# Tom Mulroy

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**Thomas "Soccer Tom" Mulroy** is a soccer executive, industry entrepreneur, and retired American professional soccer [defender](/source/Defender_(football)) who played for 13 years in the [North American Soccer League](/source/North_American_Soccer_League_(1968-1984)), [Major Indoor Soccer League](/source/Major_Soccer_League), [United Soccer League](/source/United_Soccer_League_(1984%E2%80%9385)) and [American Indoor Soccer Association](/source/American_Indoor_Soccer_Association). 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.[1] He attended [Ulster County Community College](/source/Ulster_County_Community_College) where he was a 1974 and 1975 National Junior College All American. In 1993, he was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame.[2] In 1976, he played for the [Miami Toros](/source/Miami_Toros) of the [North American Soccer League](/source/North_American_Soccer_League_(1968-1984)). In 1977 Mulroy scored a goal for the, newly relocated from Miami, [Fort Lauderdale Strikers](/source/Fort_Lauderdale_Strikers_(1977%E2%80%9383)) in a February [indoor](/source/Indoor_soccer) match[3] before moving on to become a defensive midfielder for the [Cleveland Cobras](/source/Cleveland_Cobras) of the [American Soccer League](/source/American_Soccer_League_(1933-1983)). In 1978, he went to the ASL's [New York Eagles](/source/New_York_Eagles) for one season before returning to the Cobras in 1979. During the winter of 1978–1979, he played for the [Pittsburgh Spirit](/source/Pittsburgh_Spirit) during the inaugural season of the [Major Indoor Soccer League](/source/Major_Soccer_League). He was a second team All-Star.[4] He later played for the [Hartford Hellions](/source/Hartford_Hellions) and [New York Arrows](/source/New_York_Arrows) of MISL. In 1982, he tried out with the [Fort Lauderdale Strikers](/source/Fort_Lauderdale_Strikers_(1977%E2%80%9383)), but if he was signed he played no first team games. In 1984, he played for the [Fort Lauderdale Sun](/source/Fort_Lauderdale_Sun) in the [United Soccer League](/source/United_Soccer_League_(1984%E2%80%9385)). 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](/source/Buffalo_Storm) after the [Jim Tietjens](/source/Jim_Tietjens) the Suns' only goalkeeper went down injured.[5] In September 1986, he signed with the short lived [New York Express](/source/New_York_Express) of MISL.[6] The team folded during the season. He then finished the season with the [Louisville Thunder](/source/Louisville_Thunder) of the [American Indoor Soccer Association](/source/American_Indoor_Soccer_Association) 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](/source/Empire_State_Building).[7][8]

## 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](/source/Traffic_Sports_USA) to serve as President of [Fort Lauderdale Strikers](/source/Fort_Lauderdale_Strikers_(2006%E2%80%932016)) of the [North American Soccer League](/source/North_American_Soccer_League_(2011%E2%80%932017)) in 2012.[9] 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.[10][11]

Tom Mulroy is currently Technical Director at South Florida club Weston Select.[12]

## References

1. [Blau-Weiss Gottschee](http://www.bwgottschee.org/ClubHistory/267953.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090909071308/http://www.bwgottschee.org/ClubHistory/267953.html) 2009-09-09 at the Wayback Machine

1. [NJCAA MEN'S SOCCER HALL OF FAME](http://www.njcaa.org/news/NEW%20RECORD%20BOOK/Men_soccer_record_book_071509.pdf)[dead link]

1. ["St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19770228&id=G4hQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kl0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=1793,4648419)

1. [Sports in Brief](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19790323&id=1e0NAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WW0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5231,3708081)

1. *ROOKIE GOALIE BACKSTOPS SUN TO 4-2 VICTORY* Miami Herald, The (FL) - Monday, June 4, 1984

1. *MULROY JUGGLES TWO JOBS FOR EXPRESS* The Record (New Jersey) - Sunday, September 7, 1986

1. [December 20, 1978 Pittsburgh Gazette](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19781220&id=-EsNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Mm0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6915,2693589)

1. [March 25, 1982 NewsOK](http://newsok.com/soccer-ball-juggler-trying-to-make-it-with-city-team/article/1978139)

1. [Soccer America](https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/49498/mulroy-named-ft-lauderdale-president.html)

1. [Soccer America](https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/61701/mulroy-departs-nasl-runner-up-ft-lauderdale-strik.html)

1. [Strikers Run out of Money, Miami Herald September 22, 2016](http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/mls/article103482792.html)

1. [WestonSelect.org](http://www.westonselect.org/staff-member/tom-mulroy/)

## External links

- [NASL](http://www.nasljerseys.com/Players/M/Mulroy.Tommy.htm)
- [Mulroy biography](http://www.copalatina.com/tom.html)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tom Mulroy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Mulroy) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Mulroy?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.