Clive Charles
Encyclopedia
Clive Charles was a football
player, coach and television announcer. Charles began his career with West Ham United
and finished it in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He later coached at the high school, collegiate and international levels in the United States.
, the youngest of nine children. He grew up in a working class neighborhood playing street soccer. When he was 12 years old, he began playing with the West Ham United
youth teams and signed with the club as an apprentice when he turned 15. He would sign with West Ham as a full professional when he turned 17 and joined the first team in 1970 as a defender
. However, West Ham was stocked with talent and Charles had difficulty finding playing time. In 1971 and 1972, he played two seasons on loan from West Ham with the Montreal Olympique
of the now defunct North American Soccer League
(NASL). While with Montreal, he met his future wife Clarena, then a flight attendant flying between Montreal and England. He was also honored as a second team NASL All Star in both of his seasons in Montreal. When playing time continued to elude Charles, West Ham loaned him to second division Cardiff City
for the last 8 games of the 1974 season. Even though Cardiff City was relegated to the third division, Charles chose to sign with the team and became its captain at the age of 23. Cardiff was back in the second division in 1976. Charles finished his career with Cardiff City in 1978, playing over 100 games and scoring 5 goals.
In 1978, the NASL Portland Timbers
bought Charles' contract from Cardiff City. He remained with the Timbers through the 1981 outdoor season. However, injuries began to hamper Charles and in 1981, he played only 4 games with the Timbers and did not return to the team the next year. In addition to playing for the Timbers' outdoor team, Charles had played 9 games for the Timbers during the 1980-1981 NASL indoor season. His jersey, number 3, was retired by the Timbers after his death in 2003.
At the end of the 1981 NASL season, Charles moved to the indoor Pittsburgh Spirit
then the Los Angeles Lazers
, both of the Major Indoor Soccer League. He later admitted that "I hated it. But it paid the bills." In 1982, he was playing with the when Jimmy Conway, a former Timbers team mate, called Charles and told him of an opening at the Reynolds High School boy's soccer team in Troutdale, Oregon
. He immediately retired from playing and moved his family back to Oregon.
hired Charles as its men's soccer coach in 1986. In 1989, the university expanded his duties to include both the men's and women's teams. He would continue coaching the UP teams until his death. In his last season (2002), the UP women's team won the National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) championship. During his tenure as the men's coach, Charles had a hand in beginning the career of numerous outstanding future players, including American men's internationals
Kasey Keller
and Steve Cherundolo
, American women's internationals
Tiffeny Milbrett and Shannon MacMillan
and Canadian international
Christine Sinclair
. Other players include Yari Allnutt
, Scott Benedetti
, Conor Casey
, Kelly Gray
, Nate Jaqua
and Wade Webber
.
In 1986, Charles founded F.C. Portland, a local youth soccer club. The club fields numerous youth teams in local, state and national competitions.
Charles also spent several years as coach of the U.S. U23 men's national team, culminating with the 2000 Summer Olympics
. He was first diagnosed with prostate cancer
, the disease which would ultimately kill him, in August 2000, just before the Olympics. Despite this harsh news, Charles still coached the U.S. to a fourth place finish in the games. He retired from coaching the U23 team after the Olympics, with a record of 23-11-13 (.628). He also coached the team to a bronze medal at the 1999 Pan American Games
and third place at the 1997 World University Games
. He served as an assistant coach of the United States men's national soccer team
in the 1998 World Cup.
In 1994, he worked as an announcer for ESPN
during the 1994 FIFA World Cup
.
He died of prostate cancer
on August 26, 2003. He was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame
that same year.
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player, coach and television announcer. Charles began his career with West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
and finished it in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He later coached at the high school, collegiate and international levels in the United States.
Player
Charles was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the youngest of nine children. He grew up in a working class neighborhood playing street soccer. When he was 12 years old, he began playing with the West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
youth teams and signed with the club as an apprentice when he turned 15. He would sign with West Ham as a full professional when he turned 17 and joined the first team in 1970 as a defender
Defender (football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....
. However, West Ham was stocked with talent and Charles had difficulty finding playing time. In 1971 and 1972, he played two seasons on loan from West Ham with the Montreal Olympique
Montreal Olympique
Montreal Olympique were a soccer team based out of Montreal that played in the NASL. They played from 1971 to 1973. Their home field was Autostade.-Year-by-year:...
of the now defunct North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
(NASL). While with Montreal, he met his future wife Clarena, then a flight attendant flying between Montreal and England. He was also honored as a second team NASL All Star in both of his seasons in Montreal. When playing time continued to elude Charles, West Ham loaned him to second division Cardiff City
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
for the last 8 games of the 1974 season. Even though Cardiff City was relegated to the third division, Charles chose to sign with the team and became its captain at the age of 23. Cardiff was back in the second division in 1976. Charles finished his career with Cardiff City in 1978, playing over 100 games and scoring 5 goals.
In 1978, the NASL Portland Timbers
Portland Timbers (NASL)
The Portland Timbers were a team in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1982. The name has been used by two other soccer franchises: the Timbers of the WSA/APSL, Portland Timbers of the USL and the current team which began play as part of Major League Soccer in 2011.-History:In January...
bought Charles' contract from Cardiff City. He remained with the Timbers through the 1981 outdoor season. However, injuries began to hamper Charles and in 1981, he played only 4 games with the Timbers and did not return to the team the next year. In addition to playing for the Timbers' outdoor team, Charles had played 9 games for the Timbers during the 1980-1981 NASL indoor season. His jersey, number 3, was retired by the Timbers after his death in 2003.
