Jean Harbor
Encyclopedia
Jean Harbor is a former Nigerian American
soccer forward
who played for numerous teams in Nigeria and the U.S. He earned fifteen caps with the U.S. national team
after becoming a U.S. citizen in 1992.
the United States. He majored in chemistry and was a forward
on the men’s soccer team from 1983 to 1986. He was a three time second and third team All American and held the school’s career scoring record when he graduated.
. However, he does not appear to have played professionally for two years after graduating from Alabama A&M. One article mentions that he worked in a Maryland laboratory for several years after leaving Alabama. He apparently even continued to work at the facility after he began his professional playing career.http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-67778208.html
of the new American Soccer League
(ASL) signed Harbor. Diplomats coach, Julio Pinon, spotted Harbor when Harbor was playing in the Embassy Cup Tournament in Washington, D.C.
.http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1266931.html The Diplomats had been having difficulty scoring up to that point in the season, but Harbor made an immediate positive impact. The team went on to win the ASL championship. Harbor continued his high scoring ways in the 1989 season, but was suspended by the league after striking Pedro Magallanes
in the face during a game with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1203130.html The suspension ran for a month and helped limit Harbor to seven goals that season. In 1990, Harbor moved to the Maryland Bays
. By this time the ASL had merged with the Western Soccer League
to form the American Professional Soccer League
(APSL). Harbor would spend two seasons with the Bays. In 1990, he scored eight goals as the Bays took the league championship in a 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks
. In 1991, he led the league in scoring with seventeen goals and eleven assists in twenty games as the Bays fell to the Albany Capitals
in the semi-finals. Harbor took first team All APSL and league MVP honors. The team folded at the end of the season.http://a-leaguearchive.tripod.com/1991/stats91.htm#Maryland With the collapse of the Bays, Harbor moved indoors in the fall of 1991 with the Baltimore Blast of Major Indoor Soccer League
(MISL). However, Harbor once again saw his team fold, this time along with the entire league, at the end of the season. In 1992, Harbor returned to the APSL, this time with the Tampa Bay Rowdies. By this time, the league was struggling and had only five teams remaining. However, Harbor continued his high scoring ways and took the scoring title with thirteen goals and four assists in fifteen games, earning first team All Star honors.http://a-leaguearchive.tripod.com/1992/stats92.htm#TB The Rowdies also went to the championship game, only to fall to the Colorado Foxes
. Harbor saw a significant drop in his point production in 1993 as he scored only five goals, adding seven assists, in fourteen games.http://a-leaguearchive.tripod.com/1993/stats93.htm#TB The Rowdies saw more playoff disappointment as they fell to the Foxes again, this time in the semifinals. At the end of the season, Harbor again saw his team fold. In 1994, Harbor moved to the Montreal Impact
. He gained a measure of revenge on the Colorado Foxes this season as the Impact defeated them in the title game; Harbor scored the lone goal in the Impact’s 1-0 victory.http://www.montrealimpact.com/Team/History.aspx?language=EN In March 1995, Harbor signed with the indoor Buffalo Blizzard
of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL).http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4208/is_19950308/ai_n10188103 The Blizzard were making a final push for the playoffs. While the Blizzard made the playoffs, they fell to the Cleveland Crunch
in the first round. Harbor played seven regular season games, scoring two goals, then another three games in the playoffs for the Blizzard.http://www.howesportsdata.com/howesportsdata/stats/soccer/misl/misl95.txt In April 1995, Major League Soccer
(MLS) signed Harbor. However, when the league delayed its first season by a year, the league loaned him to the Seattle SeaDogs
of the Continental Indoor Soccer League
(CISL). In twenty-six games, he scored forty goals. In February 1996, MLS held its first draft
. The Colorado Rapids
selected Harbor with the second pick of the draft. In that first season, Harbor led the team in scoring with eleven goals in twenty-nine games, but the Rapids finished at the bottom of the table and failed to make the playoffs. Harbor then injured his knee in the 1997 pre-season, requiring surgery. The Rapids released Harbor in June 1997. After being released by the Rapids, Harbor returned to the Seattle SeaDogs
where he was MVP of the All Star game.http://www.kicksfan.com/1997/box/asg/index.htm That season Harbor also helped lead Seattle to the final CISL Championship defeating the Houston Hotshots 2 games to 0. Once again, Harbor saw a team and a league fold at the end of the season. In October 1997, Harbor moved to the Florida ThunderCats
of the NPSL as the team began preparations for its first, and ultimately, it’s only season. The ThunderCats had significant financial problems during the 1998-1999 season and sold Harbor’s contract to the Philadelphia KiXX
just prior to the 1999 playoffs.http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_19990406/ai_n10508321 Harbor’s time in Philadelphia included only the end of the 1998-1999 season and the playoffs.
