Jim McAlister (American Soccer)
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Jimmy McAlister (born May 4, 1957) is a U.S.
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
defender during the 1970s and 1980s. He was the 1977 NASL Rookie of the Year and earned six
caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
with the U.S. national team.


Player


Professional

McAlister was born in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
where he attended John F. Kennedy High School. When he graduated in 1976, the Seattle Sounders of the
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...
immediately signed him to play left back. McAlister saw time in only two first team games in 1976, spending most of his time in the reserve team. In 1977, he became an integral part of a strong Sounders team which went to the NASL
championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
only to lose to the
Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...
-led
New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...
. McAlister's defensive abilities led to Pelé trading his jersey with McAlister at the end of the game. His outstanding season led to McAlister receiving NASL Rookie of the Year. McAlister spent one more season with Seattle before being traded to
Toronto Blizzard Toronto Blizzard may refer to: *Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984), the original soccer club, a franchise of the North American Soccer League *Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993), the later club and franchise of the Canadian Soccer League *Toronto Azzurri B ...
. Before moving to Toronto, he spent the 1979–1980 Major Indoor Soccer League season with the
Buffalo Stallions The Buffalo Stallions were a soccer team based out of Buffalo, New York, that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1979 to 1984. Their home arena was Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. It was the last professional club for which the Portu ...
. After one year in Toronto, he moved, this time to the
San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...
. While in San Jose, he played in both the NASL and the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) as the Earthquakes jumped between the two leagues. When the
Tacoma Stars The Tacoma Stars are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). The franchise also operates in USL League Two, a minor outdoor league. Founded in 2003, the indo ...
was established as an MISL franchise in 1983, McAlister moved back home. He remained with the Stars through the 1985–1986 season.


National team

McAlister earned six
caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
with the
United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT), officially recognized as USA by FIFA, represents the United States in men's international Association football, soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation, which is ...
between 1977 and 1979. His success with the Sounders brought McAlister to the attention of the national team. He earned his first cap in a September 18, 1977 loss to
Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
. He then played only sporadically over the next two years with his last cap coming in a February 11, 1979 loss to the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
.


Coach

McAlister retired from the
Tacoma Stars The Tacoma Stars are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). The franchise also operates in USL League Two, a minor outdoor league. Founded in 2003, the indo ...
in 1986. He then became the team's Special Events Manager. On February 23, 1988, McAlister was named head coach after the Stars fired
Alan Hinton Alan Thomas Hinton (born 6 October 1942) is an English former footballer who played at the top level of English football from 1961 to 1975. He famously wore white football boots. Playing career Wolverhampton Wanderers Hinton started his career i ...
. McAlister took the Stars to the playoffs where they fell in the first round to the San Diego Sockers. New ownership took over the team during the 1988 off-season and brought Hinton back in as coach. In 2000, McAlister became the head coach of the Decatur High School boys soccer team. The next season, he coached them to an undefeated season and the Washington State 4A championship. McAlister was head coach of professional club Hibernian Saints in 2006. He also served on the coaching staff of Washington Premier Football Club in Tacoma, Washington where alongside Gary Heale, he took the club's United States Soccer Development Academy team to the USSF national finals, taking 5th place. In January 2010, he returned to the city where he made his mark as a professional player, becoming the Director of Coaching of the Seattle United youth soccer club, as part of a coaching leadership team that also includes Technical Director and ex-Seattle Sounder Jason Farrell."Jason Farrell Selected as Technical Director for Seattle Youth Soccer's Unified Advanced Development Club"
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References


External links







{{DEFAULTSORT:McAlister, Jim 1957 births Living people American soccer coaches American men's soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players Buffalo Stallions players Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Seattle Storm (soccer) players Men's association football defenders Golden Bay Earthquakes (MISL) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) coaches Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Seattle Sounders (1974–1983) players San Jose Earthquakes (1974–1988) players Soccer players from Seattle Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984) players Tacoma Stars players United States men's international soccer players Western Soccer Alliance players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) commentators American expatriate sportspeople in Canada High school soccer coaches in the United States Tacoma Stars coaches 20th-century American sportsmen