It was October 2012 when then-U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati decided to call several Major League Soccer owners in hopes of convincing them to launch clubs in the new National Women's Soccer League.

Two previous U.S. women's professional soccer leagues - the WUSA and WPS - had failed after just three seasons, but organizers of the new league believed they could succeed with a different business model. The NWSL would be backed by U.S. Soccer and two other federations and Gulati knew bringing in a current MLS owner would give the league some immediate stability.

Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson was the only one that signed on.

"I wanted us to put our best foot forward," Paulson said. "I felt like we had as good a chance as anybody at making women's soccer really successful here in Portland."

Paulson's decision to launch the Portland Thorns ahead of the inaugural 2013 NWSL season marks a watershed moment for women's professional soccer.

Over the last five years, the Thorns have developed into the most successful women's club soccer team in the world and have set an example for what a top-flight women's pro team can look like. The two-time NWSL Champions drew 13,320 fans per game in their first season and have since raised their average per game attendance to 17,678. No other NWSL team has averaged more than 8,785 fans per game in a single season.

But along with building a successful women's club, Paulson has committed himself to growing the women's game in the United States. The Thorns have shared profits with the rest of the NWSL and Paulson has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to recruit other strong ownerships groups to the league, including three other MLS owners.

"Merritt has been a part of the game for a long time and has seen success in all of his efforts, with the Timbers, as well as the Thorns," NWSL Managing Director of Operations Amanda Duffy said. "With his vision, resources, business model and commitment to the team, players and fans in market, he's just set a standard for this league, which has been important to the league's growth and development."

Paulson was a passionate fan of women's soccer long before he considered launching a professional club.

Like many women's soccer fans in the United States, he became enthralled with the sport while watching the riveting drama of the USA's 1999 Women's World Cup victory. Over the last 19 years, he has watched the U.S. Women's National Team religiously and rarely misses even a friendly.

But he was initially wary when Gulati approached him about starting a women's club.

While Paulson hadn't closely followed the WUSA and WPS, he knew both leagues had struggled with financial and infrastructure problems before folding. A former executive at NBA Entertainment, Paulson was also around when the WNBA was facing serious financial issues in its early years.

"I was well-aware of business issues related to both the prior efforts with women's soccer leagues and, on a broader level, with women's professional basketball," Paulson said. "It just made me cautious. I want to be successful at everything we do."

At the time, Paulson was already enjoying plenty of success on the men's side with the Timbers, who had sold out every game since entering MLS in 2011. He also knew that the city of Portland had a track record of supporting women's soccer with the University of Portland program, and he recognized that a women's pro team could succeed in Portland.

But if he was going to enter the NWSL, Paulson wanted to do it the right way. The built-in facilities and infrastructure gave the Thorns a leg up, but Paulson also took steps to make sure the Thorns' logo was just as prominent as that of the Timbers at Providence Park and that the organization marketed the Thorns to fans of all ages, rather than treating it like a niche product for young girls.

"He continues to push the standard, he continues to push the level, he continues to bring in world class talent," Thorns captain Christine Sinclair said. "I think it would be easy for him to settle with where we're at as a club, but he's definitely not that type of owner."

Portland's unprecedented success in its first season didn't go unnoticed.

The Houston Dynamo were so intrigued that they made the decision to join the NWSL as an expansion club for 2014 after conversations with Paulson and Timbers President of Business Mike Golub.

"There's no doubt that Merritt is a driving force behind the future vision of this league," Houston Dynamo and Dash President Chris Canetti said. "He's a marquee owner with the marquee franchise and a big believer in what the NWSL can do. He's ahead of the curve and pushing the rest of us to catch up."

A passionate and hands-on owner, Paulson has leaned on his connections in MLS as he has strived to continue to lure strong ownerships groups to the NWSL.

When it became clear last fall that FC Kansas City would fold, Paulson was the first person to contact Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen. Hansen hadn't planned to join the NWSL in 2018, but three days after getting the call, he and his staff agreed to fly to Portland and spend seven hours meeting with Paulson and the Thorns staff.

"They made everyone available - general managers, coaches, marketing," Hansen said. "They really went from hell to breakfast over how the franchise is run, the league rules, what it would take to enter the league and also what it was going to take to make the league the very best in the world."

Paulson went as far as recommending that the potential Utah club hire head coach Laura Harvey, who had been Portland's rival for years while with the Seattle Reign.

"He said, 'I really dislike her, she is so good,'" Hansen said.

Hansen's Utah Royals, who took over the rights to FC Kansas City's players after the club folded, have yet to play their first game at home, but are already poised to be one of the most successful teams in the NWSL. The club has unveiled a state-of-the-art locker room and training facility and has already sold more than 7,000 season tickets.

"We are trying to emulate the Portland model," Hansen said. "I love the way Merritt manages his teams and the passion he has for the Timbers and the Thorns. He's just set an exceptional example of how a major franchise should be run."

While the Royals replaced FC Kansas City this offseason, the NWSL still lost a club when the struggling Boston Breakers folded a month before the start of preseason. Paulson worked to secure an ownership group to take over the Breakers, but things didn't come together in time.

But while the fledgling NWSL has certainly suffered some major setbacks, Paulson believes the league is moving in the right direction.

He is excited to see Utah already pushing the standards within the league and remains in discussions with several strong ownerships groups - at least one of which he is convinced will enter the NWSL in 2019.

"The Thorns have been as rewarding as anything I've done because I think we've been the poster child for equity in women's sport and success in women's sport," Paulson said. "It's unique right now, but I'll be a lot happier when we start seeing more and more women's sports teams, not just even in this country, but elsewhere, start to shine."

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg