Carl Humphries is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

former

association football 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 ...

player who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. In 2001, the ''Irish Independent'' newspaper declared Humphries to be "one of the greatest-ever" to play in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

Early career

As a teenager, Humphries was on the books at both

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

in the English First Division for two years. He returned to

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

in 1970 and signed for local club

Cork Celtic Cork Celtic F.C., originally Evergreen United F.C., was an Irish football club based in Cork. They played in the League of Ireland between 1951 and 1979 and played their home games at Turners Cross. In 1974, they were League of Ireland champion ...

in the

. Humphries scored 7 goals for ''Celtic'' in the 1970-71 season. He signed for

Waterford FC Waterford Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Phort Láirge) formerly Waterford United Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Waterford who play in the League of Ireland First Division. The club was founded and elected to the ...

in 1971 and was a member of the side that won the 1971–72 League of Ireland. His goal scoring proved crucial to ''the Blues'' as he would score Waterford's first in an away game against title rivals

Cork Hibernians Cork Hibernians F.C. were an Irish football club based in Cork. They played in the League of Ireland between 1957 and 1976 and, from 1962, played their home games at Flower Lodge. In 1971, they were League of Ireland champions. History The ...

on the final day of the season at

Flower Lodge A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

. 26,000 people witnessed ''Hibs'' go 2-0 up before Humphries' 79th-minute strike. Team-mates

Johnny Matthews Johnny Matthews (27 August 1946 – 25 December 2019) was an English footballer and manager. Matthews started his career playing with his home club Coventry City. He moved to Waterford United during the 1965/66 season on St. Patrick's Day ...

and

Alfie Hale Alfred "Alfie" Hale (born 28 August 1939 in Waterford, Republic of Ireland) is a former Irish association football, footballer and manager who played for several clubs in both the League of Ireland and the Football League, English League, most n ...

then scored in a dramatic 3-2 win that clinched Waterford's fifth title in seven years. Humphries and Waterford would win another League Title the following season, Waterford's 6th and his 2nd.

Cork Hibernians and Athlone Town

Humphries moved to

in halfway through the 1972–73 League of Ireland season. With ''Hibs'' he scored in the replayed final of the 1972-73 FAI Cup at Flower Lodge, earning Hibernians a 1-0 win. This win earned Cork a place in the 1973–74 European Cup Winners' Cup. In the First Round, Hibernians met

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...

outfit Banik Ostrava. Humphries started the opening game, away in

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rive ...

as Cork lost 1-0 on 13 September 1973. On 3 October 1973, Humphries scored his first goal in continental football, netting a consolation goal in the 67th minute for the home side as ''Hibs'' lost 1-2 at Flower Lodge, exiting the competition. Humphries signed for

Athlone Town Athlone Town Association Football Club () is an Irish football club from Athlone who are playing in the League of Ireland. The club is the oldest in the League as it was founded in 1887. First elected to the League of Ireland in 1922, they pl ...

for the 1974-75 season. The previous season ''the Town'' had finished in 12th, but with Humphries added to their books they finished in a magnificent 2nd place. At the time, Humphries was still playing with his old club

in between games for Athlone. This earned them a place in the 1975-76 UEFA Cup, the first time they had ever qualified for European competition. Their first-round game was against Norwegian side

Vålerenga Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for it ...

who they beat 4-2 on aggregate. Humphries would play in both games and picked up a yellow card in the second-leg at the

Bislett Stadion Bislett Stadium ( no, Bislett stadion) is a sports stadium in Oslo, Norway. Bislett is Norway's most well known sports arena internationally, with 15 speed skating world records and more than 50 track and field world records having been set here ...

. In the second-round, Athlone were drawn against Italian giants

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...

drawing 0–0 in the first leg at St. Mel's Park setting a record attendance of 9,000 before losing the second leg at the

San Siro Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums in ...

3–0. Humphries would start both games for Athlone. In October 1975, Humphries was named as the Soccer Writers' Association of Ireland (SWAI) Player of the Month.

St. Louis Stars

Humphries was part of the roster of 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 ...

(NASL) team St. Louis Stars, wearing the number 17 shirt. He played one season with the ''Stars'' in the 1976 NASL season, making 11 appearances and registering three goals and one assist. The ''Stars'' would finish last in the Pacific Conference

Later career

Humphries returned to Ireland in 1977 to re-sign with boyhood club

. In 1980 he signed for Galway Rovers. In 1980–81 Rovers reached the final of the League of Ireland Cup, but lost on penalties to

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

. In the 1981–82 season, Galway Rovers changed their name to Galway United. Humphries worked in Cork docks while playing in the League of Ireland and bred and trained greyhounds. He later managed Munster Senior League side Everton team along with Jerry Myers and was defeated in the 1992 Munster Senior Cup final by

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city' ...

. In March 2000, his 16-year-old son, Carl Jr., was banned from football for ten years following an incident in a Munster Senior League match between Castleview A.F.C. and Ballincollig A.F.C. the previous December. He later received a red card for life.

Honours

Waterford F.C. *

: 1971-72 Cork Hibernians *

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

: 1972-73

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Humphries, Carl Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland expatriate association footballers North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players St. Louis Stars (soccer) players Cork Hibernians F.C. players Athlone Town A.F.C. players Waterford F.C. players Galway United F.C. players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Irish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Association football forwards