Meet the trailblazing 85ers

What you probably already know: Michelle Akers is widely considered the first true superstar of women’s soccer. She is credited with helping grow the sport significantly both in the United States and around the world. She scored 10 goals in a dominant performance in the 1991 Women’s World Cup — which the U.S. won — and was named FIFA’s Player of the Century. Akers, who also led the U.S. to an Olympic gold medal and another World Cup championship, was part of the inaugural U.S. Women’s National Team in 1985 that was honored Monday night at the Seattle Reign FC game. Now, 17 women who made up the so-called “85ers” have formed an LLC to promote girls’ and women’s soccer and preserve the legacy of women’s professional and Olympic soccer. At an event celebrating the 85ers last Saturday at Seattle’s women’s-themed sports bar Rough & Tumble, Akers called all the attention “pretty damn amazing.”

Why? The 85ers LLC has been called a “first-of-its-kind” athlete-owned business. Every member of the original team is an equal owner, and they’re building a business around their history through merchandise, events and partnership, including a heritage jersey co-designed by the players themselves. Akers, a Seattle native, called the business one of turning legacy into livelihood. “It’s like your career, your life, your heart, your soul,” said Akers, who now runs a horse rescue nonprofit in Georgia. “You own these stories. You’ll make money from those stories from your life, but you’re also giving back to go forward.” The effort is backed by Jaymee Messler, the co-founder of Storied Sports and The Players’ Tribune.

What it means: The achievements of the 85ers played a pivotal role in catalyzing soccer’s expansion by inspiring new generations and helping lay the foundation for its continued success. It’s hard to imagine today with the outsized success of the U.S. Women’s National Team, with female soccer superstars including Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Mia Hamm becoming household names, but back in 1985 competitive women soccer players had to scrape together seed money to play in regional and national tournaments. The 70 players competing for the 17 spots had three days of tryouts to make that 1985 team — which wasn’t even called the United States National Women’s Team then — and only a week to train before flying to Italy for their first game. They lost to Italy 1-0 on Aug. 18, 1985. There was no media coverage.

What happens now? The business is just getting started and only recently launched a website. The mission is to “build sustainable income from the history created, turn cultural relevance into entrepreneurial opportunity, and inspire the next generation of players, leaders and businesswomen.” Team headquarters are at Rough & Tumble, the women’s-themed sports bar launched by Jen Barnes almost three years ago. The 85ers have teamed with sports and memorabilia company The Realest to create a merchandise line, including the heritage jersey, signature T-shirts, a hoodie and a trucker hat. As much as anything, the 85ers embrace the camaraderie that led to the success of women’s soccer in the United States. “I loved the game,” said Akers, who has endured more than 20 knee surgeries. “I loved my team.”

— Story by Rob Smith
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