Ben Collins is a retired Liberian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

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.

College

In 1980, Collins began his collegiate soccer career with

Morrisville State College State University of New York at Morrisville (formerly Morrisville State College) or SUNY Morrisville is a public college with two locations in New York, one in Morrisville and one in Norwich. It is part of the State University of New York syst ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. In 1994, he was inducted into the National Junior College Athletic Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Morrisville Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999. In 1982, he transferred to

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...

where he was a 1982

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

First Team All American soccer player. That year FIU won the

NCAA Men's Division II Soccer Championship The NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship is the annual tournament held by the NCAA to determine the top men's Division II college soccer program in the United States. It has been played annually since 1972; prior to then, all teams competed ...

Professional

On October 26, 1983, the

Buffalo Stallions The Buffalo Stallions were a soccer team based out of Buffalo, New York, that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1979 to 1984. Their home arena was Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. It was the last professional club for which the Portugues ...

selected Collins in the fourth round (40th overall) of the 1983 Major Indoor Soccer League Draft. The Stallions cut him during the preseason. On July 27, 1984, the

Minnesota Strikers The Minnesota Strikers were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1984 season and in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1984 through 1988. The team was based in Minneapolis/St. Paul metropoli ...

of the

signed Collins on a 15-day contract to replace the injured Bruce Miller. While he played only one game for the Strikers during the outdoor season, he remained with the team when it moved to the MISL in the fall of 1984. He became a regular in the Minnesota midfield through two seasons. On November 15, 1985, the Strikers traded Collins, its 1986 first round and 1987 second round draft pick to the

Chicago Sting The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from 1 ...

in exchange for

Dan Canter Dan Canter was a U.S. soccer defender. He played three seasons in the North American Soccer League and three in Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned nine caps with the U.S. national team, scoring two goals, between 1983 and 1985. Born ...

. Collins spent three seasons in Chicago. When the team folded following the 1987–1988 season, he signed with the

Los Angeles Lazers The Los Angeles Lazers were an indoor soccer team that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1982 to 1989. History Jerry Buss, the owner of California Sports, the parent company of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kings and Strings of Tea ...

as a free agent in August 1988. When the Lazers folded at the end of the season, the

Wichita Wings The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979.

selected Collins in the Dispersal Draft. That summer, he returned to outdoor soccer with the

Orlando Lions The Orlando Lions were an American soccer team from Orlando, Florida which existed from 1985 to 1996. Over the years, the Lions competed at both the amateur and professional levels including some seasons as an independent team. The Lions is a ni ...

of the American Soccer League. When the Wichita Wings failed to sign Collins, he became a free agent and signed with the

San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996), a soccer team in the North American Soccer League *San Diego Sockers (2001–2004), a soccer team in the World Indoor Soccer League and second Major Indoor Soccer League *San Diego S ...

. He was the 1991 MISL Championship MVP. He had suffered from knee injuries during his career including losing nearly half of his first season with the Sockers. During the 1991–1992 season, he reinjured his knee in February 1992. He eventually had knee surgery and retired at the end of the season.

Yearly Awards

* MISL Championship Series Player of the Year – 1990–91

References

External links

NASL/MISL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Ben 1961 births American Soccer League (1988–89) players Chicago Sting (MISL) players FIU Panthers men's soccer players Living people Liberian footballers Liberian expatriate footballers Los Angeles Lazers players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Minnesota Strikers (NASL) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Orlando Lions players San Diego Sockers (1980 – 1996, indoors) players Morrisville State College alumni Sportspeople from Monrovia Expatriate soccer players in the United States Liberian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Minnesota Strikers (MISL) players Association football midfielders