. Harbor went on to earn fourteen caps while Milutinovic was coach, but he was unable to score. Milutinovich dropped him from the national team in June 1993, but he earned one more cap under Steve Sampson
on October 16, 1996. The regular national team players had gone on strike and USSF
was forced to field an ad hoc player line up for a game against Peru
.
In Spring of 2010, Harbor will be holding Soccer Clinics for Global Perspective Youth Sports of Buckeye, AZ http://gpysports.org/tryouts-clinics-events.html
Nigerian American
Nigerian Americans are citizens of the United States of America who are or descend from immigrants from Nigeria. Since the late 1960s and early 1970s, approximately one million Nigerians have immigrated in to the United States....
soccer forward
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
who played for numerous teams in Nigeria and the U.S. He earned fifteen caps with the U.S. national 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...
after becoming a U.S. citizen in 1992.
Youth
While born and raised in Nigeria, Harbor attended college at Alabama A&M University in Normal, AlabamaNormal, Alabama
Normal, Alabama is the site of Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University.AAMU is situated in the city limits and northern part of Huntsville, Alabama, USA in Madison county....
the United States. He majored in chemistry and was a forward
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
on the men’s soccer team from 1983 to 1986. He was a three time second and third team All American and held the school’s career scoring record when he graduated.
Early career
Before coming to the U.S., Harbor had spent time with two Nigerian teams, Nepa F.C. and Enugu RangersEnugu Rangers
Rangers International football club of Enugu popularly called Enugu Rangers is one of only two Nigerian division one football teams that has never been relegated.-History:...
. However, he does not appear to have played professionally for two years after graduating from Alabama A&M. One article mentions that he worked in a Maryland laboratory for several years after leaving Alabama. He apparently even continued to work at the facility after he began his professional playing career.http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-67778208.html
Professional
In June 1988, the Washington DiplomatsWashington Diplomats
The Washington Diplomats were an American soccer club based in Washington, D.C.. Throughout their existence, the club played their home games at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium...
of the new American Soccer League
American Soccer League
The American Soccer League has been a name used by three different professional soccer leagues in the United States. The first American Soccer League was established in 1921 by the merger of teams from the National Association Football League and the Southern New England Soccer League. For...
(ASL) signed Harbor. Diplomats coach, Julio Pinon, spotted Harbor when Harbor was playing in the Embassy Cup Tournament in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1266931.html The Diplomats had been having difficulty scoring up to that point in the season, but Harbor made an immediate positive impact. The team went on to win the ASL championship. Harbor continued his high scoring ways in the 1989 season, but was suspended by the league after striking Pedro Magallanes
Pedro Magallanes
Pedro Magallanes is a retired Argentine football midfielder who played professionally in Argentina and the United States.Magallanes had an extensive career in Argentina. He played the 1978-1979 season with Independiente. He also played for Rosario Central and Talleres de Córdoba. He played for...
in the face during a game with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1203130.html The suspension ran for a month and helped limit Harbor to seven goals that season. In 1990, Harbor moved to the Maryland Bays
Maryland Bays
The Maryland Bays were an inaugural franchise of the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1988.They were based in Catonsville, Maryland, and played their games at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. The team joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the ASL...
