Dennis Mepham

Dennis Mepham is a retired American soccer defender who played professionally in the North American Soccer League, American Soccer League, United Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League

Dennis Mepham
Personal information
Date of birth (1958-02-28) February 28, 1958
Place of birth Cortland, New York, United States
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1976–1979 Bowling Green Falcons
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1980 Rochester Lancers 30 (0)
1980–1984 Buffalo Stallions (indoor) 164 (46)
1981–1983 Rochester Flash
1984 Buffalo Storm
1984–1988 Cleveland Force (indoor) 173 (52)
1989–1990 Cleveland Crunch (indoor) 47 (6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Youth

Mepham attended Brighton High School where he was an outstanding basketball and soccer player.[1] He then attended Bowling Green State University, where he played basketball for two years and soccer for four. When he graduated, he held the team record for both career and single season scoring with 25 and 11 goals respectively.[2] He graduated with a bachelor's degree in finance in 1980 and was inducted into the BGSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986.[3]

Professional

The Rochester Lancers of the North American Soccer League drafted Mepham in 1980. The Lancers folded at the end of the season and he signed with the Buffalo Stallions of the Major Indoor Soccer League in the fall of 1980. He returned to the outdoor game in 1981 with the Rochester Flash of American Soccer League. That season, he was a first team All Star.[4] He continued to play for the Flash through the 1983 season. At the end of the season, both the Flash and the league collapsed. In 1984, he played for the Buffalo Storm of the United Soccer League.[5] In August 1984, the Stallions sold Mepham's contract to the Cleveland Force. He was a regular with the Force until the 1987-1988 season when he suffered from a hairline fracture to his leg bone. In June 1988, the Force released Mepham after he refused to take a 25% reduction in pay.[6] Mepham then went into the real estate business in Cleveland. In the summer of 1989, he signed with the expansion Cleveland Crunch.[7] The Crunch released Mepham in June 1990.[8] He retired from playing professionally that summer.

Yearly Awards
  • 1981 ASL All-Star Team
  • 1983 MISL All-Star Team

References
  1. Mepham Keeps His Cool Archived 2011-07-28 at the Wayback Machine
  2. BGSU Soccer Records
  3. BGSU Hall of Fame
  4. "The Year in American Soccer - 1981". Archived from the original on 2015-01-07. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
  5. SUN SINKS ON FIELD AND AT GATE Miami Herald, The (FL) - Thursday, May 24, 1984
  6. FORCE CUTS MVP ALLEN, 3 OTHERS Akron Beacon Journal (OH) - Friday, June 17, 1988
  7. FORMER FORCE STAR ALLEN IS AT THE TOP OF CRUNCH'S LIST Akron Beacon Journal (OH) - Wednesday, April 12, 1989
  8. FOUR CRUNCH PLAYERS TURN INTO FREE AGENTS Akron Beacon Journal (OH) - Wednesday, June 20, 1990
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