# Jimmy McAlister

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American soccer player and coach

For other people with similar names, see [James McAllister (disambiguation)](/source/James_McAllister_(disambiguation)).

Jimmy McAlister Personal information Date of birth (1957-05-04) May 4, 1957 (age 69) Place of birth Seattle, Washington, United States Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Position Defender Senior career* Years Team Apps (Gls) 1976–1979 Seattle Sounders 79 (2) 1979–1980 Buffalo Stallions (indoor) 31 (9) 1980 Toronto Blizzard 8 (0) 1981–1983 San Jose Earthquakes 60 (0) 1982–1983 Golden Bay Earthquakes (indoor) 3 (0) 1983–1986 Tacoma Stars (indoor) 106 (11) 1989 Seattle Storm International career 1977–1979 United States 6 (0) Managerial career 1988 Tacoma Stars 2000–2005 Decatur High School 2006 Hibernian Saints * Club domestic league appearances and goals

**Jimmy McAlister** (born May 4, 1957) is a U.S. [soccer](/source/Soccer) [defender](/source/Defender_(association_football)) during the 1970s and 1980s. He was the 1977 NASL Rookie of the Year and earned six [caps](/source/Cap_(sports)) with the [U.S. national team](/source/USMNT).

## Player

### Professional

McAlister was born in [Seattle](/source/Seattle) where he attended John F. Kennedy High School. When he graduated in 1976, the [Seattle Sounders](/source/Seattle_Sounders_(1974%E2%80%9383)) of the [North American Soccer League](/source/North_American_Soccer_League_(1968%E2%80%9384)) 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](/source/Soccer_Bowl) only to lose to the [Pelé](/source/Pel%C3%A9)-led [New York Cosmos](/source/New_York_Cosmos_(1971%E2%80%9385)). 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](/source/Toronto_Blizzard_(1971%E2%80%9384)). Before moving to Toronto, he spent the 1979–1980 [Major Indoor Soccer League](/source/Major_Soccer_League) season with the [Buffalo Stallions](/source/Buffalo_Stallions). After one year in Toronto, he moved, this time to the [San Jose Earthquakes](/source/San_Jose_Earthquakes_(1974%E2%80%9388)). While in San Jose, he played in both the NASL and the [Major Indoor Soccer League](/source/Major_Soccer_League) (MISL) as the Earthquakes jumped between the two leagues. When the [Tacoma Stars](/source/Tacoma_Stars_(MISL)) 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](/source/Cap_(sports)) with the [United States men's national soccer team](/source/United_States_men's_national_soccer_team) 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](/source/Guatemala_national_football_team). 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](/source/Soviet_Union_national_football_team).[1]

## Coach

McAlister retired from the [Tacoma Stars](/source/Tacoma_Stars_(MISL)) 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](/source/Alan_Hinton).[2] McAlister took the Stars to the playoffs where they fell in the first round to the [San Diego Sockers](/source/San_Diego_Sockers_(1974%E2%80%9396)). 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](/source/Decatur_High_School_(Federal_Way%2C_Washington)) 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](/source/Hibernian_Saints) in 2006. He also served on the coaching staff of Washington Premier Football Club in Tacoma, Washington where alongside [Gary Heale](/source/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,[3] as part of a coaching leadership team that also includes Technical Director and ex-Seattle Sounder [Jason Farrell](/source/Jason_Farrell).[4]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [USA – Details of International Matches 1970–1979](https://www.rsssf.org/tablesu/usa-intres-det70.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20100205054634/http://www.rsssf.com/tablesu/usa-intres-det70.html) February 5, 2010, at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** "MCALISTER TO COACH STARS- CHURSKY RETAINED AS ASSISTANT COACH" *THE SEATTLE TIMES* Tuesday, February 23, 1988

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [""Jimmy McAlister Selected as Director of Coaching for Seattle Youth Soccer's Unified Advanced Development Club""](https://web.archive.org/web/20160303212834/http://www.seattleunited.com/doclib/McAlister_PR.pdf) (PDF). Archived from [the original](http://www.seattleunited.com/doclib/McAlister_PR.pdf) (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Jason Farrell Selected as Technical Director for Seattle Youth Soccer's Unified Advanced Development Club"](http://www.seattleunited.com/doclib/Farrell_PR.pdf)[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

## External links

- [1977 Sounders bio](http://soundercentral.com/museum/1977updates/Soccer%20Bowl%201977/jimmy_mcalister_1977_rookie.htm)

- [1978 Sounders feater](http://soundercentral.com/museum/1978updatesDec03/jimmy_mcallister_1978_seattle_so.htm)

- [NASL/MISL stats](http://nasljerseys.com/Players/M/McAlister.Jim.htm)

v t e NASL (1968–1984) Rookie of the Year 1968: Montaung 1969: Fernández 1970: Leeker 1971: Horton 1972: Winter 1973: Rote 1974: McMillan 1975: Bahr 1976: Pecher 1977: McAlister 1978: Etherington 1979: Hulcer 1980: Durgan 1981: Morrone 1982: DeBrito 1983: Thompson 1984: Wegerle

v t e 1977 NASL All-Stars First Team GK: Banks DF: Beckenbauer DF: England DF: Wilson DF: Machin MF: Best MF: Sühnholz MF: West FW: David FW: Pelé FW: Smethurst Second Team GK: Mayer DF: Evans DF: Pecher DF: Coelho DF: Ley DF: Auguste MF: Cooke MF: Dimitrijević MF: Marsh FW: Stojanović FW: Wegerle FW: Parsons Honorable Mention GK: Chursky DF: Litt DF: McAlister DF: Merrick DF: Day MF: Simões MF: Ntsoelengoe MF: Trost FW: Morgan FW: Chinaglia FW: Robertson

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jimmy McAlister](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_McAlister) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_McAlister?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.