Kenny Finn
Encyclopedia
Kenny Finn is a former Irish American
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...

 soccer and gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...

 player. He spent four seasons in the League of Ireland
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 22 clubs. It is currently split into the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland...

 before moving to the United States. He then played in the German American Soccer League
German American Soccer League
The German American Soccer League is the previous name of the Cosmopolitan Soccer League, a semi-professional and amateur soccer league which was founded in 1923. The league competes primarily in the New York metropolitan area and northern New Jersey.-History:In 1923, five teams, S.C. New York,...

 as well as with the New York
New York GAA
The New York County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association , or New York GAA, is one of the county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association outside Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in the New York metropolitan area...

 Gaelic Football team. He earned two caps with the U.S. national soccer team
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...

. He is the Aztec Soccer Club
Aztec Soccer Club
The Aztec Soccer Club is a full-scale developmental soccer organization located on the North Shore of Massachusetts. The Aztec Soccer Club is structured like a pyramid, running programs for all age groups and genders...

 Director of Coaching.

Dundalk

Faced with the choice between Gaelic football and soccer, Finn chose soccer and signed as an apprentice with Dundalk F.C.
Dundalk F.C.
Dundalk Football Club is a professional Irish football club based in Dundalk, County Louth. The club currently play in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. Founded in 1903, they are the second most successful team, in terms of trophies won, in the history of the League of Ireland. The...

 when he turned fifteen. He became a first team starter at left back
Defender (football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

 a year later. In 1958, Dundalk won the FAI Cup
FAI Cup
The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup, known as the FAI Ford Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland...

 over Shamrock Rovers F.C.
Shamrock Rovers F.C.
Shamrock Rovers Football Club are a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. They compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and are the most successful club in Irish football history. The club have won the League of Ireland title a record 17 times and the FAI Cup a record 24...

, never conceding a goal during the competition. In 1959, he left both Dundalk and Ireland when he emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

German-Hungarians

When Finn arrived in the U.S., he settled in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, signing with the German-Hungarians of the German American Soccer League
German American Soccer League
The German American Soccer League is the previous name of the Cosmopolitan Soccer League, a semi-professional and amateur soccer league which was founded in 1923. The league competes primarily in the New York metropolitan area and northern New Jersey.-History:In 1923, five teams, S.C. New York,...

. He remained with the German-Hungarians for over a decade before retiring from playing professionally.

National team

Finn began his international soccer career as an Irish youth international. He played at least one game, as team captain, in 1955. Once he gained his U.S. citizenship, he was called into the senior U.S. national team. Finn earned his first caps with the U.S. national soccer team
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...

 in a 2-0 World Cup qualification loss to Mexico
Mexico national football team
The Mexican national football team represents Mexico in association football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation , the governing body for football in Mexico. Mexico's home stadium is the Estadio Azteca and their head coach is José Manuel de la Torre...

 on November 13, 1960. On February 5, 1961, he began his second national team game, against Colombia
Colombia national football team
The Colombian national football team represents Colombia in international football competitions and is controlled by the Colombian Football Federation. It is a member of the CONMEBOL...

, as a defender. With the U.S. down two goals to none, the U.S. goalkeeper, Helmut Michel
Helmut Michel
Helmut Michel was a U.S. soccer goalkeeper who earned one cap with the U.S. national team.In 1961, Michel was with Chicago Schwaben of the National Soccer League of Chicago.He also earned one cap with the U.S. national team in a 2-0 loss to Colombia...

, was injured. Finn replaced him in goal for half time and kept a clean sheet from that point on.

Coaching

After retiring from playing professionally, Finn entered the coaching ranks and his the Director of Coaching for the Aztec Soccer Club
Aztec Soccer Club
The Aztec Soccer Club is a full-scale developmental soccer organization located on the North Shore of Massachusetts. The Aztec Soccer Club is structured like a pyramid, running programs for all age groups and genders...

, the parent organization of the Boston Aztec
Boston Aztec
Boston Aztec is an American soccer team based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in National Premier Soccer League , a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Eastern Atlantic Division.The team plays its home games at...

.

Gaelic Football

Finn had played football as a lad, earning an invitation to play with Louth GAA
Louth GAA
The Louth County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Louth GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Louth. The county board is also responsible for the Louth inter-county teams....

, but gave it up when he signed a contract with Dundalk F.C.
Dundalk F.C.
Dundalk Football Club is a professional Irish football club based in Dundalk, County Louth. The club currently play in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. Founded in 1903, they are the second most successful team, in terms of trophies won, in the history of the League of Ireland. The...

, an Irish soccer club. When Finn arrived in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 in 1959, he joined a local football club which played in Gaelic Park. In 1967, he was part of one of the sport's great upsets when the team representing New York
New York GAA
The New York County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association , or New York GAA, is one of the county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association outside Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in the New York metropolitan area...

 defeated the 1967 National Football League
National Football League (Ireland)
The National Football League is a Gaelic football tournament held annually between the county teams of Ireland, under the auspices of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The prize for the winning team is the New Ireland Cup, presented by the New Ireland Assurance Company...

 champions Galway
Galway GAA
The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Galway GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway. The county boards are also responsible for the Galway inter-county teams.Unlike all other counties in Ireland,...

in a two game final. In the first game, played May 14, 1967, New York defeated Galway 3-5 to 1-6 in New York. A week later, they won again, 4-3 to 0-10 in Ireland. Finn played a total of sixteen years with New York.

External links

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