Mike Renshaw
Encyclopedia
Michael "Mike" Renshaw is a U.S.-English former football left winger
. He began as a youth player with Blackpool F.C.
before moving to the United States to join the Dallas Tornado
of the North American Soccer League
in 1968. He also spent time with Margate F.C.
and Rhyl F.C.
He earned two caps with the U.S. national team in 1973 despite not being a U.S. citizen at the time. Finally, he coached the Dallas Tornado
in 1981.
He never cracked the first-team line up but played regularly for the youth team against the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton. In 1967 at age 19, he answered a newspaper advertisement looking for top class young players interested in moving to the United States to play professional soccer. He sufficiently impressed Bob Kap at the trial to be offered a position with the Dallas Tornado
of the newly established North American Soccer League
. That team started pre-season training in Madrid, Spain in August 1967 before embarking on an unprecedented seven month, twenty-nine game world tour visiting over twenty countries. He gained a starting position with the Tornado during the 1968 season. At the end of the season, the league was in danger of collapsing and Renshaw returned to England where he gained a trial with Margate F.C.
He played one game, a Southern Football League
Cup tie with Ashford F.C.
on December 23, 1968, but decided to return to the north of England. He then moved to League of Wales
club Rhyl F.C.
for the remainder of the 1968-1969 season. He returned to the Tornado in the summer of 1969 and remained with it until he retired in 1976. In 1971, the Tornado won the NASL championship over the Atlanta Chiefs
. Renshaw scored the winning goal in the third, and deciding, game of the series, the only outdoor professional championship ever won by a Dallas soccer teamhttp://www.dentonrc.com/s/dws/spt/misc/history/stories/september/091971tornado.html In 1975 he was in the starting line-up for the Dallas Tornado against the New York Cosmo in Peles' first game for New York (a 2-2 tie) later that season he scored against Peles' Cosmos in a 3-2 Tornado win at Texas Stadium. On a personal level, he was a second team All Star in 1970 and an honorable mention in 1971 and 1972.http://national.soccerhall.org/history/NASL%20All-League%20Teams.htm Renshaw was plagued with bad knees for several years and in 1976, doctors advised him that he could no longer play without risking life long damage. He took their advice and stopped playing professionally.
In addition to his outdoor career, Renshaw also played indoor soccer with the Tornado. He scored a hat trick against Philadelphia Atoms in a nationally televised game and was then named to the All Tournament team during the 1975 NASL indoor tournament played at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Renshaw went on to earn an 'A' coaching licence from the United States Soccer Federation, the highest qualification available in the USA.
when he was called up for a tour of Europe. His first game was a 4-0 loss to Bermuda
on March 17, 1973. He came on for Dave Coskunian
. His second was a 4-0 loss to Poland
three days later.http://www.rsssf.com/tablesu/usa-intres-det70.html In addition to these two games, he also played four games for the USA against under 23 national teams (Poland and Germany) and club teams, including Lazio in Rome, Italy. The U.S. Soccer Federation had failed to check Renshaw’s citizenship before the tour, assuming that he had gained it since he had been in the U.S. for five years. They discovered that he was neither a U.S. citizen and was in the country with an expired work visa when the team went through the immigration check returning from Europe. Years later when asked if he knew he was ineligible to play for the U.S. Renshaw stated, “Of course I knew, I just figures ‘what the hell, I guess they know what they’re doing’. I LOVED playing for the USA.”http://www.margatefchistory.co.uk/mikerenshaw.htm
brought Renshaw in as his assistant. In 1980, Miller quit the team and Renshaw was promoted to head coach. Quietly, Lamar Hunt had decided to fold the Tornado at the end of the 1981 season and he was reluctant to spend much money on new acquisitions. The Tornado had also lost two of their best American players, Tony Bellinger and Steve Petcher (three had to be on the field at all time) to the new MISL. (Major Indoor Soccer League) A 3rd American, and the teams leading scorer from the previous season, Njego Pesa held out for a new contract and missed all of pre-season and the start of the regular season. Thus the team was much weakened going into the 1981 season. Renshaw lasted half the season but was fired on July 4, 1980 after the team, having started with two wins in their first three games, failed to win for sixteen straight games. Renshaw remained in the Dallas area, raised a family and became involved in youth soccer. Renshaw earned an "A" level licence from the United States Soccer Federation, the highest licence available in the USA.
