John "Sonny" Askew (born April 17, 1957) 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 seven 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 second American Soccer League, two in the third American Soccer League, and one in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned four

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

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 ...

Youth

Askew grew up in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

where he was a Parade High School All-American soccer player at Patterson High School. He then attended and played soccer at

Essex Community College The Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) is a public community college in Baltimore County, Maryland, with three main campuses and three extension centers. Academics CCBC has more than 100 associate degree and certificate programs in ...

. He was a 1976 NJCAA All-American. In 2005, he was inducted into the

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

Men's Soccer Hall of Fame for his time playing for Essex.

Professional

Askew joined the Washington Dips of the

for the 1977 season. He also played

indoor Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

for the Dips in early 1978. He continued to play outdoor for them through 1980 before moving to the

Montreal Manic The Montreal Manic or the Manic de Montréal were a professional soccer team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that played in the North American Soccer League. The Montreal Manic were brought back in 2020 by Canadian businessman Gary Gaul as an ...

for the 1981 season. In 1981, he signed with the expansion

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 ...

of Major Indoor Soccer League, playing only one season of indoor soccer. In 1982, he moved to the

Georgia Generals Georgia Generals were a professional soccer team in the United States. They played for one season (1982) in the ASL. They were formed when the Cleveland Cobras franchise moved to Atlanta, Georgia. Their owner was Walt Russell. They played their ...

of the second American Soccer League, but was back in the NASL for the short-lived Team America in 1983. In 1984, the last year of the NASL's existence, he played for 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 ...

. With the collapse of the NASL following the 1984 season, Askew moved to the amateur Spartans of the Northern Virginia Soccer League. In July 1987, Askew signed with F.C. Washington as the team prepared for the first season of the newly established American Soccer League in 1988. By the beginning of the new league in the spring of 1988, the team had been renamed the

Washington Stars The Washington Stars were an American soccer team established in 1987 as F.C. Washington. The team entered the American Soccer League in 1988 under the name Washington Stars and merged with the Maryland Bays in 1990. History Founded in the sprin ...

. Askew spent two seasons with the Stars. He was a 1988 ASL All Star.

National team

Askew he earned four

with the

. His first was a 3–1 victory over

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

on July 10, 1979. His last cap came in a 2–2 tie with

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

on February 12, 1984.USA - Details of International Matches 1980-1989
/ref>

Coach

He coached the

men's soccer team and was listed by Chicago Fire goalkeeper

Zach Thornton Zach Thornton (born October 10, 1973) is an American former goalkeeper who spent 16 seasons in Major League Soccer with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars (1996–97), Chicago Fire (1998–2006), Colorado Rapids (2007), New York Red Bulls (2008) ...

as his most influential soccer figure. He now coaches a
Pipeline Soccer Club
and is on the Board of Directors of the club as well. He was inducted into Maryland Soccer Hall of Fame.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Askew, Sonny 1957 births Living people Soccer players from Baltimore American Soccer League (1933–1983) players American Soccer League (1988–89) players American soccer coaches American men's soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players Baltimore Blast (1980–1992) players Georgia Generals players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Montreal Manic players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players Team America (NASL) players Washington Diplomats (NASL) players Washington Stars players United States men's international soccer players Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Men's association football forwards Community College of Baltimore County alumni