Elvis Comrie (born 7 September 1959) is an English-American former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and coach. A forward, he played three seasons in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

, one in Major Indoor Soccer League, one in the American Indoor Soccer Association, two in the American Soccer League and one in the

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. ...

. Comrie 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 U.S. national team in 1984. Comrie worked briefly as a stockbroker and was formerly a college soccer coach, primarily at Holy Cross. He was also the head coach of the Worcester Hydra of the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

in 2012.

Playing career

Youth and college

Comrie was born in England to Jamaican parents. He was named after

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

. He played for both his school team, the Bristol Boys and his club team, the Kingsford Rangers, part of the

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

club system. When he was ten, Comrie's father moved to the U.S. where he settled in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and worked to bring over his family. Comrie continued to live in Bristol where Rovers offered Comrie a contract when he was twelve. Comrie's father refused to allow his son to sign with the club, insisting Comrie continue with school. Soon after, the Comrie family moved to Bedford-Stuyvesant a particularly harsh neighborhood in Brooklyn to join his father. Comrie attended

Fort Hamilton High School Fort Hamilton High School (HS 490) is a Public school (government funded), public high school in Brooklyn, New York, United States, under the jurisdiction of the New York City Department of Education. Students in Bay Ridge, Sunset Park, Brook ...

where he continued to play soccer. After high school, Comrie entered the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

where he majored in

home economics Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences (often shortened to FCS or FACS), is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and f ...

and played on the powerhouse Huskies soccer team from 1979 to 1982. The Huskies won the 1981 NCAA Championship. Comrie was named a second team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n in 1981 and finished second on career points list with 145. While Comrie finished his collegiate career in 1982, he did not graduate with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in fashion design until 1986.

Professional

In 1982, 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. History "Le Manic" as they were called by the locals, were Montreal's first professi ...

of the

(NASL) drafted Comrie. That season, he was runner-up to fellow UConn teammate Pedro DeBrito for Rookie of the Year. The Manic folded at the end of the 1983 NASL season and Comrie moved to the

Chicago Sting The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from ...

for the 1984 season. The Sting won the 1984 NASL championship. The NASL folded after the 1984 season and several of the league's teams, including the Sting, jumped to the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). However, the Sting traded him to the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...

. While the Cosmos began the 1984–1985 season, they folded after the All Star break. In 1986, Comrie joined the Chicago Shoccers of the American Indoor Soccer Association (AISA). The Shoccers folded at the end of the 1986–1987 season. Comrie retired from playing and became a

stockbroker A stockbroker is an individual or company that buys and sells stocks and other investments for a financial market participant in return for a commission, markup, or fee. In most countries they are regulated as a broker or broker-dealer and ...

. On 19 October 1987, now known as Black Monday, Comrie suffered significant losses, as he found he had not diversified his investments properly, placing large bets on instruments that inevitably collapsed. This led to a re-evaluation of his career and his return to soccer. At the age of 27, Comrie left his stockbroker career and went to France for a try out where he spent six months playing for Montpellier HSC. He played alongside Carlos Valderrama and Roger Milla; however, he eventually came back to the United States where he began his coaching career at the Central Connecticut State University as an assistant to fellow Englishman Shaun Green but was later offered a head coach position at Holly Cross University where he coached for the following 18 years. In 1988, he signed with the

Maryland Bays The Maryland Bays were an inaugural franchise of the third incarnation of the American Soccer League (1988-1989), American Soccer League in 1988. They were based in Catonsville, Maryland, and played their games at the University of Maryland-Baltim ...

of the American Soccer League (ASL). He was a first team All Star. He moved to the Albany Capitals for the 1989 and 1990 seasons. In 1991, he retired from playing professionally for a second time, this time permanently, to enter the coaching ranks.

International

In 1984, Comrie earned four

with the United States men's national soccer team. His first game with the national team came in a scoreless tie with

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

on 30 May 1984. While he started the game, he came off for Michael Fox. He then played three games in October with his last national team game coming on 17 October 1984 in a 2–1 loss to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. He replaced Steve Sharp at halftime.

Coaching career

Comrie gained his first coaching job as an assistant at

Central Connecticut State University Central Connecticut State University (Central Connecticut, CCSU, Central Connecticut State, or informally Central) is a public university in New Britain, Connecticut. Founded in 1849 as the State Normal School, CCSU is Connecticut's oldest publi ...

through an old friend, Shaun Green, the head coach at the university. In 1991, was hired as the head coach of Holy Cross. This position was not a full-time job until 1996. Comrie finished with a career record of 125–158–34. He holds many school coaching records including most wins and most losses. On 24 December 2008, Comrie resigned as the head coach at Holy Cross.

NCAA violations

In 2008, Comrie resigned when a pattern of NCAA rules violations was revealed. According to the NCAA, Comrie made more than 300 impermissible phone calls to several prospective student-athletes, many before the contact period and others that exceeded weekly limits. An investigative committee also found that the school failed to monitor the program as a whole, and in these specific instances, failed to have adequate systems in place to monitor recruiting phone calls. Additionally, Comrie was cited for failing to "promote an atmosphere of rules compliance." Comrie resigned at the end of the 2008 season after 18 years at Holy Cross. He was effectively banned from coaching an NCAA as a result.

Worcester Hydra

On 6 March 2012, Comrie was appointed manager of USL Premier Development League team, Worcester Hydra, for their inaugural season. The team has since folded. He was inducted into the Connecticut Hall of Fame in 2005.

References

External links

NASL/MISL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Comrie, Elvis 1959 births Living people Albany Capitals players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players American people of Jamaican descent American Professional Soccer League players American soccer coaches American Soccer League (1988–89) players American men's soccer players Men's association football forwards Chicago Shoccers players College of the Holy Cross people UConn Huskies men's soccer players English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Canada English men's footballers English emigrants to the United States English people of Jamaican descent Sportspeople of Jamaican descent Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Holy Cross Crusaders men's soccer coaches Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Maryland Bays players Montreal Manic players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players New York Cosmos (MISL) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Soccer players from Brooklyn Footballers from Bristol Stockbrokers United States men's international soccer players English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Fort Hamilton High School alumni People from Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn 20th-century American sportsmen