Jim McGeough is a retired Irish-American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

defender. His career spanned over a dozen teams in seven leagues including the American Soccer League,

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. ...

Major Soccer League Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and National Professional Soccer League.

Player

McGeough, son of Belfast-born footballer

Jimmy McGeough Jimmy McGeough (born 13 August 1944) is a Northern Irish former football player and manager. Playing and coaching career His clubs included Derry City, Lincoln and Waterford United. Joining Derry in July 1963 he was part of the only Derry Ci ...

, moved to the United States at the age of fourteen when his father was hired to coach the

New York Apollo The New York Greeks was an American soccer club based in New York City that was a member of the American Soccer League (1933-1983), American Soccer League. The team began as the amateur Greek-Americans. The club played lower Premier Division of ...

. He graduated from Hicksville Senior High School on

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. He attended SUNY Farmingdale. In 1985, he signed with the Columbus Capitals in the

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 ...

. In 1986, he moved to the Toledo Pride, but the team lasted only the 1986–1987 season before folding. McGeough then moved to the Jacksonville Generals for the 1987-1988 AISA season. He then joined the

Dayton Dynamo Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 census. The Dayton metropolitan area had 814,049 residents and is the sta ...

in December 1988 and played one season there. He had a trial with

Derby County F.C. Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the Football League i ...

, but broke his clavicle and returned to the United States. In 1989, McGeough returned to outdoor soccer with the

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) The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were an American soccer team establishe ...

in the third American Soccer League. That season the Strikers won the league championship which put them into national championship game pitting the ASL champs with the

Western Soccer League The 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 ...

champions. The Strikers won the game, 3–1, over the San Diego Nomads. McGeough was an ASL All Star. He continued with the Strikers in 1990. In August 1990, he signed with the

Wichita Wings The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979.

of the Major Indoor Soccer League for the 1990–1991 season. In 1991, he began the summer outdoor season with the

Miami Freedom The Miami Sharks were an inaugural franchise of the third incarnation of the American Soccer League (1988–89), American Soccer League in 1988. The team was renamed the Miami Freedom and joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when ...

. When the Freedom failed to pay its players due to financial difficulties, McGeough moved to the

Albany Capitals The Albany Capitals joined the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1988. The team joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the ASL merged with the Western Soccer League. The club was based in Albany, New York, a ...

. The Capitals went to the APSL championship game where they fell in penalty kicks to the

San Francisco Bay Blackhawks San Francisco Bay Blackhawks were a professional soccer team which came into existence in 1989 as a team in the Western Soccer League (WSL). The Blackhawks spent time in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL) and the United States Interre ...

. In the fall of 1991, McGeough played four games with the Wings before going to England for a trial with

Reading F.C. Reading Football Club ( ) is a professional football club based in Reading, Berkshire, England. They compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. They play their home matches at the Select Car Leasing Sta ...

Personal issues led McGeough to return to the United States to be with his family. In January 1992, the San Diego Sockers of MISL signed him. Two injuries led to the loss of much of the early season, but he eventually played four regular season games for the Sockers. He scored the game winner in the Sockers 5-4 third game victory over the Dallas Sidekicks in the championship series. He then joined the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

of the APSL. He played the 1992 season as the Rowdies finished runner-up to the

Colorado Foxes The Colorado Foxes were a professional men's soccer club originally based in Commerce City, Colorado, that played in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL) and USL A-League. Founded in 1990, the club moved to San Diego, California in ...

, and the 1993 season where the Rowdies lost in the play-off semi-finals. In 1994, he played for the

Carolina Vipers The Carolina Vipers were an indoor soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League. They played only one season in 1994. Their home arena was Independence Arena. The Vipers were owned by Feli ...

in the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice ...

which played a summer indoor season. That fall, he joined the

in the National Professional Soccer League. He spent two NPSL indoor winter seasons with the Wings. In 1995, he played the summer with the Myrtle Beach Boyz in the

USISL The United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) was a semi-professional men's outdoor soccer league that played six seasons from 1989 to 1994. It was the first outdoor league to be operated by the organization known today as the United ...

where he lost to the Long Island Roughriders, coached by his father, in the championship game. In February 1996, the

Dallas Burn Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

selected McGeough in the 10th round (93rd overall) in the

1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft The MLS Inaugural Player Draft, held before Major League Soccer's initial 1996 season, distributed players to the league's ten inaugural teams. The Inaugural Player Draft occurred on February 6 and 7, 1996 after each team was allocated four marqu ...

. The Burn did not sign McGeough and he moved to the

Philadelphia KiXX The Philadelphia KiXX were a professional indoor soccer team based in Philadelphia, USA. The team competed as an National Professional Soccer League II, NPSL expansion franchise and then played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (2008–14), Major ...

when the KiXX selected him in the NSPL Expansion Draft.''WINGS LOSE MCGEOUGH TO DRAFT'' Wichita Eagle, The (KS) - Wednesday, June 5, 1996 He played one season with the KiXX, before moving to the

Detroit Safari The Detroit Safari (founded as the Detroit Neon) was a member of the Continental Indoor Soccer League that played at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Their owners, the Palace Sports Group, were awarded a franchise on November 4, 1993. Club history Th ...

of the CISL for the 1997 summer indoor season. In the fall of 1997, he a trial with

Shelbourne F.C. Shelbourne Football Club is an List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish professional Association football, football club based in Drumcondra, Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They ...

in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

but chose to return to the United States after he was offered a contract. In 1998, he returned to the Safari where he finished his career.

Coach

In 1994, McGeough served as an assistant coach with the

. He coached youth soccer for several years, but no longer does so. In 2008, he coached a senior amateur team in Ireland.

References

External links

McGeough Career Overview

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGeough, Jimmy Jr. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Albany Capitals players American Professional Soccer League players American soccer coaches American Soccer League (1988–89) players Men's association football defenders British emigrants to the United States Carolina Vipers players Columbus Capitals players Continental Indoor Soccer League players Dayton Dynamo players Detroit Safari players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) players League of Ireland players Jacksonville Generals players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Miami Freedom players Myrtle Beach Boyz players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players New York Nationals (USL) players Philadelphia KiXX (NPSL) players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) indoor players Shelbourne F.C. players Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players Toledo Pride players United Soccer League (1984–85) players USL Second Division players Wichita Wings (MISL) players Wichita Wings (NPSL) players American men's soccer players