Bruce Bates is a Canadian retired professional soccer player.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bruce Bates | ||
| Date of birth | June 13, 1960 | ||
| Place of birth | British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1980 | Richmond Olympic | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1981 | Calgary Boomers | 10 | (0) |
| 1982 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 9 | (0) |
| 1983 | Tampa Bay Rowdies (indoor) | 4 | (1) |
| 1983 | Calgary Mustangs | ||
| 1985 | New Westminster Q.P.R. (PRSL) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
A native of the Vancouver area, Bates played amateur soccer locally for Richmond Olympic and briefly spent time as a reserve player for the Vancouver Whitecaps.[1][2] At the age of 20 he impressed the coaches of the Calgary Boomers during open tryouts enough to win a spot with the NASL side.[3] He appeared in ten matches that year, but the Boomers folded after one season. In 1982 he joined Calgary teammates Jürgen Stars and Tom Boric on the Tampa Bay Rowdies roster.[4] He also played for the Rowdies during their run to the 1983 Indoor Grand Prix title.[5]
Before the 1983 outdoor season began, he and Peter Gruber were dealt to Calgary Mustangs of the Canadian Professional Soccer League, where he was later named team captain.[6][7] The CPSL folded after only one season.
In 1985 he played in the semi-pro Pacific Rim Soccer League[8] for the New Westminster Queens Park Rangers along with other NASL alumni, Garry Ayre, Peter Stanley, and Carl Shearer.[9] He and the Rangers won the season title with a 16-4-4 record,[10] but fell, 3–0, to Vancouver Columbus in the PSRL President's Cup finals.[11]
Honours
- North American Soccer League
- 1983 Indoor Grand Prix: Champion
- Pacific Rim Soccer League
- 1985: Champion
- 1985: President's Cup finalist