Joey Fink (born July 31, 1951 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

) is a retired American

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 ...

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 ...

who spent six seasons 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 ...

, two in the American Soccer League and seven in Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned six

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with the U.S. national team between 1973 and 1975.

Youth and college

Fink played youth soccer with Blau-Weiss Gottschee. He went to college at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

where he was a 1971 honorable mention (third team)

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n soccer player. That season he scored a school record eighteen goals. He was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame on May 10, 2008.

Professional

In 1973, the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independe ...

of the

(NASL) drafted Fink in the first round of the NASL College Draft. That year he began the first four games on the bench. In the fifth game of the season, Fink came off the bench and scored three goals. He ended the season with eleven goals in twelve starts and three late game appearances.
/sup> This led to Fink’s selection as a second team 1973 All Star. Despite his productivity, the Cosmos coach,

Gordon Bradley Gordon Bradley (23 November 1933 – 29 April 2008) was an English-American soccer midfielder born and raised on Wearside who played several seasons with lower-division English clubs before moving to play in Canada at the age of 30. During the C ...

, acquired

Harold Jarman Harold James Jarman (born 4 May 1939) is an English former professional footballer and first-class cricketer. He spent the majority of his lengthy footballing career with Bristol Rovers, where he is the club's 3rd-highest goalscorer of all time ...

to replace Fink for the 1974 season. When Jarman failed to produce (scoring only four goals in eighteen games), Bradley gradually began to go with Fink who finished the 1974 season with three goals in eight starts and four late-game appearances. In 1975, Fink scored six goals in sixteen games and was traded to the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...

at the end of the season. Fink spent the next three seasons with the Rowdies before leaving the NASL at the end of the 1978 season. In 1979, Fink joined the

California Sunshine The California Sunshine was an American soccer club based in Fountain Valley, California that was a member of the American Soccer League. The team was owned by Dr. Robert Everakes and his wife Alexandra, who was the general manager. Their home game ...

of the American Soccer League (ASL). He tied with teammate

Poli Garcia Jose “Poli” Garcia (born in San Diego, California) is an American former soccer player. He spent at least four seasons in the American Soccer League, three in the North American Soccer League and four in the Major Indoor Soccer League. H ...

for the league lead in goal scoring with fifteen. In 1980, he was with the

New York United The New York Greeks was an American soccer club based in New York City that was a member of the American Soccer League (1933-1983), American Soccer League. The team began as the amateur Greek-Americans. The club played lower Premier Division of th ...

and

Cleveland Cobras The Cleveland Stars were an American soccer club based in Cleveland, Ohio and a member of the American Soccer League in 1972–73. Before the 1974 season, the name was changed to the Cleveland Cobras. Overview The Stars' colors were blue and ...

. By that time Fink was a successful indoor soccer player and he dedicated himself to the indoor game. In 1978, Fink signed with the Philadelphia Fever of the newly established Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). Fink scored thirty goals in twenty-two games as the Fever went to the MISL championship series before falling to the

New York Arrows The New York Arrows were an indoor soccer team that played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1978 to 1984. They won the first four MISL championships. History Preparing for the first season In 1978, the New York Arrows beg ...

. In the 1980-1981 season, Fink scored fifty-one goals in thirty-nine games. On July 1, 1981, the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The team has won 10 championships since it was founded in 1980. Beginning with t ...

acquired Fink from Fever.
/sup> He went on to play at four seasons with the Blast. In 1984, he became the first American player to score 200 goals in MISL. He followed that achievement up by scoring five goals in the final game of the 1983-1984 championship series to give the Blast the title over the St. Louis Steamers (1979–1988), St. Louis Steamers.
/sup> He was inducted into the Baltimore Blast Hall of Fame in 2006.

National team

Fink earned his first cap (sports), cap with the U.S. national team in a 1-0 win over

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on September 9, 1973. He went on to play a total of six games with the national team, his last coming in a 2-0 loss to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

on August 24, 1975.USA - Details of International Matches 1970-1979

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fink, Joey 1951 births Living people American men's soccer players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Baltimore Blast (1980–1992) players California Sunshine players Carolina Lightnin' players Cleveland Cobras players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players New York Cosmos (1970–1985) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Philadelphia Fever (MISL) players Soccer players from New York City Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players United States men's international soccer players Men's association football forwards NYU Violets men's soccer players New York United players