Thomas "Soccer Tom" Mulroy is a soccer executive, industry entrepreneur, and retired American professional soccer defender who played for 13 years in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League,

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

and

American Indoor Soccer Association American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

. Tom served as an official spokesperson for the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

Player

Mulroy grew up in New York playing in the Blau-Weiss Gottschee youth system. He attended

Ulster County Community College SUNY Ulster (Ulster County Community College) is a public community college with its main campus in Stone Ridge, New York, in Ulster County. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. The college also maintains facilities in ...

where he was a 1974 and 1975 National Junior College All American. In 1993, he was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame. In 1976, he played for the

Miami Toros The Miami Toros was a professional soccer team in the North American Soccer League from 1972 to 1976. The club was founded in 1967 as the Washington Darts, and moved to Miami, where they played the 1972 season in the NASL's Southern Division ...

of the North American Soccer League. In 1977 Mulroy scored a goal for the, newly relocated from Miami,

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...

in a February

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 ...

match before moving on to become a defensive midfielder for the

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 ...

of the American Soccer League. In 1978, he went to the ASL's

New York Eagles The New York Eagles were a professional soccer franchise that played in the American Soccer League from 1978 to 1981, with a one-year hiatus in 1980. The franchise played its first season in Mount Vernon, New York, then moved to Albany, New York ...

for one season before returning to the Cobras in 1979. During the winter of 1978-1979, he played for the Pittsburgh Spirit during the inaugural season of the Major Indoor Soccer League. He was a second team All-Star. He later played for the Hartford Hellions and New York Arrows of MISL. In 1982, he tried out with the

, but if he was signed he played no first team games. In 1984, he played for the

Fort Lauderdale Sun Fort Lauderdale Sun was a U.S. soccer team which played two seasons in the United Soccer League. In 1984, the team was known as the Fort Lauderdale Sun. Before the 1985 season they changed their name to the South Florida Sun. Origins The United S ...

in the

. Although he normally played as a defender, on June 3, 1984, he played goalkeeper for the Sun in a 4-2 win over the Buffalo Storm after the

Jim Tietjens Jim Tietjens is a retired American soccer goalkeeper who played professionally in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League and United Soccer League. Tietjens graduated from Oakville High School. He then attended St. Loui ...

the Suns' only goalkeeper went down injured. In September 1986, he signed with the short lived

New York Express The New York Express was a soccer team based out of Uniondale, New York that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. They played only part of the 1986–87 MISL season before folding during the league's midseason All-Star Break. Their home are ...

of MISL. The team folded during the season. He then finished the season with the Louisville Thunder of the

and retired.

World record

In 1978, Mulroy broke the world record for juggling a soccer ball. He recorded 12,295 touches over the course of more than 2 hours in a 20'x25' observation deck atop the Empire State Building.

Post playing career

Since retirement he founded Soccer Marketing & Promotions, Inc. and created Se Habla Futbol. He served on the Executive Committee for the 1996 Olympic Soccer Games and was named Official Spokesperson for World Cup USA '94. Mulroy was hired by

Traffic Sports USA Traffic Sports USA, based in Miami, is a soccer event management company in the North American, Central American and Caribbean region. Operation A division of Traffic Group, Traffic Sports USA has been responsible for organizing and/or commercial ...

to serve as President of

of the North American Soccer League in 2012. Under Mulroy's leadership, the Strikers strengthened bonds within the local community and saw increased attendance and community engagement. Mulroy left the club in November 2014 citing "philosophical differences" with new owners of the franchise, a group of Brazilian investors who later abandoned the historic club. Tom Mulroy is currently Technical Director at South Florida club Weston Select.WestonSelect.org
/ref>

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulroy, Tom 1956 births Living people American Indoor Soccer Association players American soccer players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Blau-Weiss Gottschee players Cleveland Cobras players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983) players Fort Lauderdale Sun players Hartford Hellions players Louisville Thunder players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Miami Toros players New York Arrows players New York Eagles players New York Express players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Pittsburgh Spirit players Sportspeople from the Bronx Soccer players from New York City United Soccer League (1984–85) players Association football defenders