There are similarities between 1982 and this last Saturday, when Jonathan Rodríguez’s first-half brace had the Providence Park faithful wanting to see the team’s first MLS hat trick. And though the third goal never came, with Rodríguez netting two and Chilean striker Felipe Mora getting one (and Eryk Williamson topping off the Timbers’ scoring in the 29th minute) in the 4-1 win over visiting Nashville SC, the Portland Timbers reached a first-time milestone in their MLS tenure: Three double-digit goal scorers in the same season.
The feat is so unique to the club that, in the nearing 50 years of soccer at 1844 SW Morrison Street, it’s only ever happened one other season: That 1982 campaign where Futcher’s hat trick introduced him to Portland as a member of the Green and Gold.
In that last NASL season in Soccer City, USA, Dale Mitchell, John Bain, and Ron Futcher each contributed 10 goals or more to the team’s offensive success.
Dale Mitchell (10 Goals)
John Bain (12 Goals)
Ron Futcher (13 Goals)
There’s still plenty of 2024 to play out, so it’s no telling where Evander, Rodríguez, and Mora will end, but the 1982 Timbers trio held 3 of the top 26 spots in the NASL end-of-season scoring:
And as for that last Timbers NASL hat trick, it was Ron Futcher’s first home match as a Timber, having signed for the team in the off season after the Minnesota Kicks folded in 1981. Quite a first impression at Civic Stadium.
In 2024, Rodríguez’s night (he also assisted Mora’s goal) landed him on the MLS Team of the Matchday:
And a look at the NASL Media Release the day after Futcher’s three goals includes a hat trick of Timbers trivia (red ink from 1982 Timbers PR, not me):
1. Bill Irwin loved more than soccer in Portland:
2. Portland’s Young Jeung Cho, the only Korean ever in the NASL, was very popular, even when he wasn’t in the building:
3. Ron Futcher was rightly named NASL Player of the Week:
A big Thank You to Portland’s AVP Media who digitized the Betamax footage (and this gem from film)! And, of course, Thank You to Brian Gant, who let me take the film to AVP and share it here—and to Tursi Soccer, whose sponsorship makes the work of collecting, preserving, and sharing Our Soccer Stories possible.
Since this story started with a video, let’s end with a video. Enjoy the magic from the 2024 team’s win over Nashville:
#RCTID