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
. He began as a youth player with Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
before moving to the United States to join the Dallas Tornado
Dallas Tornado
Dallas Tornado were a soccer team based in Dallas that played in the NASL. They played from 1967 to 1981. Their home fields were Cotton Bowl , P.C. Cobb Stadium , Franklin Field , Texas Stadium and Ownby Stadium on the SMU campus...
of the North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
in 1968. He also spent time with Margate F.C.
Margate F.C.
Margate Football Club is an English football team based in the seaside resort of Margate, Kent, currently playing in the Isthmian League Premier Division. The club was known for a number of years during the 1980s as Thanet United....
and Rhyl F.C.
Rhyl F.C.
Rhyl Football Club is a Welsh football club, playing in the Cymru Alliance.The club was founded in 1882 and the team plays its home matches at Belle Vue, Rhyl, which can accommodate 3,000 spectators.- History :Few clubs in the Welsh Premier League have as distinguished a past as Rhyl's...
He earned two caps with the U.S. national team in 1973 despite not being a U.S. citizen at the time. Finally, he coached the Dallas Tornado
Dallas Tornado
Dallas Tornado were a soccer team based in Dallas that played in the NASL. They played from 1967 to 1981. Their home fields were Cotton Bowl , P.C. Cobb Stadium , Franklin Field , Texas Stadium and Ownby Stadium on the SMU campus...
in 1981.
Playing career
Renshaw grew up in Manchester before signing with Blackpool F.C.Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
He never cracked the first-team line up but played regularly for the youth team against the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton. In 1967 at age 19, he answered a newspaper advertisement looking for top class young players interested in moving to the United States to play professional soccer. He sufficiently impressed Bob Kap at the trial to be offered a position with the Dallas Tornado
Dallas Tornado
Dallas Tornado were a soccer team based in Dallas that played in the NASL. They played from 1967 to 1981. Their home fields were Cotton Bowl , P.C. Cobb Stadium , Franklin Field , Texas Stadium and Ownby Stadium on the SMU campus...
of the newly established North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
. That team started pre-season training in Madrid, Spain in August 1967 before embarking on an unprecedented seven month, twenty-nine game world tour visiting over twenty countries. He gained a starting position with the Tornado during the 1968 season. At the end of the season, the league was in danger of collapsing and Renshaw returned to England where he gained a trial with Margate F.C.
Margate F.C.
Margate Football Club is an English football team based in the seaside resort of Margate, Kent, currently playing in the Isthmian League Premier Division. The club was known for a number of years during the 1980s as Thanet United....
He played one game, a Southern Football League
Southern Football League
The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
Cup tie with Ashford F.C.
Ashford Town F.C. (Kent)
Ashford United F.C. are an English football club based in Ashford, Kent. The 'new' United was formed in 2011 . Between 1930 and 2010 the town was represented by Ashford Town FC, before it ultimately went into administration...
on December 23, 1968, but decided to return to the north of England. He then moved to League of Wales
League of Wales
The Welsh Premier League is the national football league for Wales. It has both Professional and Semi-Professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 2002, the league was known as the League of Wales, but changed its name as part of a sponsorship deal...
club Rhyl F.C.
Rhyl F.C.
Rhyl Football Club is a Welsh football club, playing in the Cymru Alliance.The club was founded in 1882 and the team plays its home matches at Belle Vue, Rhyl, which can accommodate 3,000 spectators.- History :Few clubs in the Welsh Premier League have as distinguished a past as Rhyl's...
for the remainder of the 1968-1969 season. He returned to the Tornado in the summer of 1969 and remained with it until he retired in 1976. In 1971, the Tornado won the NASL championship over the Atlanta Chiefs
Atlanta Chiefs
The Atlanta Chiefs were a soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia that played in the NPSL and NASL from 1967 to 1972. Their home fields were Atlanta Stadium and Tara Stadium . The club was the brainchild of Dick Cecil, then Vice President of the Atlanta Braves baseball franchise who were the Chiefs'...