. By this time the ASL had merged with the Western Soccer League
Western Soccer League
Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer Alliance...
to form the American Professional Soccer League
American Professional Soccer League
The American Professional Soccer League is a former professional men's soccer league which featured teams from both the United States and Canada. It was the first outdoor soccer league to feature teams from throughout the United States since the demise of the original North American Soccer League...
(APSL). Harbor would spend two seasons with the Bays. In 1990, he scored eight goals as the Bays took the league championship in a 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks
San Francisco Bay Blackhawks
San Francisco Bay Blackhawks was a professional soccer team which came into existence in 1989 as a team in the Western Soccer League . The Blackhawks spent time in the American Professional Soccer League and the United States Interregional Soccer League...
. In 1991, he led the league in scoring with seventeen goals and eleven assists in twenty games as the Bays fell to the Albany Capitals
Albany Capitals
The Albany Capitals joined the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1989. The team joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the ASL merged with the Western Soccer League...
in the semi-finals. Harbor took first team All APSL and league MVP honors. The team folded at the end of the season.http://a-leaguearchive.tripod.com/1991/stats91.htm#Maryland With the collapse of the Bays, Harbor moved indoors in the fall of 1991 with the Baltimore Blast of Major Indoor Soccer League
Major Soccer League
The Major Indoor Soccer League, known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League, was an indoor soccer league in the USA from 1978 to 1992. After the folding of the North American Soccer League in 1984, the MISL was the Division I soccer league for the United States...
(MISL). However, Harbor once again saw his team fold, this time along with the entire league, at the end of the season. In 1992, Harbor returned to the APSL, this time with the Tampa Bay Rowdies. By this time, the league was struggling and had only five teams remaining. However, Harbor continued his high scoring ways and took the scoring title with thirteen goals and four assists in fifteen games, earning first team All Star honors.http://a-leaguearchive.tripod.com/1992/stats92.htm#TB The Rowdies also went to the championship game, only to fall to the Colorado Foxes
Colorado Foxes
The Colorado Foxes were a professional soccer team, based in Commerce City, Colorado, that played in the APSL between 1990 and 1997. The Foxes won two APSL titles, in 1992 and 1993. When Major League Soccer started and the Colorado Rapids became the region's premier team, the Foxes tried to stay...
. Harbor saw a significant drop in his point production in 1993 as he scored only five goals, adding seven assists, in fourteen games.http://a-leaguearchive.tripod.com/1993/stats93.htm#TB The Rowdies saw more playoff disappointment as they fell to the Foxes again, this time in the semifinals. At the end of the season, Harbor again saw his team fold. In 1994, Harbor moved to the Montreal Impact
Montreal Impact
Montreal Impact was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1992, the team played in the North American Soccer League , the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid until the 2011 season. The owner Joey Saputo now operates the MLS team Montreal ImpactThe...
. He gained a measure of revenge on the Colorado Foxes this season as the Impact defeated them in the title game; Harbor scored the lone goal in the Impact’s 1-0 victory.http://www.montrealimpact.com/Team/History.aspx?language=EN In March 1995, Harbor signed with the indoor Buffalo Blizzard
Buffalo Blizzard
The Buffalo Blizzard was an indoor soccer team based in Buffalo, New York. The team was a member of the now defunct NPSL from 1992 to 2001. From 1992-1996, the team played at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, and they moved to HSBC Arena in 1996 where they played until 2001.The team was originally...
of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL).http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4208/is_19950308/ai_n10188103 The Blizzard were making a final push for the playoffs. While the Blizzard made the playoffs, they fell to the Cleveland Crunch
Cleveland Crunch
The Cleveland Crunch was formed in 1989 as an expansion team in the Major Soccer League to replace the Cleveland Force, which had folded on July 22, 1988. Akron businessmen George S. Hoffman and Stuart Lichter formed an ownership group, named Al Miller general manager and former Force star Kai...
