Keith Furphy (born 30 July 1958) is an English-American former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

or winger, spending most of his career in the United States. He played four seasons in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

, seven in the Major Indoor Soccer League and one each in the American Soccer League and the National Professional Soccer League. Furphy also made six appearances in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

. He is the son of

Ken Furphy Kenneth Furphy (28 May 1931 – 17 January 2015) was an English football player and manager. Despite being on the books at Everton between 1950 and 1951, Furphy was a lower league player with Runcorn (1951–53) Darlington (1953–62) and then ...

, a former footballer and coach.

Career

In 1978, Furphy moved to the United States where he signed with the

Detroit Express The Detroit Express was a soccer team based in suburban Detroit that played in the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1978 to 1980. Its home field was the Pontiac Silverdome. The Express were co-owned by Jimmy Hill, Roger Fa ...

of the

. At the time the Express was coached by his father. On 3 May 1980, the Express sent Furphy to the

Atlanta Chiefs The Atlanta Chiefs were an American professional soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The team competed in the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967 and the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1968 to 1973 and again from 19 ...

for cash and the Chiefs' first-round pick in the 1981 NASL Draft. The Express made the move as a result of fan dissatisfaction with Furphy playing for his father in Detroit. He spent two seasons with the Chiefs. In the fall of 1981, he signed with the Cleveland Force of the Major Indoor Soccer League and immediately established himself as a high-scoring indoor soccer striker. On 2 July 1983, Furphy signed with the

, now playing in the second-division American Soccer League. He scored two goals in his debut the next day. He returned to the Force in the fall and played with them through the 1984–85 season. However, tensions between him and coach

Timo Liekoski Timo Liekoski (born June 30, 1942) is a Finnish soccer coach who managed teams in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League, American Indoor Soccer Association and Major League Soccer. He currently holds a variety of coach ...

came to a head that year and Furphy demanded to be traded. On 24 October 1985, the Force sent Furphy to the Kansas City Comets in exchange for the Comets' next three first-round draft choices. Furphy began the season with Kansas City, but was traded to the Tacoma Stars in exchange for Dale Mitchell on 6 February 1986. By this time, Furphy had become a naturalized U.S. citizen. Furphy finished the season in Tacoma, but was released by the team at the end of the season and signed with the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The team has won 10 championships since it was founded in 1980. Beginning with t ...

. In 1987, Furphy returned to England to sign with

. He made six appearances in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

over a three-week period on the left wing and scored one goal. In the fall of 1988, he signed with Bath City and played one game, a 2–0 victory over

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

in a November 1988 Westgate Insurance Cup game. On 22 February 1992, the

Detroit Rockers The Detroit Rockers were an indoor soccer team in the National Professional Soccer League from 1990 to 2001. They played in Joe Louis Arena and Cobo Arena in downtown Detroit, Michigan as well as The Palace of Auburn Hills and Compuware Sports A ...

of the National Professional Soccer League signed Furphy to a ten-day contract.22 February 1992 Transactions
/ref>

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furphy, Keith 1958 births Living people American soccer players English footballers Association football forwards North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players English Football League players Wealdstone F.C. players Detroit Express players Atlanta Chiefs players Cleveland Force (original MISL) players Detroit Express (1981–1983) players Kansas City Comets (original MISL) players Tacoma Stars players Baltimore Blast (1980–1992) players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Bath City F.C. players Detroit Rockers players English expatriate footballers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States