To celebrate the 20th anniversary of its inaugural match, MLS has brought together the teams that christened the new league, D.C. United and the San Jose Earthquakes. On April 6, 1996, San Jose was known as the Clash and its home was not Avaya Stadium but Spartan Stadium, an ultra-narrow venue on the San Jose State campus.
There were skydivers and special guests. The game clock counted down, not up. FIFA president Joao Havelange attended. (Havelenge, Sepp Blatter’s predecessor, turns 100 next month.)
Eric Wynalda, one of many 1994 U.S. World Cup players who helped launch the nascent league, rescued the sloppy match by scoring for San Jose in the 88th minute for a 1-0 outcome before a sellout crowd of 31,683.