John Harkes

Midfielder John Harkes was one of U.S. soccer's leading lights of the 1990s. While attending the University of Virginia, Harkes won the Missouri Athletic Club Award for college soccer player of the year in 1987. That same year he made his first appearance on the U.S. men's national team. He made the national team 13 times in all and was team captain in 1995. He started his professional career with the USISL's Albany Capitals and played professionally in England before returning to the United States in 1996 to help launch Major League Soccer, serving as captain of D.C. United and leading the team to back-to-back MLS Cup titles in 1996 and 1997. Harkes joined the New England Revolution in 1999 and played two and a half seasons before being traded to the Columbus Crew. He played in five consecutive MLS All-Star Games (1996-2000). Harkes announced his retirement in 2003, the year he was honored with a star at the U.S. Soccer Star Plaza at the Home Depot Center. He is scheduled to be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, New York, on August 29, 2005.