FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Back when he played for Oakville H.S. in Oakville, Mo., Steve Ralston probably didn't expect that he'd be a professional player who would break an all-time appearances record.
For one thing, there was no Major League Soccer when Ralston was in high school. More critically, Ralston didn't even start for his high school team.
"In high school, I was a starter and I got hurt," Ralston said. "When I got back, I didn't start again. That stuck with me."
The transition from Oakville to Forest Park Community College to Florida International University to MLS saw Ralston develop to the point where he has been one of the first names on the team sheet during his time in Tampa Bay and New England.
Ralston has now appeared in 318 league games, breaking a tie with former New York and Colorado midfielder Chris Henderson in Saturday night's 3-2 victory in Los Angeles. Ralston has started 316 of those contests and racked up 28,178 minutes as of Sunday; both are also league records.
"It's a great personal accomplishment," Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis said. "It shows his longevity and ability. A lot of players in this league have gone the way of the dodo."
Said Ralston: "I'm proud that I've been consistent and able to compete on this level for so long."
Revolution manager Steve Nicol believes that the appearances record shows Ralston's mettle.
"For an appearance record, it shows what he is made of," Nicol said. "There are times when he should have sat on his backside, but he's played through those injuries."
Because he struggled to assert himself in high school after an injury, Ralston honed that sense of playing through the niggling pains early in his career.
"I want to play," Ralston said. "If I feel like I can play, I want to be out there. When I was with Tampa [in 1998], I played with a broken bone in my ankle. I missed a few games here and there but I kept on going. Everyone wants to play."
As Ralston continued to excel in the league, his play improved, according to Reis. Ralston was one injury away from a spot on last year's World Cup team after serving as an alternate for Bruce Arena's side.
"Unlike most players, he got better with age," Reis said. "He got called into the national team. He was a huge reason why we qualified for the World Cup. Bruce relied on him and he did a great job."
Ralston wasn't just idly accumulating playing time all those years. He will likely surpass Carlos Valderrama's assist record at some point during this campaign. He is currently one assist behind the Colombian legend's career tally of 114 after earning a helper on Adam Cristman's first career goal in Los Angeles on Saturday; the pair spent parts of five seasons together with the now-defunct Mutiny in Tampa Bay.
"You can see what he's learned from Carlos," Reis said. "[Ralston]'s a great professional"
But Ralston dismisses any comparison to Valderrama and other distinguished MLS playmakers.
"[The assists record] is just a reflection of longevity," Ralston said. "I've played with some great forwards, guys who could score. Look at Preki, Valderrama and Etcheverry. It took me six years longer to get there."
When such records of longevity are broken, it brings up questions as to how long Ralston can continue to play at this level. But with six assists already on this campaign, Ralston feels that he has at least a few more years to extend those records before he hangs up his boots.
"I'm putting in a lot of miles, but I'm not really getting as many tackles as the players in the center of the field," Ralston said. "I want to play a little bit more."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