in the first round. Harbor played seven regular season games, scoring two goals, then another three games in the playoffs for the Blizzard.http://www.howesportsdata.com/howesportsdata/stats/soccer/misl/misl95.txt In April 1995, Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
(MLS) signed Harbor. However, when the league delayed its first season by a year, the league loaned him to the Seattle SeaDogs
Seattle SeaDogs
The Seattle SeaDogs are a defunct indoor soccer team that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League from 1995 to 1997. They won the last CISL championship in 1997.-History:...
of the Continental Indoor Soccer League
Continental Indoor Soccer League
The Continental Indoor Soccer League was an indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997.-History:When the Major Soccer League folded in the summer of 1992, two of its former teams joined a group of hockey and basketball arena owners led by Ron Weinstein who wanted to create a league to...
(CISL). In twenty-six games, he scored forty goals. In February 1996, MLS held its first draft
1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft
The MLS Inaugural Player Draft, held before Major League Soccer's initial 1996 season, distributed players who had already graduated from college to the league's ten inaugural teams. The draft occurred on February 6 and 7, 1996...
. The Colorado Rapids
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league...
selected Harbor with the second pick of the draft. In that first season, Harbor led the team in scoring with eleven goals in twenty-nine games, but the Rapids finished at the bottom of the table and failed to make the playoffs. Harbor then injured his knee in the 1997 pre-season, requiring surgery. The Rapids released Harbor in June 1997. After being released by the Rapids, Harbor returned to the Seattle SeaDogs
Seattle SeaDogs
The Seattle SeaDogs are a defunct indoor soccer team that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League from 1995 to 1997. They won the last CISL championship in 1997.-History:...
where he was MVP of the All Star game.http://www.kicksfan.com/1997/box/asg/index.htm That season Harbor also helped lead Seattle to the final CISL Championship defeating the Houston Hotshots 2 games to 0. Once again, Harbor saw a team and a league fold at the end of the season. In October 1997, Harbor moved to the Florida ThunderCats
Florida ThunderCats
The Florida ThunderCats were an indoor soccer club based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida that competed in the National Professional Soccer League. The team folded after one season.-Year-by-year:...
of the NPSL as the team began preparations for its first, and ultimately, it’s only season. The ThunderCats had significant financial problems during the 1998-1999 season and sold Harbor’s contract to the Philadelphia KiXX
Philadelphia KiXX
The Philadelphia KiXX were a professional indoor soccer team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Founded in 1995 as an NPSL expansion franchise, they played in the Major Indoor Soccer League.The team colors were red, black, white, and blue...
just prior to the 1999 playoffs.http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_19990406/ai_n10508321 Harbor’s time in Philadelphia included only the end of the 1998-1999 season and the playoffs.
National team
In 1992, Harbor became an American citizen. U.S. coach Bora Milutinović quickly called him up for an October 9 match with CanadaCanada men's national soccer team
The Canada men's national soccer team represents Canada in international soccer competitions at the senior men's level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association and compete in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football .Their most significant...
. Harbor went on to earn fourteen caps while Milutinovic was coach, but he was unable to score. Milutinovich dropped him from the national team in June 1993, but he earned one more cap under Steve Sampson
Steve Sampson
Steve Sampson is a soccer coach and the former head coach of the United States men's national team and the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer...
on October 16, 1996. The regular national team players had gone on strike and USSF
United States Soccer Federation
The United States Soccer Federation is the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Its headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois. It is a member of FIFA and is responsible for governing amateur and professional soccer, including the men's, women's, youth, futsal...
was forced to field an ad hoc player line up for a game against Peru
Peru national football team
The Peru national football team, known as 'el equipo inca', represents Peru in international football competition and is managed by the Peruvian Football Federation . The team competes against the other nine members of FIFA's CONMEBOL conference, which encompasses the countries of South America...
.
Post playing career
In 2004, Harbor worked for NASA.http://www.uslfans.com/game_reports/2004/montreal_julien_09182004.shtmlIn Spring of 2010, Harbor will be holding Soccer Clinics for Global Perspective Youth Sports of Buckeye, AZ http://gpysports.org/tryouts-clinics-events.html