Alan Mayer (born July 3, 1952) is an American retired

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

goalkeeper. He played professionally in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

and Major Indoor Soccer League and earned six

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with the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team ha ...

. In 2019 he was inducted into the Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame and Islip High School Hall of Fame. In 2021 he was inducted into Long Island Soccer Player Hall of Fame.

Youth

Attended Islip High School in New York where Mayer was named All-Suffolk County in three sports (Soccer, Basketball, and Tennis). He, along with his brother, Bill, were New York State Tennis Doubles Champions. After graduating from Islip High School, Mayer attended

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the institution was renamed Madison Coll ...

(JMU) where he played collegiate soccer and tennis for four seasons. He was the JMU soccer team MVP all four years while setting school records for career and season shutouts and also being named the first All-American player from JMU. Mayer was the JMU's tennis team MVP for three years as he played #1 singles and #1 doubles and was named JMU Athlete of the Year twice. He was selected to the James Madison University Hall of Fame in 1988. In 2000, he was voted JMU's Top Athlete of the Century.

Professional

After graduating in 1974, he was drafted first by the

Baltimore Comets The Baltimore Comets were a professional soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1974, the Comets were an expansion team that played two seasons in the North American Soccer League. The team originally played its home matches a ...

of the

(NASL). In the 1974 off-season, while playing in England for

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

, then in the

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...

, Mayer earned the distinction of scoring a goal from the goalkeeper position. In 1976, the Comets moved to San Diego and renamed their franchise, the

Jaws Jaws or Jaw may refer to: Anatomy * Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth ** Mandible, the lower jaw Arts, entertainment, and media * Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker'' * ...

. The team moved again in 1977 after only one season in San Diego, this time to Las Vegas, becoming the Quicksilvers. That year, Mayer earned NASL Second Team All Star honors. In 1978, the team moved again, back to San Diego where they took the name Sockers. Mayer remained with the team through all these moves and was named the 1978 NASL American Player of the Year. Beginning in 1979, Mayer alternated between indoor and outdoor soccer for several years. While on contract with the Sockers for the outdoor season, he joined the Pittsburgh Spirit of the original Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) for the 1979-1980 MISL season. He was selected as second-team All MISL with the Spirit. In 1980, the Sockers traded Mayer to the

California Surf The California Surf were an American Association football, soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (1968–1984), North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1978 North American Soccer League season, 1978 to 1981 North American ...

. He played two seasons with the Surf. Between the 1980 and 1981 outdoor seasons, Mayer also played with the New Jersey Rockets of the MISL. When the Surf folded after the 1981 season, Mayer concentrated on playing

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor socc ...

for the remainder of his career. He returned to the Rockets for the 1981–1982 season before moving back to the San Diego Sockers which, while still officially part of the NASL, was playing in the MISL during the indoor season. While the Sockers had been a poor outdoor team, they quickly became the dominant U.S. indoor franchise, winning the MISL 1982-1983 championship. Mayer was named the MISL MVP and was the MISL All Star team goalkeeper that year as well. Mayer had a short tenure as player/head coach of the MISL's

Las Vegas Americans The Las Vegas Americans were a soccer team based out of Las Vegas that played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League. Prior to Las Vegas, the team had operated as the Memphis Americans. They only played in Las Vegas during the 1984–85 seaso ...

in 1984–85, but was relieved of his coaching duties just ten games into the season (after going 4–6) and was replaced by Don Popovic. Mayer remained with the Americans strictly as a goalie and went 17-12 while splitting time with Keith Van Eron. After the Americans' franchise folded the following summer, Mayer signed with the Kansas City Comets for the 1985–86 season and became an MISL All-Star for the second time. Nicknamed "Kamikaze" for his reckless all-out style of play, he became a fan favorite throughout his time in Kansas City, spending his final four seasons as a Comet before retiring at the end of the 1988–89 season. Mayer played his last game on April 12, 1989, against the Wichita Wings, and he finished with a regular-season won-lost record of 56–56 in Kansas City. In 2013, the Comets retired his jersey and it is now displayed hanging in the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena.

National team

He earned 6

, gaining 2 shutouts, with the

from 1976 and 1977. During that period, he and

Arnie Mausser Arnold "Arnie" Mausser (born February 28, 1954) 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. Mausser may be considered one of the fin ...

traded duties as the starting goalkeeper on the national team. During his career, he was known for wearing a padded helmet, not common in soccer at the time.http://www.soundercentral.com/museum/1979updates/socking_san_diego.htm

Coach

After retiring from playing, Mayer was an assistant coach to the

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

. He currently lives in Kansas City and is goalkeeping coach of the Sporting KC Academy (MLS), University of Missouri at Kansas City (UMKC) and the Kansas City Comets in the Major Arena Soccer League. The team honored Mayer at halftime of their game on February 22, 2013, by retiring his #0 jersey from his tenure with the original Major Indoor Soccer League Kansas City Comets. Mayer was inducted into the

Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame The Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame is an American sports hall of fame based in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York. The non-profit was established during 1990 to honor outstanding people, living or deceased, who have gained prominence and made ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

in the Soccer Category with the Class of 2002.

References

External links

U.S.SoccerPlayers.com bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayer, Alan 1952 births Living people American soccer players Baltimore Comets players California Surf players Association football goalkeepers James Madison Dukes men's soccer players Jewish American sportspeople Kansas City Comets (original MISL) players Las Vegas Americans players Las Vegas Quicksilver players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players New Jersey Rockets (MISL) players People from Islip (town), New York Soccer players from New York (state) Pittsburgh Spirit players San Diego Jaws players San Diego Sockers (NASL) players San Diego Sockers (original MISL) players United States men's international soccer players Sporting Kansas City non-playing staff Major Arena Soccer League coaches American soccer coaches Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) commentators 21st-century American Jews Sportspeople from Suffolk County, New York