Who Has the Most MLS Appearances?
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Major League Soccer began in 1996 with the first-ever game of the San Jose Clash defeating D.C. United on ESPN. Over two decades after that game, MLS has seen an array of records set by players worldwide.
Here, we look at the players with the most appearances in MLS history.
Nick Rimando - 553
As is usually the case, goalkeepers have taken over the list of most appearances in MLS history.
Nick Rimando is the man who tops this list, having played 46,336 minutes in the competition, which equals 553 appearances. Most of this time was spent with Real Salt Lake across a 12-year stay, as he played 421 times for it. Rimando also played 98 times in the MLS for D.C. United and 47 for Miami Fusion.
The former goalkeeper is way out on his own with 553 appearances, and with most on this list either retired or too far away, it’s doubtful we’ll see Rimando’s record broken any time in the next decade.
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Kyle Beckerman - 535
Kyle Beckerman spent his entire 20-year playing career in the U.S. and made 535 appearances in MLS.
Just like Rimando, he spent most of his time playing for Salt Lake and made 350 MLS appearances in 13 years. A further 145 came for Colorado Rapids and only three during a one-year stay at Miami Fusion.
He made it into The 25 Greatest by MLS as part of the circuit's 25th season celebration, and he announced his retirement 12 days later on Dec. 21. Should he have played out another season at 38 years old, he would have no doubt overtaken Rimando on this list.
Jeff Larentowicz - 467
There are a few players between the 400 and 500-game mark in MLS and a total of nine players to have made more than 400 appearances in the competition.
The man leading the way just below the 500-game mark is Jeff Larentowicz, who retired two years ago with Atlanta United.
Larentowicz had an incredible MLS career by winning the MLS Cup with the Rapids and Atlanta. He also won the U.S. Open Cup with New England Revolution and Atlanta.
He made 467 appearances in MLS across spells with New England, Colorado, Chicago Fire and the LA Galaxy.
Dax McCarty - 467*
Dax McCarty is the only player on this list still playing and he is subsequently going to surpass Larentowicz in the 2023 season and move into third on this list.
Despite only making 13 appearances for the USMNT, McCarty has won the MLS Supporters' Shield twice with New York Red Bulls and the Western Conference title with Dallas.
His 467 appearances have been spread out across seasons with the Red Bulls, Dallas, Chicago, D.C. United and his current club, Nashville. McCarty is now 35, and he is eyeing the 500-game mark.
Kevin Hartman - 466
Despite sitting fifth on this list, only Beckerman and Rimando have played more minutes than Kevin Hartman with the latter playing 37,260 minutes in MLS.
Hartman is one of the few keepers on this list, and he is considered to be one of the greatest and most successful goalkeepers in MLS history because of his exceptional longevity.
Hartman made 466 MLS appearances and played until he was 41. He won the Supporters' Shield with the Red Bills, the Western Conference with Dallas and two MLS Cups and two U.S Open Cups with LA Galaxy.
He also played for Sporting Kansas City in its Kansas City Wizards days.
Chad Marshall - 439
It’s still quite surprising that Chad Marshall only earned 12 USMNT caps in his career.
Marshall would make 439 appearances in MLS, and no other defender has made more. He won the MLS Defender of the Year in 2008, 2009 and 2014 and claimed two MLS Cups with Seattle Sounders, one U.S Open Cup and one Supporters' Shield. Marshall won the Supporters' Shield on three occasions with Columbus Crew and the MLS Cup in 2008.
The three-time MLS Defender of the Year retired in 2019 and played for only the Crew and the Sounders over 15 years in MLS.
Drew Moor - 436
Staying with defenders, we have Drew Moor up next with 436 MLS appearances.
Moor called it quits at the end of the recent 2022 season after making only nine appearances with Colorado in that campaign. Nevertheless, the defender still managed to make 436 appearances in MLS, as he also captured the MLS Cup with the Rapids and Toronto.
Moor also holds the record for most consecutive games played by an outfield player in MLS history with 68. He spent the majority of his career with Colorado, but also played for his hometown team Dallas, as well as Toronto.
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Brad Davis - 419
Another MLS star who never quite got the recognition he deserved was Brad Davis. The former Houston Dynamo hero won two MLS Cups.
He holds the record for the most MLS appearances in Dynamo history. In fact, by sitting third in the all-time MLS assists charts, he also has the most assists in Dynamo history.
Davis spent most of his career with Houston, but he retired with Kansas City in 2016. He also spent one season with the MetroStars (now the Red Bulls), one season with San Jose, and two years with Dallas.
Chris Wondolowski - 416
The legendary figure of Chris Wondolowski was bound to feature on this list at some stage, with the American being the all-time leading goalscorer in MLS history.
Wondowlowski's record-breaking 171 goals came in 416 MLS appearances, as he spent most of his time with San Jose. The leading MLS all-time scorer made 376 appearances for San Jose in MLS and spent four years with Houston Dynamo.
Oddly enough, despite all the goals for San Jose, he never won the MLS Cup there, although he did win it twice with Houston.
Steve Ralston - 413
Upon his retirement in 2010, Steve Ralston held the record for the most appearances, starts, minutes played and assists.
He has since been overtaken in every regard and still only has one less assist than Landon Donovan, and he has now moved down to eighth on the minutes played, Top 10 and 10th in the all-time appearance list.
In stints with New England and Tampa Bay Mutiny, Ralston made 413 appearances and played 33,142 minutes in MLS. Things ended very abruptly for him in July 2010, as he rejoined the Revs only to suffer an elbow dislocation on his first game, and he retired that same season without making an appearance in the 2010 campaign.
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