Tag Archives: David Gillett

Know Your History, NASL Sounders

Rowlands Stood Tall, Always Will

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If there is to be a monument celebrating John Rowlands, it must stand tall and strong. It must exude tenacity, cunning and somehow exhibit a pinch of mischief.

For John Rowlands must be known for far more than just the goal that sounded our soccer community’s collective awakening. He was a buoyant, forceful personality; someone who would lead you headlong into the fray yet elicit some hardy laughs along the way. He was adventurous, striking out from his homeland for this faraway port to play for a side that had no prior existence. Here he would join, and in many ways lead, likeminded lads who blazed a path for what has become a thriving, footballing realm. He was a beacon.

John Rowlands, who led the line and, in many ways set the carefree tone of those first Sounders teams of the Seventies, has died, a victim of Coronavirus earlier this month in his native northwest England. He was 73.

John Rowlands, ca. 1974 (Frank MacDonald Collection)

Yet to the vast majority of contemporary footy followers around Seattle, the name Rowlands may fail to resonate. You might find a fuzzy image of him on YouTube or the black and white photographs such as those on this page. However, that’s all two-dimensional, and if one really wants to identify themselves a Sounder for life, let’s learn a bit about the late, great Sounder, John Rowlands.

Once John Best got a look at the narrow, crowned and unforgivingly hard Astroturf of Memorial Stadium, Seattle’s first coach envisioned the cast best equipped to win games in those cozy confines while at the same time winning fans. The plan: Those first Sounders would go direct, straight down the middle.

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Know Your History, NASL Sounders

Land of Opportunity

It all began as a working vacation for David Gillett. In 1974, the 23-year-old Scotsman first stepped foot in Seattle, where pro soccer had never existed. He was coming to play central defense, but Gillett was soon all-in as a missionary for this emerging sport, conducting clinics and making plentiful promotional appearances.

Back in Britain, where he played for Crewe Alexandra, the job was pretty much two hours of daily training, with a match or two each week.

It had been much the same for Adrian Webster when playing for his hometown club of Colchester, in England. He moved to Vancouver to play semi-pro and then heard about the NASL coming both there and Seattle soon after.

“I was very fortunate that it was the Sounders and John Best and Jimmy Gabriel that I played under,” Webster offers. “Not all of the clubs in the NASL were run as professionally.” Soon Webster was starting on the backline with Gillett, and the city adored their new team and their tradition of applauding the fans each night from the center circle.

The original Seattle Sounders, pictured in 1974. Adrian Webster is front row, third from left; David Gillett is back row fourth from right. (Frank MacDonald Collection)
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Know Your History, NASL Sounders, Seattle Sounders FC

One Game’s Profound Legacy

Forty years on, it remains a remarkable match. Not only did it captivate American soccer’s growing audience of the day and provide a fairytale finish for a global legend, Soccer Bowl ’77 also cast the pathway, for better or worse, for a club and a country seeking to development a professional presence.

For those who witnessed the NASL final between the glamorous New York Cosmos and unfashionable (outside Cascadia) yet fearless Seattle Sounders, it left an indelible mark on the memory. Just a glimpse of the video or photos awakens the senses.

Among the Cosmos’ superstars, Franz Beckenbauer was the reigning Ballon d’Or winner in Soccer Bowl ’77.

Of course, there was the epic backdrop: a gray, late summer Sunday afternoon, Portland’s Civic Stadium crammed full of 35,548 spectators, some sitting cross-legged on the artificial turf, just a few feet from the field’s boundaries.

There is the ‘Oh, no!’ moment of a partially deaf Sounders keeper being fleeced of the ball for the game’s opening goal. There is the rapid reply of Seattle to equalize, the relentless pressure and the sheer openness–rarely found in a final–that leads to dozens of chances (22 shots on target, two others by Seattle off the frame itself). And there is the chaotic scene at the final whistle, the crowd streaming onto the pitch and the shirtless Pelé running and hugging his teammates.

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