Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | November 30, 1956 | ||
Place of birth | Reading, Pennsylvania, United States | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
Youth career | |||
1974–1977 | Alderson–Broaddus College | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1978–1979 | New England Tea Men | 7 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Kirk Pearson is a retired American soccer goalkeeper who played two seasons in the North American Soccer League.
Pearson attended Alderson–Broaddus College where he was a 1977 Honorable Mention (third team) All American soccer player. In January 1978, the expansion New England Tea Men selected Pearson in the North American Soccer League draft. [1] He played only two games during the 1978 season, but saw five games at the beginning of the 1979 season when the first string goalkeeper Kevin Keelan broke his hand in the pre-season. [2]
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It was the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the United States. The league final was called the Soccer Bowl from 1975 to 1983 and the Soccer Bowl Series in its final year, 1984. The league was headed by Commissioner Phil Woosnam from 1969 to 1983. The NASL laid the foundations for soccer in the United States that helped lead to the country hosting the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the set-up of Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996.
The Jacksonville Tea Men were a soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Overall, the Tea Men played a total of four seasons in Jacksonville, first in the major league-level North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1980–1982, then in the lower level American Soccer League and United Soccer League from 1982–1984. The NASL incarnation of the club was Jacksonville's first professional soccer team, and the first major league-level sport franchise ever based in the city.
The New England Tea Men were an American professional soccer team based in Greater Boston. They played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1978 to 1980. Their home venues for outdoor play were Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, and Nickerson Field near Boston University. They also played one season of indoor soccer in the NASL, using the Providence Civic Center for home games.
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