LA Galaxy

Team information

Inaugural season: 1996

Home field: Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, California

Owner: Anschutz Entertainment Group

Team colors: navy blue, gold, and white

Overview

The LA Galaxy is a professional soccer team that plays in North America’s Major League Soccer (MLS). Based in Los Angeles, California, the Galaxy are one of ten founding members of MLS, which began play in 1996. LA is also the league’s most successful team, making nine finals appearances and winning five championships—both MLS records. As is befitting the name Galaxy, the team has been home to some of the soccer world’s biggest stars over the years. Undoubtedly, its brightest star was David Beckham, an English soccer legend whose fame extended far beyond the sports world. Beckham’s 2007 signing single-handedly raised the profile of the team and the entire league. In 2020, Beckham and five other LA players were named to a list of the twenty-five greatest MLS players in celebration of the league’s twenty-fifth anniversary.

History

Prior to the 1990s, professional soccer often struggled to gain a foothold in North America. The most successful attempt at establishing a top-flight league was the North American Soccer League (NASL), which lasted from 1968 until it folded in 1985. The Los Angeles Wolves played one season in the NASL in 1968, while the Los Angeles Aztecs played from 1974 to 1981.

Then, in 1988, the United States won the right to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup, the world’s premier international soccer tournament. The event raised soccer’s profile in North America to such an extent that a new professional league was formed to take advantage of its success. Major League Soccer (MLS) was originally planned to launch in 1995 with twelve teams, but that plan was scaled back to ten teams and pushed to 1996. Teams were placed in New York, Tampa Bay, Washington, Los Angeles, Dallas, Kansas City, New England, Colorado, San Jose, and Columbus, Ohio.

The Los Angeles team was originally owned by LA Soccer Partners until it was sold to Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) in 1998. The name Galaxy was chosen as an obvious reference to the film industry and the numerous Hollywood stars who live in the Los Angeles area. The team initially played its home games at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California—the site of the 1994 World Cup Final—before moving to what is today called Dignity Health Sports Park in 2003. The team’s original logo featured a swirling spiral galaxy pattern around a soccer ball with the team name emblazoned across the front. In 2007, the logo was rebranded to resemble a blue triangular shield with a diamond-shaped star at the top. The letters LA dominate the center of the logo with the word Galaxy on a yellow banner below.

The Galaxy were one of the league’s best teams right out of the gate. They finished their inaugural season 19–13 and earned a berth in the first MLS Cup Final, although they fell to D.C. United in extra time. In 1998, the Galaxy finished an MLS-best 24–8. A year later, they made another MLS Cup Final but again lost to D.C. United.

While the Los Angeles franchise was finding success on and off the field, the league as a whole was struggling to attract fans. MLS was in such dire financial straits that many sports business experts worried that it might fold. In 2002, the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) made an unexpected run to the quarterfinals in the FIFA World Cup. The team’s success captured the attention of even non-soccer fans and gave a boost to MLS’s profile. That same year, the LA Galaxy won its first MLS Cup, beating the New England Revolution, 1–0, in extra time. The final game attracted more than 61,000 fans, which was an MLS attendance record at the time. The success of the USMNT and a championship by one of the MLS’s marquee teams was a huge help to the league, which began to find some financial stability by mid-decade.

LA won another title in 2005—again beating New England by a 1–0 score—but it was a front-office coup in 2007 that really turned a spotlight on the team and MLS. Officials with Anschutz Entertainment Group were looking for a way to increase the chances of luring the world’s big-name stars to the league. They suggested the idea of a “designated player” rule in which teams could pay the salary of one player and not have that money count against its salary cap. MLS agreed to the proposal, which led to the Galaxy signing English superstar David Beckham to a five-year, $32.5-million contract.

Beckham was a legendary player in Europe and also an international celebrity. He was as well-known for his male-model looks as he was for his stellar play on the field. Beckham was also married to British pop star Victoria Beckham, which only increased his fame. In the days after news of Beckham’s signing broke, sales of Galaxy jerseys skyrocketed. His arrival also gave a significant boost to attendance, as LA’s per-game average jumped from 20,814 in 2006 to 26,008 in 2008. Beckham’s impact was even felt league-wide as attendance in the years after he joined MLS went up 40 percent.

Beckham’s arrival did not immediately pay off in the standings as the team had just 8 wins, 9 ties, and 13 losses in 2008. However, the Galaxy tuned things around in 2009, advancing to the MLS Cup Final before losing to Real Salt Lake in penalty kicks. In 2010, LA posted the best record in MLS and topped that off by winning back-to-back championships in 2011 and 2012. The Galaxy would go on to win a record fifth MLS Cup in 2014.

The Galaxy again made the playoffs in 2015 and 2016 but have since struggled to make a deep playoff run. In 2017, they finished last in MLS with an 8–8–18 record and missed out on the playoffs in 2020 and 2021. Through the 2021 season, the Galaxy was the MLS all-time leader in wins with 363.

The team nearly missed the playoffs in 2022, finishing eighth. They finished fourth in the Western Conference. The Galaxy faced a scandal in 2023 when team president Chris Klein was suspended because of undisclosed payments to Cristian Pavon, who signed with the team in 2019. The 2023 season also started off badly. The team lost the first seven games. ESPN ranked the Galaxy 29 out of 29 in its MLS power rankings. That year, the team also severed its ties to Klein.

Notable players

American midfielder Cobi Jones was among the first big stars to play with the Galaxy. Jones joined the team in its first season and stayed in Los Angeles until his 2007 retirement. A nine-time MLS All Star, Jones had 91 assists in his career, ninth-most in MLS history. He is third in team history with 70 goals and was part of the Galaxy’s 2002 and 2005 championship teams.

Kevin Hartman was the goaltender for LA on those title-winning teams, staying with the Galaxy from 1997 to 2006. His 180 career wins are second-most all-time, with 114 of those coming with LA. Hartman made five MLS All-Star teams and was named 1999 Goalkeeper of the Year. Defender Robin Fraser played with LA from 1996 to 2000. In 1999, he was named the MLS Defender of the Year.

David Beckham spent five seasons as midfielder for the Galaxy, putting up a total of 18 goals and 31 assists and making three All-Star teams. His last game with the Galaxy was the team’s 3–1 MLS Cup victory over the Houston Dynamo in 2012. Beckham’s impact on the team was such that the Galaxy unveiled a 9-foot-tall bronze statue of him outside Dignity Health Sports Park in 2019.

Irish forward Robbie Keane joined the Galaxy in 2011 primarily to play along with Beckham. A prolific scorer, Keane helped propel the Galaxy to their 2011 and 2012 MLS titles. He led LA in scoring from 2012 to 2015 and won the 2014 MLS Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award. Before leaving the Galaxy after the 2016 season, Keane scored 83 goals, second-most in club history. Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimović played just two seasons with the Galaxy in 2018 and 2019 but set the club mark for goals in a season with 30 in 2019. The flamboyant Ibrahimović is an international superstar and one of the most accomplished goal-scorers in soccer history.

The best player in LA Galaxy history is undoubtedly Landon Donovan, who is also one of the best players in MLS history. Donovan played for LA from 2005 to 2014, and again in 2016. During that time, he was a member of four championship clubs, won the 2009 MLS MVP Award, and the 2008 Golden Boot as the league’s top scorer. In 2015, the league’s MVP award was named the Landon Donovan MVP Award in his honor. He is the leader scorer in Galaxy history with 113 goals and hold the team record for assists with 107. Donovan also holds the MLS record for career assists with 136. Counting his four seasons with the San Jose Earthquakes in the early 2000s, Donovan made fourteen All-Star appearances and won a total of six championships, more than another other player in MLS history.

Bibliography

Baxter, Kevin. “David Beckham’s Signing With Galaxy Made Lasting Impact on MLS.” Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2020, www.latimes.com/sports/soccer/story/2020-02-28/david-beckham-signing-with-the-galaxy-made-lasting-impact-on-mls. Accessed 21 Mar. 2024.

Hewson, Anthony K. LA Galaxy. North Star Editions, 2021.

“LA Galaxy Logo.” Logos-World.net, 16 Mar. 2024, logos-world.net/la-galaxy-logo/. Accessed 21 Mar. 2024.

“LA Galaxy Stats and History.” FB Reference, 2024, fbref.com/en/squads/d8b46897/history/LA-Galaxy-Stats-and-History. Accessed 21 Mar. 2024.

“LA Galaxy Team History.” Sports Team History, 2024, sportsteamhistory.com/la-galaxy. Accessed 21 Mar. 2024.

“MLS and the LA Galaxy: A History.” SB Nation, 2024, www.lagconfidential.com/pages/mls-and-the-la-galaxy-a-history. Accessed 21 Mar. 2024.

Rucker, Jael. “Major League Soccer History: How MLS Became A Big Business.” ONE37pm, 18 Feb. 2021, www.one37pm.com/strength/sports/major-league-soccer-history. Accessed 21 Mar. 2024.

“Six LA Galaxy Legends Honored as MLS Unveils The 25 Greatest Presented by AT&T.” LA Galaxy, 6 Dec. 2020, www.lagalaxy.com/news/six-la-galaxy-players-honored-mls-unveils-25-greatest-presented-att. Accessed 21 Mar. 2024.