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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Arnold Mausser | ||
| Date of birth | (1954-02-28)February 28, 1954 (age 71) | ||
| Place of birth | Queens,New York, United States | ||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Blau-Weiss Gottschee Brooklyn Technical High School | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1974 | Rhode Island Oceaneers | ||
| 1975 | Hartford Bicentennials | 22 | (0) |
| 1976 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 24 | (0) |
| 1976–77 | Tampa Bay Rowdies(indoor) | 5 | (0) |
| 1977 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 26 | (0) |
| 1978 | Colorado Caribous | 28 | (0) |
| 1979–1980 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 36 | (0) |
| 1980 | New England Tea Men | 2 | (0) |
| 1980–1982 | Jacksonville Tea Men(indoor) | 20 | (0) |
| 1981–1982 | Jacksonville Tea Men | 50 | (0) |
| 1983 | Tampa Bay Rowdies(indoor) | 1 | (0) |
| 1983 | Team America | 12 | (0) |
| 1983–1984 | Tampa Bay Rowdies(indoor) | 8 | (0) |
| 1984 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 23 | (0) |
| 1985 | Kansas City Comets (indoor) | 1 | (0) |
| 1985–1986 | Buffalo Stallions(indoor) | ||
| 1986–1987 | Tampa Bay Rowdies(indoor) | ||
| 1988–1989 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | ||
| 1990 | Albany Capitals | ||
| 1990–1992 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | ||
| International career | |||
| 1975–1985 | United States | 35 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Arnold "Arnie" Mausser (born February 28, 1954) is an American formersoccergoalkeeper who played with eight differentNASL teams from 1975 to 1984. He is a member of theNational Soccer Hall of Fame.
Mausser may be considered one of the finest goalkeepers the United States has ever produced. He is known as the trailblazer for future U.S. goalkeepers such asKasey Keller,Tim Howard, andBrad Friedel. He was a big man (standing 6' 5") who threw with his right hand, but kicked with his left foot.
Growing up inQueens,New York, with two younger brothers, Mausser played numerous sports, his favorite beingbasketball. However, in the eighth grade, he began playing goalkeeper because of his size. Most of his early experience he got playing forBlau-Weiss Gottschee inRidgewood, Queens.[1] He graduated fromBrooklyn Technical High School. As Mausser got older, he trained with numerous local teams, eventually catching the eye of the coach of theRhode Island Oceaneers of theAmerican Soccer League (ASL). He signed with the team in 1974 and played a single season before moving to the NASL.
In 1975, Mausser joined theHartford Bicentennials of theNorth American Soccer League (NASL). He remained with the team for only a single season before moving to theTampa Bay Rowdies before the start of the1976 indoor season. He led the Rowdies to the1976 indoor title, winning all of his starts. Outdoors in1976, his excellent play with the Rowdies (six shutouts and 28 goals scored against him in 24 games) led to his selection as a first team NASL All Star and the North American player of the year.[2][3] Despite his success with the Rowdies, the Tampa Bay coachEddie Firmani preferred English goalkeeperPaul Hammond who had spent the1975 season with the Rowdies. As a result, Firmani traded Mausser in 1977 to theVancouver Whitecaps after the Rowdies signed Hammond.
Although this move was not the result of Mausser's actions, a pattern had been set which continued throughout his career and earned Mausser a reputation as amercenary playing for whoever offered the best pay. From Vancouver, he moved to theColorado Caribous, again after only a single season. After only one season in Colorado, he moved to theFort Lauderdale Strikers, then was traded to theNew England Teamen during the 1980 season. At the end of the season, the Teamen moved toJacksonville, Florida, where Mausser spent the next two seasons as part of theJacksonville Tea Men.
In the winter of 1983, he briefly returned to the Rowdies for theindoor Grand Prix, making one appearance.[4] From there Mausser joinedTeam America, the short-livedUSSF attempt to form theUnited States men's national soccer team into a quasi-professional team. In 1984, he played the NASL's last outdoor season back with the Rowdies. When the NASL folded, he briefly played with theKansas City Comets of theMajor Indoor Soccer League (MISL). He also played a season with theBuffalo Stallions of the MISL.
Mauser moved to theFort Lauderdale Strikers, of theAmerican Soccer League in 1988, then to theAlbany Capitals of theAmerican Professional Soccer League for the 1990 season. He ended his career back with the Strikers for another two seasons before retiring in 1992.
Mausser's strong play earned him the starting goalkeeper position for thenational team with which he earned 35caps between 1975 and 1985, appearing in three World Cup qualifying campaigns.[5] He generally played well for the national team, earning 10 shutouts. However, he had a hand in one of the biggest fiascos in U.S. national soccer team history. In 1985, the U.S. was a tie away from going to the second round of the1985 CONCACAF Championship qualification for the1986 FIFA World Cup. They had one game left, a home match with Costa Rica in Torrance, California. The U.S. had beaten Costa Rica, 3–0, at the1984 Summer Olympics and had tied them, 1–1, in Costa Rica five days before the match in Torrance. However, the U.S. team played disjointedly, and in the 35th minute, Mausser weakly punched away a cross he could have caught. The ball flopped to the feet ofEvaristo Coronado who easily scored the goal which eliminated the U.S. from World Cup contention and sent Costa Rica to the second round instead. Mausser played one more game for the national team, a 5–0 thrashing by England on June 16, when he saved a penalty by Glenn Hoddle. Mausser continued to be part of the U.S. national soccer team until the 1990 World Cup, though he never played again. There is some debate as to Mausser not being selected to the 1990 World Cup squad which was likely because the team was looking at its youth rather than veteran leadership at the time.
Mausser was inducted into theNational Soccer Hall of Fame in 2003.[6]