Paul Hammond (footballer)

Last updated

Paul Hammond
Personal information
Date of birth (1953-07-26) 26 July 1953 (age 69)
Place of birth Nottingham, England
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1970–1972 Crystal Palace
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1972–1977 Crystal Palace 117 (0)
1975 → Tampa Bay Rowdies (loan) 12 (0)
1977–1978 Tampa Bay Rowdies 32 (0)
1978–1980 Houston Hurricane 57 (0)
1978–1979 Houston Summit (indoor) 17 (0)
1979–1980 Hartford Hellions (indoor) 9 (0)
1980–1981 Seattle Sounders (indoor) 3 (0)
1981–1982 Seattle Sounders 40 (0)
1983 Team America 18 (0)
1984 Toronto Blizzard 21 (0)
1985–1988 Toronto Blizzard (NSL) 12+ (0)
1989 Hamilton Steelers 3 (0)
Managerial career
2006–2007 Bridport
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Paul Hammond is an English former professional association football goalkeeper who played professionally in England, the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League.

Contents

Playing career

On 13 January 1971, Hammond signed as an apprentice with English First Division club Crystal Palace. He remained in the Palace youth team until first team keeper, John Jackson was injured in 1972. While Hammond then became the starting keeper, his inexperience was a contributing factor to Palace's slide to the second division, then third division. In the midst of Palace's free fall through the English leagues, the team loaned Hammond to the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League for off-season training.

The Rowdies were created in 1974 and began play in 1975. The new owners hired Eddie Firmani, an assistant with Palace, as the team's first head coach. Firmani brought over three Palace players, Stewart Jump, Mark Lindsay and Hammond for the 1975 season. Amazingly, the Rowdies won the league championship that season, with Hammond recording clean sheets in all three playoff games. He saved a penalty in the 1–0 quarter-final win over Toronto, and survived an onslaught of Portland shots in the Rowdies 2–0 Soccer Bowl victory. However, Hammond returned to Palace at the completion of the loan and was replaced by U.S. great Arnie Mausser. Although Mausser had been capped by the U.S. national team, and was selected as the top NASL goalkeeper for 1976, Firmani preferred Hammond and negotiated his purchase from Palace. Hammond made a total of 117 Football League appearances for Palace. [1] At this time Palace was attempting to rebuild its team and used the funds from Hammond's sale to purchase striker Jeff Bourne from Derby County. Hammond played with the Rowdies through the 1977 season, but was traded to the Houston Hurricane after only eight games of the 1978 season. He then spent the 1979 and 1980 seasons in Houston, being named to the NASL second team All Star list in 1979. While in Houston, Hammond was introduced to professional indoor soccer when a new league, the Major Indoor Soccer League began operations in 1978–1979. Hammond played for the Houston Summit Soccer which drew many of its players from the NASL Hurricane. Hammond was selected as the Goalkeeper of the Year as the Summit ran to the best record only to fall to the champion New York Arrows in the playoff semifinals.

At the end of the 1980 season, the Hurricane folded and Hammond went to the Seattle Sounders dispersal sale. By this time Hammond had blossomed into an excellent keeper. In 1982, the Sounders went to the championship game, only to fall to the New York Cosmos by a score of 1–0. That year Hammond was ranked as the third best keeper in the league. At the end of the season, Hammond entered contract negotiations with the Sounders. However, other opportunities beckoned. He had gained his U.S. citizenship and the United States Soccer Federation had decided to enter the U.S. national team into the NASL. The team, fittingly known as Team America, drew on U.S. citizens playing in the NASL, MISL and the American Soccer League. However, many U.S. players were unwilling to leave their professional teams to play full-time for the national team. To make up a full roster, USSF allowed a limited number of non-U.S. citizens, such as Alan Green to join Team America. Hammond elected to leave the Sounders after they failed to meet his demands and signed with Team America. When Team America finished the 1983 season with a 10–20 record, the worst in the NASL, USSF withdrew the team from the league. At that point, Hammond moved to the Toronto Blizzard for the last season of the NASL. In 1984, Hammond achieved his greatest success in the NASL when he had the lowest goals-against average in the league. That gained him another Second Team All Star team selection. Hammond remained with the Blizzard for the 1985 season, which they played in the National Soccer League of Canada. [2] He also played for the Hamilton Steelers. [3]

Managerial career

Hammond managed Bridport for the 2006–07 season. [4]

Honours

Individual

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North American Soccer League (1968–1984)</span> Defunct major soccer league in the United States and Canada

