Clive Charles
Charles in 1968
|
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Clive Michael Charles | ||
| Date of birth | 3 October 1951 | ||
| Place of birth | Barking, London, England | ||
| Date of death | 26 August 2003 (aged 51) | ||
| Place of death | Portland, Oregon, U.S. | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1970–1973 | West Ham United | 14 | (0) |
| 1971–1972 | → Montreal Olympique (loan) | 28 | (0) |
| 1974–1977 | Cardiff City | 77 | (5) |
| 1978–1981 | Portland Timbers | 67 | (0) |
| 1980–1981 | Portland Timbers (indoor) | 9 | (7) |
| 1981–1982 | Pittsburgh Spirit (indoor) | 26 | (10) |
| 1982–1983 | Los Angeles Lazers (indoor) | 33 | (5) |
| Total | 254 | (27) | |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1982–1985 | Reynolds High School | ||
| 1986–2003 | University of Portland men's team | ||
| 1989–2003 | University of Portland women's team | ||
| 1993–1995 | US U20 Women | ||
| 1996–2003 | US U23 Men | ||
| 1995–1998 | US men's national team (assistant) | ||
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
|||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
Clive Charles (3 October 1951 – 26 August 2003) was an English football player, coach and television announcer. Charles began his career with West Ham United, where his brother John Charles played, and finished it in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He later coached at the high school, collegiate and international levels in the United States.
Charles was born in London, the youngest of nine children. He grew up in a working-class neighbourhood 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 honoured 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 side Cardiff City for the last 8 games of the 1974 season. Even though Cardiff City were relegated to the Third Division, Charles chose to sign with the team and became its captain at the age of 23. Cardiff won promotion back to 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. He was honoured by the Timbers during a game against the Seattle Sounders on 24 June 2012 by a large tifo held up by the Timbers Army prior to the start of the game.
...
Wikipedia