forged with the city of San Jose.
As if that wasn’t enough, this year’s event will also serve as the premiere of the latest exhibit from the History San Jose museum project. Titled City of Champions: 2001, A San Jose Soccer Odyssey the exhibit celebrates the tenth anniversary of the Quakes' first MLS Cup title in 2001 as well as chronicles important moments in and memorabilia from Bay Area professional soccer going back to the 1960s. The exhibit features over 500 items and will be on display at City Hall through the end of February 2012.
Dayak enters Earthquakes Hall of Fame
When the announcement came last August that Troy Dayak would become the third member of the San Jose Earthquakes Hall of Fame, the response from fans was overwhelmingly positive for the defender that they affectionately nicknamed “The Beast”. His keynote speech during Wednesday’s banquet will serve as his induction speech for the Hall of Fame, while his in-stadium jersey placard will be unveiled this Saturday at halftime of the match against FC Dallas at Buck Shaw Stadium.
A key figure for the team in their championship seasons of 2001 and 2003, Dayak battled through several major injuries to mark his name in Earthquakes lore. Current team general manager John Doyle, honored as the first inductee into the Quakes Hall of Fame back in 2005, was a teammate of Dayak’s going back to when the franchise was known as the Clash. He also played alongside Dayak when both played professionally in the pre-MLS years with the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks.
“I remember him coming into the Blackhawks as this 17 year old kid,” recalled Doyle, “but that didn’t matter because athletically he was unbelievable. He had a great will and commitment to winning that was second to none, and he was a great teammate too. I remember back to the Clash days, and we were playing Dallas with their forward Hugo Sanchez, and I am getting low-bridged every time I went for the ball. Troy had some history with Hugo in some other games, so he sees what’s going on and comes in and hits him off the ball, putting him on the ground, and Hugo is infuriated.”
“Later in the game, I’m going up for one more head ball and Hugo undercuts me and the referee immediately gave him a red card,” smiled Doyle. “In all my years in soccer that was the first time someone stuck up for me. He saw that I was getting crushed and he came up and helped me. I’m proud to call him a good friend and a loyal person that I was honored to have as a teammate.”
While Doyle benefitted from being on the same team as Dayak, others currently in the organization did not receive the same advantages. Head coach Frank Yallop, an MLS veteran who played three seasons with the Tampa Bay Mutiny, recalled the passion and competitive fire that exemplified Dayak’s playing style while playing on the opposite side of the field.
“The first year I saw him in MLS I remember him being strong and powerful out there on the right side,” recalled Yallop of facing Dayak in 1996. “We were on a 13-game unbeaten streak coming into San Jose that season and the Clash beat us up 4-0. Troy played great that day, but that match is certainly not my fondest memory.”
Current Earthquake Ramiro Corrales counts himself as the only current player on the roster to have called “The Beast” a teammate, and many around the current squad have met the Earthquakes great in his new capacity as an ambassador of the game, but one player in particular was very effusive in recalling the troubles presented by Dayak. Goalkeeper Jon Busch entered the league in 2002 and remembered facing the physical and intimidating defender on set pieces and corner kicks while minding the net for the Columbus Crew.
“That guy scared the crap out of me,” quipped Busch when Dayak’s name was invoked, “every time we played against him!”
History San Jose exhibit celebrates the Quakes
While the center of attention inside the Rotunda Wednesday night will no doubt be Troy Dayak, the lasting impressions from the event may come from the History San Jose exhibit that will remain on display for the next four months. An undertaking that is more than a year in the making, the collection will celebrate the championship year of 2001 — when both the Earthquakes and the local women’s club the CyberRays brought trophies to San Jose — as well as other great moments in Bay Area soccer history. Alida Bray, President and CEO of History San Jose, outlined the specifics of the exhibit in preview of Wednesday’s premiere.
“I would estimate that there are over 500 items in the show,” shared Bray. “There are four spacious display bays, just outside the City Council chambers in the Wing building, that measure eighteen feet high by thirty feet wide and five feet deep. We start with the 1967 Oakland Clippers and go on to the present San Jose Earthquakes, and everything in between.”
