Greg Ion

Last updated

Greg Ion
Personal information
Full name Gregory Stewart Ion
Date of birth (1963-03-12) March 12, 1963 (age 60)
Place of birth Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1981–1982 Portland Timbers 9 (0)
1983 Montreal Manic 11 (0)
1984 Tulsa Roughnecks 21 (4)
1984–1987 Los Angeles Lazers (indoor) 133 (43)
1987 Minnesota Strikers (indoor) 10 (2)
1987 Vancouver 86ers
1987–1988 Chicago Sting (indoor) 51 (14)
1988–1990 Kansas City Comets (indoor) 99 (48)
1989 Vancouver 86ers
1990–1992 Tacoma Stars (indoor) 92 (31)
International career
1983–1988 Canada 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gregory Stewart Ion (born March 12, 1963 in Vancouver) is a Canadian retired soccer midfielder.

Contents

Professional

The son of Gordie Ion, Ion graduated from Burnaby North Secondary School. In 1981, the Portland Timbers selected him in the first round of the North American Soccer League draft. [1] However, he lost the entire 1981 season with a knee injury. He came back in 1982 and played nine games, but the team folded at the end of the season. He then signed with the Montreal Manic, but that team collapsed at the end of the 1983 season. On November 10, 1983, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers purchased his contract from the Manic. [2] The Strikers sent Ion to the Tulsa Roughnecks during the 1984 pre-season. When the NASL collapsed at the end of the season, Ion moved to the Los Angeles Lazers of the Major Indoor Soccer League. He remained with the Lazers until March 26, 1987 when the team traded him to the Minnesota Strikers in exchange for Thompson Usiyan. He finished the season with the Strikers. On October 2, 1987, the Strikers traded him to the San Diego Sockers in exchange for draft picks and cash. [3] On November 6, 1987, the Sockers waived Ion during the pre-season as part of a salary reduction move. [4] The Chicago Sting quickly signed him and he spent the 1987–1988 season in Chicago. The Sting, facing financial collapse, released Ion and ten other players on June 2, 1988. Ion then moved to the Kansas City Comets for two seasons. In 1990, he moved to the Tacoma Stars for two seasons.

During the 1986 and 1989, Ion played for the Vancouver 86ers of the Canadian Soccer League. He is inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame as member of the record setting 1989 team. [5]

National team

Ion was part of the Canadian team that participated in their only FIFA World Cup to date in 1986.

Post-playing career

Ion was soccer marketer for Adidas and is Program Director of their ESP youth program. He currently runs his own marketing company. He has also been Administrative Director of Club Development with youth soccer club Washington Premier Football Club, in Tacoma, Washington. He is a USSF A licensed coach.

Greg has three daughters Kelsey, Claire and Katelynn.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992)</span> Indoor soccer league in the United States

The Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL), known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League, was an indoor soccer league in the United States that played matches from fall 1978 to spring 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dale Mitchell (soccer)</span> Canadian soccer player

Dale William Mitchell is a Canadian former professional soccer striker who played for several North American teams in the 1980s and 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montreal Manic</span> Football club

The Montreal Manic or the Manic de Montréal were a professional soccer team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that played in the North American 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. In 1989, it existed for a single year as the Western Soccer League before merging with the American Soccer League to form the American Professional Soccer League in 1990.

Stephen Kinsey is an English former football forward who began his career in 1979 with Manchester City before moving to the United States in 1986. He then played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League, American Soccer League and others before retiring in 1997.

Thompson Usiyan was a Nigerian professional footballer who played as a forward. He holds the NCAA Division I career scoring record and played in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League, American Soccer League and Continental Indoor Soccer League. He was a member of the Nigerian Olympic soccer team which boycotted the 1976 Olympics. He made several appearances for the Nigeria national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland Timbers (1985–1990)</span> Soccer team

Portland Timbers, previously known as F.C. Portland, came into existence in 1985 as an independent U.S. soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. In 1989, the team adopted the name Portland Timbers. Portland was composed of both professional and amateur players. The amateur players largely came from local Portland amateur leagues. It played its games in Portland's Civic Stadium.

James Gorsek, known as Jim Gorsek or Jimmy Gorsek, is a former American soccer goalkeeper. He spent seven seasons in the North American Soccer League, seven seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League and two in the Continental Indoor Soccer League. He also earned two caps with the U.S. national team in 1985.

Godfrey Patrick Ingram is an English retired professional footballer who played as a striker. Active in England, Wales and the United States, Ingram made over 440 career league appearances, and scored over 270 league goals.

Thor Lee is a retired U.S. soccer defender who played professionally in several U.S. leagues including one season in Major League Soccer.

Stuart Lee is an English former football forward. Lee was born in Manchester, and played professionally in England, Wales and the United States.

Ben Collins is a retired Liberian footballer who played as a midfielder in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League.

Gary Bernard Collier is an English former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Active in both England and the United States, Collier made over 500 career league appearances.

The history of Vancouver Whitecaps FC, a professional soccer team based in Vancouver, Canada, spans over four decades. The first team to use the "Whitecaps" name was the Vancouver Whitecaps of the now-defunct North American Soccer League, playing from 1974 to 1984. After two years while the core of the players were focused on preparations for the 1986 World Cup, a second version of the club was founded in 1986 as the Vancouver 86ers. This team bought back the Whitecaps name in 2000 and has operated continuously in various leagues since 1986. A Whitecaps FC team began play in Major League Soccer starting in 2011 making it the first time since 1984 that a "Whitecaps" team played in the top tier of soccer in the United States and Canada.

Derek Sanderson is a retired American soccer player who played professionally in eight leagues including the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League and American Professional Soccer League. He played three games for the U.S. at the 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship.

The 1982 New York Cosmos season was the 12th season for the New York Cosmos in the now-defunct North American Soccer League. The Cosmos completed their fourth double—a feat not matched by any NASL or, as yet, MLS club—finishing 37 points ahead of Seattle for the league premiership, and defeating the Sounders in Soccer Bowl '82 for the league championship.

Tim Bartro is a retired American soccer player whose career spanned leagues from the first North American Soccer League to the Continental Indoor Soccer League.

Mark Edward Karpun is a Canadian retired soccer player that played in the North American Soccer League, the Major Indoor Soccer League the Canadian Soccer League and for the Canadian Men's National Team. He is also noted for having twice scored the golden goal of sudden-death overtime to win an indoor championship final.

The 1989 Canadian Soccer League season was the third season of play for the Canadian Soccer League, a Division 1 men's soccer league in the Canadian soccer pyramid.

References