Chico State alum, San Jose Earthquakes star Chris Wondolowski joins 51st Hall of Fame class

CHICO - Chico State soccer alumna Chris Wondolowski was never the strongest player, he was never the fastest player, he wasn't the player who could dribble in and out of defenders and be remembered as that one guy, but his soccer IQ and his ability to finish with the ball at his feet led him to a legendary career.

After graduating Chico State in 2004 Wondolowski spent one season with the Chico Rooks before continuing his professional career with the San Jose Earthquakes and Houston Dynamo as well as time with the United States soccer team.

Wondolowski retired in 2021 from Major League Soccer and currently is No. 1 in all-time goals scored with 171. He is the only player in MLS history to have scored 10 goals in 10 consecutive seasons, and holds the record for most game-winning goals in MLS history.

Five years post-retirement, Wondolowski has been elected as a first ballot inductee to the Chico Sports Hall of Fame, joining Kami Smith, Lindsay Meggs and Scott Johnson as part of the 51st class. The four will be inducted at the Chico Sports Hall of Fame and Senior Athletes Banquet on Monday, May 18 at Manzanita Place at the Chico Elks Lodge. Doors open at 6 p.m., and dinner and ceremonies begin at 7 p.m.

"Just a huge honor," Wondolowski said. "Chico played such an integral part of my development and my career and who I am, let alone meeting my wife at Chico State and having four kids. I love every bit of it … Chico State has been a family, the soccer community especially."

Wondolowski will be at the Hall of Fame and Senior Athletes Banquet, and wanted it to be known, "Please express my love for Chico."

Falling in love with soccer

A Danville native, Wondolowski grew up playing baseball, basketball, soccer and ran track as well. He simply loved competing. While he did well in other sports, his love of soccer came from his father, John who played soccer at University of California, Berkeley. Wondolowski has photos of himself barely able to walk with a soccer ball at his feet, and his love of constantly wanting to practice came from his father.

Wondolowski remembers two instances where he chose soccer above other sports. His sophomore year of high school he was playing baseball on the junior varsity team and had to make a decision of playing one sport year round.

"I chose soccer which I was excited about but I kind of had a void, so I ended up running track my junior and senior year," Wondolowski said. "I ended up being a lot better at track than I was at any other sport, but I didn't have that passion."

Wondolowski was very successful in track, running a mile in 4 minutes and 15 seconds and even receiving Division I offers after making it to the CIF state meet.

Choosing Chico

The second instance Wondolowski had to choose soccer was when it came to playing at the college level. With D-I schools recruiting him for track, but his passion being soccer, he was waiting for someone to show they truly wanted him to play soccer at their school. Wondolowski came to Chico on a visit and met then head coach Mike O'Malley, where he played all day before hanging out with the team at night.

He had a friend on the team, and remembers going to Bear Hole, Bidwell Park and "also just the vibe."

"It is just a feeling," Wondolowski said. "I loved it and felt like I was a part of it and fit in. The soccer team took me in, I did well on the day and Mike said do you want to come here and I said yes I do. After that it was like, track what? I was able to play for four years and loved Chico and played with Chico Rooks as well, and fell in love with the town, the city and the people."

When O'Malley looks back at the start of Wondolowski's career and the recruiting process he remembers the recruiting process first.

"I heard he had a good work rate and I watched him run and he had a different running style. It's kind of a gliding style. Gliding and ready to pounce style," O'Malley said.

Wondolowski wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and play for Cal, but when O'Malley offered him a partial scholarship it was the only one he received, and Wondolowki followed his heart after his visit.

Growth in Chico

When Wondolowski arrived in Chico he was like many other players, needing to grow his strength and physicality, but he had many skills that quickly caught O'Malley's attention at a tournament in San Diego.

"He came, I was very happy about it, and the thing I noticed right away was that he was really good in so many different areas of the game," O'Malley said. "His touch, his fitness, his desire, but the thing that stood out the most was his ability to finish even against college players as a high school player."

As a player at Chico State Wondolowski was a part of some successful teams as a Wildcat, including a team in 2003 that was runner up in the NCAA Division II Championship final. He was named Second-Team All American that season, and finished his college career with 39 goals and 23 assists. One of Wondolowski's favorite memories came from that 2023 season.

There was a game against Wichita Falls in the Round of 8 that got the Wildcats to the Final 4. Being Native American, Wondolowski had a lot of family from Oklahoma. Chico had nearly its entire team in a room prior to the game against Wichita State, and they were playing cards and watching the local news. The Wichita State goalkeeper self-proclaimed that he's the buffalo after having a great game and a shutout. When the Wildcats played Wichita State, Wondolowski scored a goal, and pulled out a bow and arrow as a celebration and "shot" the buffalo.

