Before he became MLS’s all-time leading scorer, a San Jose Earthquakes legend and one of the league’s ultimate out-of-nowhere success stories, Chris Wondolowski was dead broke.



This was 2005, and Wondolowski was an unknown, lightly-used rookie more focused on making ends meet than on making a name for himself with the Quakes. His salary was just $11,700 that first season. That’s around $400 per paycheck. Bar tabs, needless to say, weren’t in the budget.



One night, however, Wondolowski was determined to make an exception. He had just gone on his first road trip as a pro and, though he didn’t make it off the bench during the match, the Quakes took home a win. After the game, the team went to a local bar to celebrate. Wondolowski, ever the eager rookie, tagged along. On arrival, he made his way to an ATM. He wasn’t quite sure how much money he had in his bank account, but he was riding a high. He figured he’d enter...