Bruce Edward Murray (born January 25, 1966) is an American former professional

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 ...

player who at the time of his retirement was the all-time leading scorer for the U.S. National Team. His standout college career led to his selection by

Soccer America Magazine ''Soccer America'', the oldest soccer-specific media publisher in the US, was founded in 1971 by Clay Berling in Albany, California. The magazine is headquartered in Oakland, California. History and profile The magazine was founded by Clay Ber ...

to its College Team of the Century. He then played professionally in both Europe and the United States, including the American Soccer League and

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

. Concussion syndrome forced him to retire in 1995, Murray had earned 86

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, scoring 21 goals, including one at the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being ...

. He was also a member of the U.S. national futsal team which placed third at the 1989

FIFA Futsal World Championship The FIFA Futsal World Cup is an international futsal competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA, the sport's global governing body. Since the first edition that took place in 1989 in the Netherland ...

. Murray is the Direct of Coaching at Accelerator School DC Metro. He is a member of the

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a private, non-profit institution established in 1979 and currently located in Toyota Stadium (Texas), Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The Hall of Fame honors Association football, soccer ...

Youth and college

Murray grew up in Maryland and attended Winston Churchill High School. He played high school soccer at Churchill and club soccer with the Montgomery United Ponies, winning 2 National Championships with the Ponies coached by

John Kerr Sr John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

at the U-16 age group in 1981 and the U-19 age group in 1983. After graduating from high school, Murray attended

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enr ...

, where he played as a forward on the men's soccer team from 1984 to 1987. In his freshman year, the Tigers took the 1984

NCAA championship The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

in a 2–1 victory over

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

. Through his four years at Clemson, Murray was a dominant forward, finishing his career as the first Clemson player to gain 40 goals and 40 assists. His senior year, he again won the

, this time a 2–0 victory over

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

. On a personal level, he was named the 1987

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and th ...

winner and the 1987

ISAA Player of the Year The ISAA Player of the Year was an annual U.S. college soccer award presented by the Intercollegiate Soccer Association of America (ISAA) between 1984 and 1995. In 1984, the ISAA began recognizing outstanding men's NCAA soccer players with an annu ...

. He was also selected as a first team All-American as a forward. This went with his selection as a 1985 All-American midfielder. In 2000, '' SoccerAmerica'' named Murray to its College Team of the Century. In 1993, Murray was elected to the Clemson University Hall of Fame.

Professional

In 1988, Murray signed with 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 spring ...

of the American Soccer League (ASL). This was the first year in existence for both the Stars and ASL. The Stars finished third in the North Division with an 11–9 record and out of playoff contention.
/sup> He continued with the Stars for the next three seasons, but also spent time with Swiss club

FC Luzern Fussball-Club Luzern (), or simply abbreviated to FCL, is a Swiss sports club based in Lucerne (german: Luzern). It is best known for its professional football team, which plays in the Super League, the top tier of the Swiss football league ...

during the 1988–1989 winter (ASL offseason) season. In 1990, the ASL merged with the

Western Soccer League Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer Alli ...

to form the

. The Stars continued their poor run of play, finishing 7–13 and out of playoff contention yet again. The team folded at the end of the 1990 and Murray moved to the

Maryland Bays The Maryland Bays were an inaugural franchise of the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1988.They were based in Catonsville, Maryland, and played their games at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. The team joined the Ameri ...

. In 1991, Murray played nine games, scoring two goals, with the Bays. By this time the APSL was collapsing and the Bays folded at the end of the season. Murray took a break from full-time soccer when he signed a contract with the

U.S. Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

(USSF) to play full-time with the U.S. national team. On July 30, 1993, the

released Murray from his national team contract in order to allow him to pursue professional opportunities in Europe. Murray then moved to England to pursue a contract with English Championship club

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

. On August 9, 1993, Murray signed with Millwall and scored six days later in his debut match when Millwall defeated

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

2–1.
/sup> Despite this excellent start, Murray was limited to 12 games with concussion issues scoring three game winning goals against Stoke City, Watford and Nottingham Forest. over the next year and Millwall released him on October 12, 1994.
/sup> During his time with Millwall, the team sent him on loan to Stockport County F.C., Stockport County. When Murray returned to the U.S., he signed with the Atlanta Ruckus of the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

. That season the Ruckus went to the championship before falling to the

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

. Having battled knee injuries/head injuries for several years, Murray retired from playing professionally at the end of the 1995 season.

National team

Murray earned his first

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in a 5–0 defeat against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

in Los Angeles, on June 16, 1985, while still in college. His first national team goal came against

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

on February 7, 1986. The game ended in a 1–1 tie. Murray went on to play on the U.S. team at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

, and become a mainstay in the lineup during World Cup qualifying. Murray started all three games for the US at the

, the U.S.'s first appearance at the Cup since

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

. His play in the World Cup saw him having a hand in both goals scored during the finals, scoring one and assisting on the other. Only

Brian McBride Brian Robert McBride (born June 19, 1972) is an American former soccer player who played as a forward for Columbus Crew, Fulham and Chicago Fire. He is the fifth-highest all-time leading goalscorer for the United States national team. For m ...

Clint Mathis Clint Mathis (born November 25, 1976) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward or midfielder. He appeared at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, scoring one goal. He also played in Major League Soccer for the MetroStars, wh ...

, and John O'Brien have recorded a goal and an assist for the United States in one World Cup finals. Murray ended his national team career in 1993 with 86

and 22 goals. Murray holds the third most goals scored playing European teams with 9 goals, 2nd Landon Donovan (10) 1st Clint Dempsey (12). Murray also played for the

United States national futsal team The United States national futsal team represents the United States at international competitions. It is governed by the United States Soccer Federation and affiliated with CONCACAF. The U.S. Futsal Federation was founded in 1981 and the fir ...

which placed third at the

1989 FIFA Futsal World Championship The 1989 FIFA Futsal World Championship was the first ever FIFA Futsal World Championship, the quadrennial international futsal championship contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It was held between 5 and 15 Ja ...

. He earned six caps and scored one goal with the futsal team.
/sup>

U.S. National Team Appearances

:''As of match played June 22, 1993.''

International goals

Post playing career

After a series of head injuries, Murray decided to retire from playing professionally. At first, he entered the metals trading industry, but in 2001, he decided to re-enter soccer with the

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

youth program.
/sup> In 2002, Murray became the Director of coaching with the Roswell Soccer Club in Georgia. On September 17, 2004,

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

announced that Murray had been hired as an assistant coach with the men's soccer team.
/sup> He was with Harvard for two seasons, then moved to the Capital Area Soccer League in Raleigh, NC where he was a staff coach. On March 20, 2011, Murray was elected to the

.Cobi Jones, Eddie Pope, and Earnie Stewart Elected to National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2011
Recently Murray has been diagnosed with potential CTE symptoms from his concussion and repetitive heading of the ball over his playing career.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Bruce 1966 births Living people All-American men's college soccer players American expatriate soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in England American men's futsal players American Professional Soccer League players American soccer coaches American soccer players American Soccer League (1988–89) players Association football forwards Atlanta Silverbacks players Ayr United F.C. players Clemson Tigers men's soccer players CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players FC Luzern players Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Maryland Bays players Millwall F.C. players National Soccer Hall of Fame members Olympic soccer players of the United States Soccer players from Maryland Stockport County F.C. players United States men's international soccer players Washington Stars players 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1992 King Fahd Cup players 1993 Copa América players People from Germantown, Maryland Hermann Trophy men's winners NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament Most Outstanding Player winners