Peter Bridgwater

Peter Bridgwater (7 March 1935 – 21 June 2005) was the first president of the San Jose Clash—later known as the San Jose Earthquakes—Major League Soccer franchise.^[1] Prior to arriving in the Bay Area, Bridgwater was an executive of the Vancouver Whitecaps franchise in the North American Soccer League.^[2] He had been involved with professional soccer in San Jose since 1984, when he was named general manager of the NASL's San Jose Earthquakes. Bridgwater purchased the Earthquakes later,^[1] but the NASL ceased operations in 1985. After the NASL went under, Bridgwater became a founder of the Western Soccer Alliance, which later became the USL First Division. Soccer America called him "one of the men most responsible for keeping professional outdoor soccer alive [in the U.S.] after the collapse of the North American Soccer League".^[3] Bridgwater was also a venue director for the 1994 FIFA World Cup at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California.^[4] Two years after the World Cup, the MLS was launched; Bridgwater served as the Clash's first president.^[1] He remained the general manager through the 1998 season, and played a role in having San Jose host matches for the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup.^[5]

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