The Edmonton Brick Men (also Edmonton Brickmen) were a Canadian soccer team in

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

that competed in the Canadian Soccer League and the

Western Soccer Alliance The 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 ...

. During their time in the WSA and the CSL, the team played at both

John Ducey Park John Ducey Park was a 6,500-seat baseball stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Originally built in 1933, it was torn down after sixty-two years of use in 1995 and replaced by Telus Field on the same site. Beginning in 1981, John Ducey Park was t ...

and

Clarke Stadium Clarke Stadium is a multipurpose stadium located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The stadium was originally built for Canadian football. Over the years different sports have participated at the site. History The stadium was originally built in 1 ...

for their matches. The choice of John Ducey Park was due in part to the sharing of costs with the Edmonton Trappers.

History

The Edmonton Brick Men were formed in 1985 to fill the void for professional soccer in the city after the Edmonton Drillers of the NASL had folded in 1982 and the Edmonton Eagles of the Canadian Professional Soccer League folded in 1983. The club was owned by

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

owner Peter Pocklington (who previously owned the Drillers) with seed money provided by the Edmonton-based furniture company, The Brick Warehouse, for whom the club was named after, with the logo using the same font for the word ''Brick'' as the furniture retailer. The Brick Men were known for giving local players an opportunity, which helped to launch the early careers of several future Canada national team players. In 1985, while not formally part of the league, they participated in the 1985 Western Alliance Challenge Series where teams from the

(WSA) played a match against either the Brick Men or the Canada national team, with those matches counting towards the standings. The Brick Men played eight games in total in 1985, with a record of four wins, three draws, and a single loss against Dundee FC of the

Scottish Premier Division The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994) ...

. The next year, they joined the WSA as an official league franchise for the 1986 season. They finished in last place in the seven-team league with a 3–3–8 record, with the record including two matches against

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

and Dundee FC. Despite the poor performance that year, their attendance was reasonable, ranging between 3000 and 4000 spectators per game. After the 1986 season, the Brick Men departed the WSA to join the new Canadian Soccer League for its inaugural season. In their inaugural CSL match on June 7, 1987, they were defeated by the

Vancouver 86ers Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The Met ...

by a score of 4–2. In their first season, they posted a 7–7–6 record, to finish in third place in the West Division, before falling to Vancouver in the first round of the playoffs. In their second season in the CSL, they struggled, winning only 4 of their 28 matches to finish last in their division and the league. They bounced back in 1989, finishing second in their division, qualifying for the playoffs, where they won their first playoff series, defeating provincial rivals

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

in the first round, before being trounced by Vancouver 9–3 on aggregate (5–3 and 4–0 losses) in the semi-finals. In 1990, the club once again failed to make the playoffs, after finishing last in their four-team division. The club folded following the 1990 season.

Seasons

Notable players

References

{{Soccer in Edmonton Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) teams Defunct soccer clubs in Canada Brick Men Western Soccer Alliance teams Canadian soccer clubs in American leagues 1985 establishments in Alberta