Founded as the in 1973 as the Baltimore Comets the bankrupt franchise was sold after two unsuccessful seasons on the East Coast and moved by new owner Ken Keegan to San Diego.

[3] The team hired English midfielder Derek Trevis who had won the NASL championship in 1973 as part of the Philadelphia Atoms to acts as player-manager of the new franchise.

[6] Even though the team still had five open roster spots, include two of three forwards, the Jaws faced their first opponent the Dallas Tornados in a preseason game on March 12, 1976,[7] losing 2-0 in front of a mostly unpaid crowd of 6,754.

[9] In another preseason game on March 24, 1976, this one held at Balboa Stadium, in front of 18,128 people in attendance the Jaws tied the New York Cosmos holding Pelé scoreless in the 1-1 draw.

[12][13] It was reported that team owner Ken Keegan was seeking investors from the local community, with five limited partners added to the ownership group by mid July.