Soccer City, USA: The Portland Timbers and the NASL Years, 1975-1982

April 15 - September 4, 2011
Exhibit Hours


 

This spring, Oregon launches a new era in sports history with the Portland Timbers’ inaugural season in Major League Soccer. Though many fans are anxiously awaiting the kick-off, not all are as familiar with the long history of the club. In celebration of the Portland Timbers’ exciting first match, the Oregon History Museum is opening Soccer City, USA, an exhibit that will give Timbers fans and history buffs alike the chance to learn the story of the original Portland Timbers teams.

Over a year ago, exhibit curators Michael Orr and Morgen Young started FC Media as a way to collect the history of this popular team. Trying to locate a full collection of the Timbers’ historic uniforms, FC Media discovered that no such museum or archive dedicated to the Timbers existed. This realization sent the avid soccer fans on a quest to collect uniforms, photographs, and oral histories from both players and fans, which will now be displayed in this original Oregon History Museum exhibit.

Artifacts in the exhibit tell the story behind well known Portland Timbers traditions. Timbers fans know that when a goal is scored beloved mascot, lumberjack Timber Joey, saws a slice off of a gigantic log with a chainsaw. The spectacle, loved by fans and feared by opponents, was started by Timber Jim in the late 1970s. In 1980, noted Timbers midfielder John Bain scored a hat trick in a game against the Vancouver Whitecaps, and Timber Jim cut a log slice and carved Bain’s name and date into the piece of wood. That log, sequestered in Bain’s office for 30 years, will be showcased in Soccer City, USA.

Also unearthed for the exhibit is the trophy from the Timbers’ 1975 Western Conference Championship victory. Many fans know that the Timbers played in the Soccer Bowl that year, but few have ever seen the large trophy they were awarded for winning the Western Conference, which has been in the home of the sons of an original Timbers owner. This beautiful trophy, along with shoes, posters, soccer balls, and fan memorabilia, will be on display.

FC Media has gathered historic items from the living rooms, garages and attics of Timbers fans and players to create this exciting exhibit. Join us at the Oregon History Museum to see Soccer City, USA, where you can honor the past and celebrate the future of Portland ’s new Major League Soccer team.

Members: You are invited to a special exhibit preview and reception for our new Mezzanine exhibit on Friday, April 15th, 2011 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., sponsored by Widmer Brothers Brewing and Superdog. Enjoy beer and hot dogs, watch a historic Timbers game, and chat with the curators and exhibit contributors. Please RSVP to 503-306-5214 if you are planning to attend.