Mike Davey (soccer)

Mike Davey (born February 9, 1952) is a former Jamaican soccer player and licensed professional engineer (registered to practice in the state of Texas since 1990) who was a defender on the Howard University Bisons 1974 Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champion[1] soccer team which posted a perfect 100% record of 19 wins, no draws and no losses, a record which still stands unbeaten and unmatched by any other Collegiate soccer team after over 35 years. Even before taking up a full soccer scholarship at Howard, while still just a teenager, he was selected among the top 31 Jamaican footballers[2] to prepare for a game against the world’s greatest player, Pelé, and his Santos Football Club of Brazil in 1971 less than a year after Pelé had led his Brazil National team to the 1970 World Cup title in Mexico.

He was pictured on the cover (and listed on page 1) of the Soccer America (SA) magazine[3] which reported on that historic championship season and that 1974 final game against St. Louis University (who were gunning for their third consecutive title) which lasted into a fourth overtime period.

In 1975, he again was a member of the Howard University defensive back four as the team earned a “return” trip back to the NCAA soccer Final Four (National Semi-finals). After losing in the semi-final, Howard U. soccer coach – Lincoln "Tiger" Phillips prompted a reporter and was quoted in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch[4] as he noted Mike’s absence due to injury stating that “…. It might have been different had Michael Davey been able to play but he was out with an ankle injury….”.

In November 2004, as the 30th anniversary of that unmatched 19-0-0[5] season record approached, Wil Kuhns (a Soccer America reporter) tracked down and interviewed him, seeking to explore the training “secrets” employed by the Bisons in 1974[6] which led to this record surviving for such a long time. The resultant article “That Last Perfect Season”[7] was published in the 2004 NCAA Men's College Cup magazine with the inclusion of Mike’s quotes regarding the Bisons’ 1974 training methods.

References

  1. ↑ Joe Jares (1974-12-16). "A Bonus For Working Overtime | Trinidad & Tobago Football History". Ttfootballhistory.com. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
  2. ↑ Jamaican Daily Gleaner newspaper, Friday, January 8, 1971 article entitled "31 to go in training for Santos visit"
  3. ↑ Soccer America magazine, volume 7, Number 24 December 10, 1974
  4. ↑ St. Louis-Post Dispatch Sunday, December 7, 1975
  5. ↑ "HU soccer team national champ | Trinidad & Tobago Football History". Ttfootballhistory.com. 1974-12-14. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
  6. ↑ "The 1974 Howard squad | Trinidad & Tobago Football History". Ttfootballhistory.com. 2009-05-28. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
  7. ↑ 2004 NCAA Soccer Men's College Cup, page 50
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