Cornelius Casey

Neil Casey
Personal information
Full name	Cornelius F. Casey
Date of birth	January 9, 1929
Place of birth	Cahersiveen, County Kerry, Ireland
Date of death	October 17, 2001 (aged 72)
Place of death	Burlington, Vermont, U.S.
Position(s)	Left Winger
Senior career*
Years	Team
	New York Americans
International career
1954	United States
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Cornelius "Neil" Casey (January 9, 1929 – October 17, 2001) was a former Irish-American football (soccer) player. He earned four caps, scoring one goal, as a member of the U.S. national team.

Youth

Casey was born in Cahersiveen, County Kerry, Ireland. His mother died when he was six and he lived most of his youth in a Cork City orphanage. He left the orphanage when he was eighteen, served two years in the Irish Army, then moved to the United States, settling in New York City when he was twenty-one. He work at the NYSC. Soon after his arrival he entered the U.S. Army, serving during the Korean War.

Professional career

When Casey arrived in New York, he joined the German-American soccer team, most likely in the German American Soccer League. In 1951, Casey played for the New York Americans of the American Soccer League. In 1954, they won the league title and the National Challenge Cup against St Louis.

National team

Casey earned all four of his caps in the four World Cup qualification matches played by the U.S. national team in 1954. His first cap came in a January 10, 1954 qualification loss to Mexico. That was followed by another loss to Mexico four days later which put the U.S. out of the cup. In April, the U.S., with Casey, flew to Haiti for two meaningless qualification games. Despite the lack of significance, the U.S. won both games, played on the third and fourth of April. Casey opened the scoring in the twentieth minute of the April 3rd game, a 3-2 U.S. victory.

Personal life

Following his retirement from playing, Casey helped establish the first youth league in Ridgefield. He graduated from New York University with a bachelor's degree in engineering and later earned a master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Connecticut. He worked for Barnes Engineering of Connecticut as an aerospace engineer for thirty-two years. He specialized in rocket guidance and infrared systems and worked on the Apollo Missions. In 1994, he retired to Vermont. Casey died of lung cancer on October 17, 2001. He is buried in Burlington, Vermont in New Mount Calvery Cemetery. Casey also had seven children, most of which reside in Fairfield County, Connecticut.

Career statistics

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	3 March 1954	Paul Magloire Stadium, Port-au-Prince, Haiti	Haiti	2-3	Win	1954 FIFA World Cup Q.
Correct as of 27 August 2011

External links