Another memory that Wondowloski's Chico State teammate Robby Busick recalled was from that same season just before the game against Wichita State. The Wildcats lost 4-0 to Cal State Dominguez Hills during the season and knew they would have to get past the Toros to make a run in the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats won in the final 30 seconds, Wondolowski scored in the game, and Busick called the scene of the Wildcats winning that game, "the greatest feeling in the world."

"That euphoria of winning that game is definitely a highlight to all of us who were there," Busick said.

When Wondolowski had finished four seasons at Chico State, O'Malley saw four things that separated him from others - his ability to score, ability to finish, ability to move and his competitiveness. O'Malley said he loved working out, and that showed in the thousands of wind sprints he ran in which he came in second place no less than eight times.

"The times he got beat was when somebody else would save up so they could win one against Wondo," O'Malley said. "His desire to win is like none other than I've coached, and he did it in such a classy way."

O'Malley noticed Wondolowski may have the opportunity to play professionally not just because of his skill and his love to practice, but also because of the conversations the coach and player had each year. At the beginning of each semester Wondolowski would bring his class schedule to O'Malley and wanted to know what day he could come in each week to sit and talk. He would soak in all the knowledge O'Malley could share.

"I'm just super proud of him," O'Malley said. "Not necessarily in what he's done, but the manner he's accomplished it. He's represented the city of Chico, Chico State University and the Chico State soccer program in such a classy fashion. I'm super proud of the way he's achieved it."

Wondolowski's teammate Busick said what he saw in Wondolowski that made him different from others was his unique endurance ability amongst many other traits. He would show up at the start of preseason and was ready to go. Busick also mentioned Wondolowski's underestimated strength and his consistent balance.

"He just read where to be and that's a lot of the reason he scored so many goals was because he was in the right place at the right time, but you can only do that so many times before you can discount it just being luck," Busick said. "There's a lot of lucky goal scorers in this world, but when he's done it for as long as he has it's not luck anymore. He just sees things a little differently."

While O'Malley saw Wondolowski grow in many ways as a Wildcat, how Wondolowski truly saw himself grow the most was that he learned out to compete. He knew he wanted to win, but he learned how to win.

"Whether it was I need to play defense on this one, I need to score on this one, we need to make sure my buddy Jake tucked in over here and I'm going to demand it, it taught me how to command and how to win," Wondolowski said. "It helped me find how I can better myself everyday."

Busick had some final words for his former teammate and friend to this day. It also applies to the future of senior athletes that will be present at the banquet on May 18.

"I think you see professional athletes have success and you kind of think maybe not everybody could do that, but I think Chris is a good example that you could do it," Busick said. "You might not have the path that you think of Division 1, but if you just put your head down and work, stay positive and keep moving forward you can be successful, and he was that story which is pretty cool."

Developing the next generation

After retiring Wondolowski toyed with the idea of going into coaching and was even an assistant for the Earthquakes' first team. He quickly realized as a coach on the first team you had to be available all the time, and with kids and a family he wanted to be able to disconnect and be a dad.

The Earthquakes and Wondolowski worked together to find a role that would benefit them both, and today he works in player development in the Earthquakes' academy. He sees that some players get their chance too soon or too late, so he helps players learn how to deal with adversity and still succeed.

"I enjoy finding those guys that are really going to work for it. I see glimpses of myself and I think that's what makes it fun and rewarding," Wondolowski said. "I'm very grateful because I saw coaching and at the beginning was one of the assistants for the first team, and realized especially for a first team coach you have to be on all the time. I have kids, and I joke I get my soccer fix but I'm able to disconnect and be a dad. It's something I love and something I'm so appreciative of the Quakes because it is kind of a special new role and they've let me define it and that we will add a lot more impact in the long run with already guys that we've seen."

Banquet tickets

The 51st Chico Sports Hall of Fame and Senior Athletes Banquet will be held May 18 at Manzanita Place at the Chico Elks Lodge. Doors open at 6 p.m., and ceremonies and dinner will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets for the event go on sale beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 21 and run through Thursday, May 14. Tickets can be purchased at the Chico Enterprise-Record office, located at 3881 Benatar Way, Suite G, Chico.

Ticket pricing is $70 per ticket and tickets will not be sold at the door or online. Seating is general seating, however if you/athletes/family or friends would like to purchase tickets you may purchase in a group of 8. This can include presenters for senior athletes, Hall of Fame inductees or senior athletes. Payment is cash or check only.

Tickets sales are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., with extended hours on Tuesday until 6 p.m. New this year, ticket sales are also available on Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.

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