In addition to the MLS Cup trophy from 2001, the exhibit will include numerous game-worn jerseys and other artifacts of that championship year. Landon Donovan’s winner’s medal will be on display and a larger painting from local artist Mark Gray will adorn the bay. For fans of the CyberRays, the complete mascot’s costume will also greet patrons to the exhibit, something that is sure to be a hit with many younger fans.
SSVCF President Don Gagliardi, who also serves on the History San Jose board of directors, helped organize the exhibit and was quick to list off many of the other items that will be on display.
“We have the 1975 NASL Earthquakes indoor championship trophy and a 1974 Earthquakes jersey,” said Gagliardi. “There Dominic Kinnear’s jersey from when he was on the Blackhawks. We celebrate the 1992 San Jose Oaks U.S. Open Cup championship with a jersey and photos from that team. The first ever game in MLS was played at Spartan Stadium in 1996 and we have the first ball kicked and the Wynalda jersey from the first goal in MLS history. Also, probably the most iconic item in the exhibit is
Brandi Chastain’s sports bra from the 1999 Women’s World Cup, and her jersey too.”
The efforts of volunteers — estimates peg the total number of hours contributed to the collection and categorizing of all the items in the exhibit in the multiple thousands — went a long way into realizing the dream of showing how much soccer has meant to the local community. Without such passion and dedication from those in the SSVCF and the various Earthquakes supporters groups, the finished product would look nothing like what is planned for unveiling on Wednesday.
“The volunteer groups,” shared Bray, “when they heard that this exhibit was coming together they started making additional donations that really increased the size of the collection. They came in great numbers to volunteer even more hours to process and catalog all the items once they arrived at the museum. We’ve had a good time putting all the finishing touches on the displays.”
The exhibit kicks off Wednesday night, and will remain at City Hall until the end of February 2012, but then will be dismantled and returned to the museum. For those items outright donated to History San Jose, they will be carefully stored in the museums expansive storage facility, alongside other artifacts from the history of the Silicon Valley. For those loaned to the project specifically for the exhibit, they return to their owners and might never again be accessible to fans of the beautiful game.
“The exhibit is free and is great for soccer fans of all ages,” added Gagliardi. “It covers the history of both men’s and women’s professional soccer here in the Bay Area and has something for everyone. You won’t want to miss the chance to see all these great items in one show.”
Earthquakes Humanitarian awards to be announced
A major part of the annual SSVCF banquet is the announcement of the sponsored awards for Earthquakes player commitment to their community. The Andrew Bedard Memorial “Spirit of the Game” Award, named for the 8-year-old soccer player and Earthquakes fan that tragically lost his life to a brain aneurysm in 2004, is given to the player who best exemplifies community service in the Bay Area. Last year, the award was bestowed on defender Jason Hernandez.
“Every year has been a lot of fun to go to this event,” said Hernandez when asked about attending this year, “and it was a great honor last year to be recognized for my humanitarian work with the Spirit Award. Overall, it is a great time to get together and leave some of the on-the-field stuff behind and have an evening where we all have some fun.”
This year the award will be contested between two of the local grown players, Chris Wondolowski and Steven Beitsahour, with both presenting excellent credentials to earn the accolades Wednesday night. While not the impetus for their good works, the award is an appreciated recognition for all the selfless work they do in the local community.
“I am really looking forward to the experience,” said Wondolowski, “and being able to mingle with some of the nice and interesting people in the community that do so much to support soccer here in San Jose. It should be very interesting evening to say the least.”
With all but a handful of players and coaches expected to attend the banquet this year, the opportunity to meet some of the area’s biggest soccer supporters and give them their thanks for all their efforts makes the evening even more special for the team.
“The soccer community in San Jose is big and passionate, and these events are a great way to show them that we appreciate all their efforts,” continued Hernandez. “To get everybody out there and getting to socialize with the fans should make for a fantastic evening.”
Robert Jonas is a writer for CenterLineSoccer.com and SJEarthquakes.com. Send him feedback on Twitter: @RobertJonas
