Joey Fink 1976 - 1978; 1976 (id) - 1978 (id)

Joeseph "Joey" Fink was born July 31st, 1951 in Ridgewood, New York. Joey played youth soccer with Blau-Weiss Gottschee. He attended Steinert High School in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey. He went to college at New York University where he was a 1971 honorable mention (third team) All American soccer player. That season he scored a school record eighteen goals. He was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame on May 10th, 2008.
In 1973, the New York Cosmos, drafted Joey in the first round of the NASL College Draft. That year he began the first four games on the bench. In the fifth game of the season, he came off the bench and scored three goals. He ended the season with eleven goals in twelve starts and three late game appearances. This led to his selection as a second team 1973 All Star. Despite his productivity, the Cosmos coach, Gordon Bradley, acquired Harold Jarman to replace Fink for the 1974 season. When Jarman failed to produce (scoring only four goals in eighteen games), Bradley gradually began to go with Joey who finished the 1974 season with three goals in eight starts and four late game appearances. In 1975, Joey scored six goals in sixteen games and was traded to the Rowdies at the end of the season. Joey had earned his first cap with the U.S. national team in a 1-0 win over Bermuda on September 9th, 1973. He went on to play a total of six games with the national team, his last coming in a 2-0 loss to Mexico on August 24th, 1975.

Missed most of the 1976 indoor season with an ankle injury, but did score one goal vs, the Dallas Tornado in the semi-finals. Proved to be the leading scorer during the tour of Haiti in January 1976 with three goals. He also found time to work with the front office staff in merchandising. Appeared in 14 games and scored 1 goal and 1 assist, during the outdoor season.

In 1977, Joey played in 13 games, started the 1978 indoor season, when he scored two "firsts" in the brief series - a hat trick against the Washington Diplomats in an 11-3 rout and received the Exchange Bank Player of the Week Award. In what was to be his last year in Tampa, Joey appeared in 13 games and scored 4 goals and helped the Rowdies to Soccer Bowl '78, coming on as a substitute for Mick McGuire.

In 1979, Joey joined the California Sunshine of the ASL. He tied with team mate Poli Garcia for the league lead in goal scoring with fifteen. In 1980, he was with the Cleveland Cobras. By that time Joey was a successful indoor soccer player and he dedicated himself to the indoor game.

In 1978, Joey signed with the Philadelphia Fever of the newly established Major Indoor Soccer League. He scored thirty goals in twenty-two games as the Fever went to the MISL championship series before falling to the New York Arrows. In the 1980-1981 season, Fink scored fifty-one goals in thirty-nine goals.
On July 1st, 1981, the Baltimore Blast acquired him from the Fever. He went on to play at four seasons with the Blast. In 1984, he became the first American player to score 200 goals in MISL. He followed that achievement up by scoring five goals in the final game of the 1983-1984 championship series to give the Blast the title over the St. Louis Steamers. He was inducted into the Baltimore Blast Hall of Fame in 2006.

Today, Joey Fink is an investment broker, which he has been doing for 22 years, and works for a company called Raymond james. He resides in Deerfield Beach, Florida.

Thanks to Mike Connell for the color Rowdies photo, and many thanks to Joey for the recent ones.