Cobi Jones Elected To National Soccer Hall Of Fame
March 29, 2011
UCLA and U.S. Soccer legend Cobi Jones was elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2011. Jones, who won a NCAA Championship at UCLA in 1990, was inducted in his first year of eligibility, being named on 87 percent of the ballots.
Jones earned a record 164 caps for the U.S. Men's National team and played in three World Cups (1994, 1998 and 2002). On a professional level, he was the only player in MLS history to have played in each of the first 12 seasons of the league with the same team, the Los Angeles Galaxy, and he totaled 70 goals and 91 assists in 306 career regular season games. He led the Galaxy to a pair of MLS Cup titles (2002 and 2005) before retiring in 2007. His jersey #13 was the first retired jersey in MLS history.
At UCLA, he started his career in 1998 as a walk-on and blossomed into one of UCLA's all-time greats. He was a catalyst to UCLA's 1990 NCAA Championship run and was selected as a NSCAA All-American in 1991 after setting a school record with 18 assists. The three-time All-Far West performer was twice named UCLA's Offensive MVP (1989 and 1991), and he finished his collegiate career with 23 goals and 37 assists. His 37 assists still rank second on UCLA's all-time list. Jones was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002.
Joining Jones in the National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2011 are players Eddie Pope and Earnie Stewart, as well as Bruce Murray, who was elected on the Veteran ballot, and Bob Gansler, who was elected on the Builder ballot.
To be eligible for the Hall of Fame as a Player, an individual must have been retired for at least three full calendar years but no more than 10 years, and either 1) Played at least 20 full international games for the United States or 2) Played at least five seasons in an American first-division professional league and was selected as a league All-Star at least once.
The selection committee for the player election includes all current and former coaches of the U.S. Men's and Women's National Team, active MLS and WPS coaches with a minimum of four years tenure, select soccer administrators, designated members of the media and all Hall of Famers.