At the end of the 1981 NASL season, Charles moved to the indoor Pittsburgh Spirit
Pittsburgh Spirit
Pittsburgh Spirit were an indoor soccer team based out of Pittsburgh and were one of the original six teams that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League...
then the Los Angeles Lazers
Los Angeles Lazers
Los Angeles Lazers were a soccer team based out of Los Angeles that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1982 to 1989.-History:Major Indoor Soccer League awarded a Los Angeles franchise to Jerry Buss on June 24, 1982. Buss had purchased the Philadelphia Fever and wanted to move it to...
, both of the Major Indoor Soccer League. He later admitted that "I hated it. But it paid the bills." In 1982, he was playing with the when Jimmy Conway, a former Timbers team mate, called Charles and told him of an opening at the Reynolds High School boy's soccer team in Troutdale, Oregon
Troutdale, Oregon
Troutdale is a city in Multnomah County, Oregon, north of Gresham and east of Wood Village. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 15,962....
. He immediately retired from playing and moved his family back to Oregon.
Coach
Charles began his coaching as a young player in England, but he had no idea then the success coaching would bring to him. Charles remained with Reynolds High School for three years before the University of PortlandUniversity of Portland
The University of Portland is a private Roman Catholic university located in Portland, Oregon. It is affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross and is the sister school of the University of Notre Dame. Founded in 1901, UP has a student body of about 3,600 students...
hired Charles as its men's soccer coach in 1986. In 1989, the university expanded his duties to include both the men's and women's teams. He would continue coaching the UP teams until his death. In his last season (2002), the UP women's team won the National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) championship. During his tenure as the men's coach, Charles had a hand in beginning the career of numerous outstanding future players, including American men's internationals
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
Kasey Keller
Kasey Keller
Kasey Keller is a retired American soccer player who last played for Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer....
and Steve Cherundolo
Steve Cherundolo
Steven Emil "Steve" Cherundolo is an American soccer defender who is the captain of Hannover 96 of the German Bundesliga, where he has spent his entire club career. He played for the United States men's national soccer team at the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups.-Early life:Cherundolo grew up in...
, American women's internationals
United States women's national soccer team
The United States women's national soccer team represents the United States in international soccer competition and is controlled by U.S. Soccer. The U.S. team won the first ever Women's World Cup in 1991, and has since been a superpower in women's soccer. It is currently ranked first in the world...
Tiffeny Milbrett and Shannon MacMillan
Shannon MacMillan
-References:...
and Canadian international
Canada women's national soccer team
The Canada women's national soccer team is overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association. The team reached its all-time high of 6th in the March 2011 rankings. The team reached international prominence finishing in 4th place at the FIFA Women's World Cup 2003, losing to their archrival American team...
Christine Sinclair
Christine Sinclair
Christine Margaret Sinclair is a Canadian soccer forward who plays professional soccer for the Western New York Flash and is the captain of the Canadian national team. Sinclair has spent ten years with the Canadian national team participating in two World Cups in 2007 and 2003 and the 2008 Summer...
. Other players include Yari Allnutt
Yari Allnutt
Yari Allnutt is a retired American soccer player who played professionally in Mexico and the United States, including the American Professional Soccer League and Major League Soccer...
, Scott Benedetti
Scott Benedetti
Scott “Benny” Benedetti is a retired American soccer player. He began his professional career with the semi-professional F.C. Portland in 1986 and ended it with the U.S. second division club Portland Timbers in 2005. While he spent most of his career in the lower U.S...
, Conor Casey
Conor Casey
Conor Casey is an American soccer player who currently plays for the Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer.-Youth and College:...
, Kelly Gray
Kelly Gray
Kelly Gray is an American soccer player, currently without a club.-College:Gray played forward and midfielder at the University of Portland from 1999 to 2001...
, Nate Jaqua
Nate Jaqua
Jonathan "Nate" Jaqua is an American soccer player who last played for Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer.-High School:...
and Wade Webber
Wade Webber
Wade Webber is a retired U.S. soccer defender who spent most of his career with clubs in the Pacific Northwest. However, he did see three years in Major League Soccer with the Dallas Burn and Miami Fusion before suffering a career ending knee injury...
.
In 1986, Charles founded F.C. Portland, a local youth soccer club. The club fields numerous youth teams in local, state and national competitions.
Charles also spent several years as coach of the U.S. U23 men's national team, culminating with the 2000 Summer Olympics
Football at the 2000 Summer Olympics
The football tournament at the 2000 Summer Olympics was the 20th official Olympic football tournament. A women's tournament was held for the second time.-Medal winners:-Venues:*Olympic Stadium, Sydney*Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney*Bruce Stadium, Canberra...
. He was first diagnosed with prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
, the disease which would ultimately kill him, in August 2000, just before the Olympics. Despite this harsh news, Charles still coached the U.S. to a fourth place finish in the games. He retired from coaching the U23 team after the Olympics, with a record of 23-11-13 (.628). He also coached the team to a bronze medal at the 1999 Pan American Games
Football at the 1999 Pan American Games
The thirteenth edition of the Men's Football Tournament at the Pan American Games was held in Winnipeg, Canada from July 23 to August 7, 1999. Ten U-23 teams competed, with title defender Argentina missing...
and third place at the 1997 World University Games
1997 Summer Universiade
The 1997 Summer Universiade, also known as the XIX Summer Universiade, took place in Sicily, Italy.-Medal table:...
. He served as an assistant coach of the United States men's national soccer team
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
in the 1998 World Cup.
In 1994, he worked as an announcer for ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
during the 1994 FIFA World Cup
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
.
He died of prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
on August 26, 2003. He was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame
Oregon Sports Hall of Fame
The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall...
that same year.