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memphis Rogues</span> Defunct American soccer club

The Memphis Rogues were a professional soccer team in the former North American Soccer League. They operated in the 1978, 1979, and 1980 seasons and played their home games in Memphis' Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. They also played indoor soccer at the Mid-South Coliseum during the 1979–80 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connecticut Bicentennials</span> American soccer team

The Connecticut Bicentennials were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1977. Originally founded as the Hartford Bicentennials, the team relocated to New Haven, Connecticut after the 1976 NASL season. At the end of 1977 season, the team was sold and relocated to California becoming the Oakland Stompers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Team America (NASL)</span> Defunct American soccer club

Team America was a professional version of the United States men's national soccer team which played as a franchise in the North American Soccer League (NASL) during the 1983 season. The team was based in Washington, D.C., played its home games at RFK Stadium, and was intended by the NASL and the United States Soccer Federation to build fan support for the league and create a cohesive and internationally competitive national team. However, the team finished in last place and drew only 13,000 fans per game.

Arnold "Arnie" Mausser is an American former soccer goalkeeper who played with eight different NASL teams from 1975 to 1984. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Alan Mayer is an American retired soccer goalkeeper. He played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League and earned six caps with the United States men's national soccer team.

Perry Van der Beck is an American former soccer midfielder, former coach and technical director, and the former Vice President of Competition and Operations for the United Soccer League.

Boris Bandov is a Bosnian American retired soccer player who currently coaches youth soccer. Bandov spent ten seasons in the North American Soccer League, two in the Major Indoor Soccer League and one in the United Soccer League. While born in Bosnia-Hercegovina, he became a U.S. citizen in 1976. He earned thirty-three caps, scoring two goals, with the U.S. national team between 1976 and 1983.

Al Miller is an American former collegiate and professional soccer coach. After leaving coaching, he then became a general manager for two indoor soccer clubs in Cleveland, Ohio. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

James Gorsek, known as Jim Gorsek or Jimmy Gorsek, is a former American soccer goalkeeper. He spent seven seasons in the North American Soccer League, seven seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League and two in the Continental Indoor Soccer League. He also earned two caps with the U.S. national team in 1985.

Victor Nogueira is a retired American soccer goalkeeper. Nogueira spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League, but gained his greatest recognition in over twenty seasons in three indoor leagues, the Major Indoor Soccer League, National Professional Soccer League and the second Major Indoor Soccer League. He was also a member of the U.S. futsal team which took second place at the 1992 FIFA Futsal World Championship, and he is the father of FC Kansas City and United States forward Casey Loyd. He was elected to the Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame in 2011.

Jeffrey Albert Bourne was an English footballer who played as a striker. Born in Linton, Derbyshire, he spent most of his early career in the lower English divisions before moving to the United States where he played six seasons in the North American Soccer League, two in the second division American Soccer League. He led the ASL in scoring in 1983.

Stewart Jump is an English former footballer in the Football League for Crystal Palace, Fulham and Stoke City. He also had a successful career playing in the United States, and was chosen as the MVP of the 1975 Soccer Bowl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Anderson (Scottish footballer)</span> Scottish footballer

Ian Anderson was a Scottish professional football defender who spent most of his career playing in the United States.

Keith Van Eron is a retired American soccer goalkeeper who played one season in the American Soccer League and three in the North American Soccer League. He also played the first eleven seasons of Major Indoor Soccer League, winning the 1984 championship with the Baltimore Blast. He was the 1986 MISL Goalkeeper of the Year.

The 1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies season was the first season of the club's existence.

North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. Beginning in 1975, the league final was called the Soccer Bowl.

The 1979 NASL Budweiser Indoor Soccer Invitational was a four-team indoor soccer tournament held at the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, Florida on the final weekend of January 1979.

The 1979 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the fifth indoor season of the club's existence.

The 1976 season was the original Tampa Bay Rowdies second season of existence, and their second season in the North American Soccer League, the top division of soccer in the United States and Canada at that time. Tampa Bay entered the season as the defending Soccer Bowl champions.

References

  1. ↑ Mike Purkiss & Nigel Sands (1990). Crystal Palace: A Complete Record 1905–1989. p. 326. ISBN   0907969542.
  2. ↑ Da Costa, Norman (21 October 1986). "One happy coach". Toronto Star. p. C8.
  3. ↑ "Paul Hammond soccer statistics on StatsCrew.com".
  4. ↑ History Bridport F.C.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.