Charleston Battery

Charleston Battery is an American professional soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1993, the team plays in the United Soccer League and, along with the Richmond Kickers, is the oldest continuously operating professional club in the United States.

Charleston is one of the more successful lower division soccer teams in the United States, having previously won the USISL Pro League in 1996, the USL A-League in 2003, and the final season of the USL Second Division in 2010. In 2012, the team won the USL Pro Championship, winning its fourth title in club history.

The club has played its home games at the soccer-specific MUSC Health Stadium in the Daniel Island section of Charleston since 1999. The team's colors are black and yellow, with a traditional red scheme for away uniforms. Since 2005, their head coach and general manager has been Mike Anhaeuser.

History

The Battery was formed in 1993 by an ownership group of local soccer enthusiasts led by Tony Bakker, a native of London who had relocated his software company Blackbaud to the Charleston area in 1989. The club hired experienced college coach and University of South Carolina graduate Tim Hankinson to develop the team, and the Battery started as a member of the USISL, which eventually evolved and came to be known as the USL in 1995. The Battery won the their first league championship in 1996 under Portuguese manager Nuno Piteira, defeating the Charlotte Eagles 3–2 in the final. In 1997 Charleston became one of the original clubs of the newly branded A-League (later the USL First Division).