. Renshaw scored the winning goal in the third, and deciding, game of the series, the only outdoor professional championship ever won by a Dallas soccer teamhttp://www.dentonrc.com/s/dws/spt/misc/history/stories/september/091971tornado.html In 1975 he was in the starting line-up for the Dallas Tornado against the New York Cosmo in Peles' first game for New York (a 2-2 tie) later that season he scored against Peles' Cosmos in a 3-2 Tornado win at Texas Stadium. On a personal level, he was a second team All Star in 1970 and an honorable mention in 1971 and 1972.http://national.soccerhall.org/history/NASL%20All-League%20Teams.htm Renshaw was plagued with bad knees for several years and in 1976, doctors advised him that he could no longer play without risking life long damage. He took their advice and stopped playing professionally.
In addition to his outdoor career, Renshaw also played indoor soccer with the Tornado. He scored a hat trick against Philadelphia Atoms in a nationally televised game and was then named to the All Tournament team during the 1975 NASL indoor tournament played at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Renshaw went on to earn an 'A' coaching licence from the United States Soccer Federation, the highest qualification available in the USA.
National team
In 1973, Renshaw earned two full caps with the U.S. national teamUnited States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
when he was called up for a tour of Europe. His first game was a 4-0 loss to Bermuda
Bermuda national football team
The Bermuda national football team is the national team of Bermuda and is controlled by the Bermuda Football Association. A member of CONCACAF, it is not among its strongest teams....
on March 17, 1973. He came on for Dave Coskunian
Dave Coskunian
Davit “Dave Coskunian” Çoşkun was a Turkish-American soccer player of Armenian descent who earned three caps with the U.S. national team. He played one season in the National Professional Soccer League and one in the North American Soccer League....
. His second was a 4-0 loss to Poland
Poland national football team
The Poland national football team represents Poland in association football and is controlled by the Polish Football Association, the governing body for football in Poland...
three days later.http://www.rsssf.com/tablesu/usa-intres-det70.html In addition to these two games, he also played four games for the USA against under 23 national teams (Poland and Germany) and club teams, including Lazio in Rome, Italy. The U.S. Soccer Federation had failed to check Renshaw’s citizenship before the tour, assuming that he had gained it since he had been in the U.S. for five years. They discovered that he was neither a U.S. citizen and was in the country with an expired work visa when the team went through the immigration check returning from Europe. Years later when asked if he knew he was ineligible to play for the U.S. Renshaw stated, “Of course I knew, I just figures ‘what the hell, I guess they know what they’re doing’. I LOVED playing for the USA.”http://www.margatefchistory.co.uk/mikerenshaw.htm
Coaching
In 1977, Tornado coach Al MillerAl Miller (soccer)
Al Miller is a former U.S. collegiate and professional soccer coach. After leaving coaching, he then became a general manager for two indoor soccer clubs in Cleveland, Ohio. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.-Youth:Miller was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania and grew up in Ono,...
brought Renshaw in as his assistant. In 1980, Miller quit the team and Renshaw was promoted to head coach. Quietly, Lamar Hunt had decided to fold the Tornado at the end of the 1981 season and he was reluctant to spend much money on new acquisitions. The Tornado had also lost two of their best American players, Tony Bellinger and Steve Petcher (three had to be on the field at all time) to the new MISL. (Major Indoor Soccer League) A 3rd American, and the teams leading scorer from the previous season, Njego Pesa held out for a new contract and missed all of pre-season and the start of the regular season. Thus the team was much weakened going into the 1981 season. Renshaw lasted half the season but was fired on July 4, 1980 after the team, having started with two wins in their first three games, failed to win for sixteen straight games. Renshaw remained in the Dallas area, raised a family and became involved in youth soccer. Renshaw earned an "A" level licence from the United States Soccer Federation, the highest licence available in the USA.