2010 Veteran Player Candidates

The Veteran Player Screening Committee has selected the following individuals for the

Desmond Armstrong - A defender who played for the United States at the 1990 World Cup and on numerous other occasions. Armstrong played 81 full internationals for the United States, the first against Egypt in June 1987 and the last against Estonia in May 1994. He played all 90 minutes of the United States' three games in the 1990 World Cup and also played in the 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 1988 Olympic Games. Armstrong also played three seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League, three seasons in the American Professional Soccer and the leagues that preceded it, and two seasons in the USISL.

George Best - Forward-midfielder from Northern Ireland, one of the most famous players in the history of the game, who played six seasons in the NASL. Best was capped 37 times by Northern Ireland, but gained his greatest fame as a star in the English League with Manchester United, for whom he played from 1961 to '75. In the NASL, he played for Los Angeles in 1976, '77 and part of '78, for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in part of 1978 and all of '79, and for the San Jose Earthquakes in 1980 and '81. Best played 139 NASL regular-seasons games and 11 NASL playoff games, in which he scored 57 goals. He may have been more famous in the NASL as a playmaker than as a goal scorer, with 60 assists in his NASL career. He was a first-team NASL all-star choice in 1976 and '77, a second-team all-star in 1981 and an honorable mention all-star in 1978.

Teofilo "Nene" Cubillas - Peruvian international star who played for five seasons in the North American Soccer League for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. Cublllas, a forward early in his career and a midfielder later, played for Fort Lauderdale from 1979 to 1983. He did not go with the team when it moved to Minnesota for the 1984 season, but remained in Florida, where he eventually played two seasons in the United Soccer League and two in the third American Soccer League. Cubillas played 120 NASL regular-season games and 21 NASL playoff games, scoring 65 goals. In 1980, Cubillas was the leading goal scorer for the Fort Lauderdale team that reached the NASL title game. He was a first-team NASL all-star in 1980 and '81, and a second-team selection in 1979 and '82. Cubillas was the star of the Peruvian national team throughout the 1970s, including the teams that reached the final eight of the World Cup in both 1970 and 1978. In 1982, he played for Peru in a third World Cup, becoming one of the few NASL players ever to appear in the World Cup during the league season.

Linda Hamilton - A defender who was a regular starter for the United States at both the 1991 and 1995 World Cups. Hamilton played a total of 71 full internationals for the United States, the first against China in 1987 and the last against Norway in 1995. In the 1991 Women's World Cup in China, she came on as a substitute in the United States' opening game and then started the last five American games. In the 1995 Women's World Cup in Sweden, she started all six United States games. She also played four games for the United States in the qualifying tournament for the 1995 Women's World Cup the year before.

Lori Henry - A defender who was a member of the United States team at the first Women’s World Cup in 1991. Henry played 39 full internationals for the United States, among them the first game ever played by the women’s national team. Her first full international was against Italy and 1985 and her last against Taiwan in 1991. Those 39 games included two in the 1991 Women’s World Cup.

Bill McPherson - One of the leading players in the original American Soccer League of the 1920s, and a winner of the U.S. Open Cup a total of seven times. McPherson played 10 seasons in the original ASL, with the Fall River Marksmen and New Bedford Whalers, between 1922 and 1931. With Fall River, he won the ASL championship five times, in 1924, ’25, ’26, ’29 and ’30. During those 10 ASL seasons he played 366 ASL regular-season games and four ASL playoff games, the most by any player. He then added two more seasons in the St. Louis Soccer League, playing for Stix, Baer & Fuller in 1933 and ’34, winning league titles in both of those years. McPherson won U.S. Open Cup titles in both his New England and St. Louis years. He was a member of Fall River teams that won the cup in 1924, ’27, ’30 and ’31, the New Bedford team that won in 1932 and Stix & Baer & Fuller teams that won in 1933 and ’34. He was on the losing side in the cup final once, in 1935 with Pawtucket Rangers.

Shep Messing - Flamboyant NASL-era goalkeeper who succeeded in attracting considerable attention to soccer with off-the-field activities. A Harvard graduate, Messing wrote an autobiographical book, The Education of an American Soccer Player, that told much of life as a pro soccer player. Messing had quite a bit of on-the-field success, too. He never won a full international cap, but he was a goalkeeper for the United States at the 1972 Olympic Games in West Germany. He played seven seasons in the NASL, and was the goalkeeper for the New York Cosmos in 1976 and their NASL title season of 1977. Messing played 119 NASL regular-season games and nine NASL playoff games. He broke into the NASL with the Cosmos in 1973 and '74, and then played for the Boston Minutemen in 1975 and part of '76, the Cosmos again in part of 1976 and all of '77, the Oakland Stompers in 1978 and the Rochester Lancers in 1979. Messing also played extensively indoors, including eight seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League.

Bruce Murray - A midfielder and forward who was one of the leading stars of the U.S. national team in the late 1980s and early 1990s. When Murray retired from the national team in 1993, he was its all-time leader in both caps and goals. Between his first full international appearance, against England in 1985, and his last, against Venezuela in 1993, he played 86 games for the United States, scoring 21 goals. Murray played in all of the United States' games in the 1990 World Cup, including all 10 qualifiers during 1988 and 1989 and the three games in the finals in Italy in 1990. He scored the United States goal against Austria in its last game of the World Cup finals. He also played in all of the United States' games in its victorious efforts in the 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 1992 U.S. Cup, as well as playing for the United States in the 1988 Olympic Games, the 1992 Intercontinental Cup and the 1993 Copa America. Murray played several seasons in the APSL for the Washington Diplomats and the Maryland Bays.

Glenn Myernick - A defender who played eight seasons in the North American Soccer League. Myernick played in the NASL from 1976 to 1984 for the Dallas Tornado, the Portland Timbers and the Tampa Bay Rowdies, appearing during that time in 163 NASL regular-season games and five NASL playoff games. He also played one season in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He played 10 full internationals for the United States, the first against El Salvador in 1977 and the last against France in 1979.

Kyle Rote Jr - Dallas Tornado forward who drew considerable attention to soccer in the mid-1970s, promoted as a home-grown American star the equal of European and South American soccer heroes. Rote was the son of an American football icon, former Southern Methodist and NFL star Kyle Rote. He had himself been a major-college football player before turning to soccer. During his years as an NASL star, Rote competed several times the made-for-television Superstars competition among athletes from various sports and won that event in 1974, ’76 and ’77. Rote played six seasons in the NASL, from 1973 to ’78 with Dallas and in 1979 with Houston, playing 142 regular-season games and eight playoff games, and scoring 44 goals. He led the league in scoring in 1973, when he also was chosen as the league's rookie of the year, and was an NASL North American all-star in 1978. He played five full international games for the United States in 1973, ’74 and ’75.