Phillip Abraham Woosnam (22 December 1932 – 19 July 2013) was a Welsh

association football 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 ...

inside-right and manager. A native of

Caersws Caersws (; ) is a village and community (Wales), community on the River Severn, in the Wales, Welsh county of Powys; it was formerly in Montgomeryshire. It is located west of Newtown, Powys, Newtown, halfway between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury. ...

, Powys, Wales, Woosnam played for five clubs in England and one in the United States. He played international football for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. He was described as a "gifted inside-forward with a pronounced football intelligence". He was commissioner of 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 ...

from 1969 to 1982, overseeing the league's expansion and boom years. He was inducted into the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1997.

Playing career

Woosnam played football with Montgomeryshire Schoolboys and gained youth international honours with Wales, and gained eight amateur

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 ...

, the first against England in 1951. While studying

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

, he captained

Bangor University Bangor University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It was established by Royal charter, Royal Charter in 1885 as the University College of North Wales (UCNW; ), and in 1893 ...

's football team at the Welsh Universities' Championship. Woosnam completed his national service with the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. He featured for the Army XI alongside

Eddie Colman Edward Colman (1 November 1936 – 6 February 1958) was an English football player who played as an wing-half and one of the eight Manchester United players who died in the Munich air disaster. Biography Colman was born on Archie Street in ...

and

Duncan Edwards Duncan Edwards (1 October 1936 – 21 February 1958) was an English footballer who played as a left-half for Manchester United and the England national team. He was one of the Busby Babes, the young United team formed under manager Matt Busby ...

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. He played club football at

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

, Aberystwyth Town, and with amateur club Sutton United before he joined

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

. He made his senior international debut for

against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in October 1958, having turned professional in January 1957. He represented the

London XI The London XI was a Association football, football team that represented the city of London in the 1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The competition began in 1955, and the first tournament took three years to complete. The entrants were the ma ...

against

Lausanne Sports Football Club Lausanne-Sport is a Swiss football club based in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud. Founded in 1896, Lausanne Sport compete in the top-tier Swiss Super League after being promoted in the 2022–23 Swiss Challenge League Season. The ...

while at Brisbane Road. He was named amateur footballer of the year in 1955. In November 1958, Woosnam was signed by

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

for £30,000 and left his job as a physics teacher at Leyton County High School for Boys to turn professional. He made his debut against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

that month and went on to make 138 league appearances for the club, scoring 26 goals. He made 15 cup appearances, scoring three goals. While at Upton Park, he added 15 full international caps to the one he had gained while at Orient. He also represented the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

and the Wales Amateurs. Woosnam moved to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

in 1962 for a £25,000 fee. He made his Villa debut on 1 December 1962 in a 5–0 home win against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

. He went on to score 24 goals in 106 League games, and gained a further two international caps.

NASL commissioner

Woosnam immigrated to the United States in 1966. Although hired as a coach, he played for 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 (1967), National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967 and the North American Soccer League ...

and scored the first goal in the first football game in the Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. Woosnam became coach of the Atlanta Chiefs in 1968, and was named 'Coach of the Year' in 1968. Woosnam became head coach of the United States national team in 1968. Woosnam was commissioner of the NASL from 1969 to 1982. He is credited as an important factor in the development of the NASL, and was a major figure in promoting the league and had secured TV contracts from

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

and ABC. He played a key role during 1970 in recruiting executives at

Warner Communications Warner Media, LLC (doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City. It was established as Time Warner ...

to invest in an expansion team—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 ...

."Nothing But Blue Skies Does Woosnam"
''Sports Illustrated'', 30 May 1977. Woosnam oversaw the westward expansion of NASL in the early 1970s, establishing teams in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Seattle, and Vancouver. However, he also guided the league into several poor business decisions, such as over-expansion to 24 teams. Facing mounting financial losses, the owners voted to fire Woosnam in 1982. Woosnam later became managing director of the marketing arm of

US Soccer The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer at ...

, and helped bring the 1994 World Cup to the US. He was inducted into the US

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a public-private partnership among FC Dallas, the City of Frisco, Frisco Independent School District, and the U.S. Soccer Federation, and currently located in Toyota Stadium (Texas), Toyota Stadium in Frisco, T ...

and the Georgia Soccer Hall of Fame in 1997.

Personal

Woosnam, a cousin to golfer Ian Woosnam and a nephew of the English footballer,

Max Woosnam Maxwell Woosnam (6 September 1892 – 14 July 1965) was a British sportsman who is sometimes referred to as the 'Greatest British sportsman' in recognition of his achievements. Among his achievements were winning an Olympic gold and sil ...

, became a naturalized American citizen.

Death

Phil Woosnam died on 19 July 2013 in

Dunwoody, Georgia Dunwoody is a city located in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. As a Atlanta metropolitan area, northern suburb of Atlanta, Dunwoody is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. It was incorporated as a city on December 1, 2008, but its area ...

from complications related to

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

and

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

, at the age of 80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woosnam, Phil 1932 births 2013 deaths Military personnel from Powys People from Montgomeryshire Footballers from Powys American men's soccer players American soccer chairmen and investors Welsh football managers Welsh expatriate football managers Welsh men's footballers Welsh expatriate men's footballers Wales men's international footballers Wrexham A.F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Sutton United F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Welsh emigrants to the United States Welsh expatriate sportspeople in the United States National Professional Soccer League (1967) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate soccer coaches in the United States Atlanta Chiefs players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) head coaches Caersws F.C. players United States men's national soccer team managers Alumni of Bangor University English Football League players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) commissioners Royal Artillery personnel London XI players Deaths from prostate cancer in the United States Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Georgia (U.S. state) Deaths from cancer in Georgia (U.S. state) English Football League representative players Wales men's amateur international footballers National Soccer Hall of Fame members Atlanta Chiefs head coaches Men's association football forwards 20th-century British Army personnel 20th-century American sportsmen