Tigers Come from Liverpool - Part 3
Kewley makes Liverpool's First Team and then transitions to America and the Dallas Tornado.
Here are Part 1 and Part 2 of this story…
When Kewley arrived at the Dallas airport, four cheerleaders in miniskirts greeted him with a sign that said, “Welcome Kevin!”
Roy Turner thought Kewley’s signing was a smart move: they needed youth. Turner, whose hard tackles earned him the nickname “Digger,” was ensconced in Dallas’ midfield, but nearing the end of his career. He was happy to see another Liverpudlian, and this one had a much thicker accent than Turner’s.
“I was a veteran in Dallas when he arrived. I had experienced what it was like to leave your family in Liverpool. I tried to help him as much as possible. He had great talent and was a very hard man. He wouldn’t back down from anybody. I thought his technical ability and toughness at a young age were two of his greatest assets,” Turner said.
Kewley found his feet in America. He could play the game with passion and creativity now that he had escaped the rigid structures of English football.
“In Liverpool, you had a particular position to play and you played there. Here, it wasn’t like that. Al Miller would say, ‘Go play!’ “The shackles were off and I was playing everywhere,” Kewley said.
In the NASL, he showed that he was a two-way player. He’d defend fiercely, wouldn’t take any shit, and could score the odd goal.
“You’re a robot in England. Do this job and do that job…and if you don’t do it correctly, you’re off. That’s the problem with English soccer: there are too many robots and not enough creativity. All of a sudden, he looked happy playing the game. Also, he became a team leader at a young age. He had freedom on the pitch and the freedom of life in America,” Turner said.
In his first season, Kewley scored six goals, the third-most on the Tornado. He did so well that coach Al Miller asked Liverpool to loan him again the next season. His success on the pitch continued, with seven goals and six assists by the end of the season.
“[Miller] said, ‘Kevin, we want to sign you permanently; do you want to come?’ All I could think of was that I was 22, and if things didn’t work out, I’d go play back home. The coach at Liverpool told me there were a couple teams that wanted to buy me in the second tier. But I loved the weather in Dallas. If I go home, it will be playing in the wind and the cold, getting the shit kicked out of me,” Kewley recalled.
Miller thought he could get Liverpool to let him go. In 1978, Dallas paid Liverpool £18,000 for the rights to Kevin Kewley. The only catch was that Liverpool gaffer Bob Paisley insisted Kewley had to finish out the season in Liverpool.
“It’s January 1, and this is my going away party. We all go out and get smashed,” Kewley said.
Liverpool would put a player’s boots out by the jersey number to indicate who was playing in that day’s game. The number 12 was listed as a substitute for the January 2 game against Middlesbrough. Kevin Kewley had finally made the First Team. And he had a killer hangover from the going away party.
“I was like, ‘Fuck me, I hope I don’t play,’ he said, laughing.
Ten minutes into the match, midfielder Terry McDermott went down with an ankle injury. For Kewley, that meant it was “go time.”
“The next thing I know, I hear the crowd singing my name,” Kewley said.
Kewley stepped out in front of 49,305 fans at Liverpool’s home stadium of Anfield and went to work. Just one minute later, Middlesbrough had a corner and their big center forward headed it toward the goal. Kewley was on the post and kicked it away.
“I always remember [Liverpool goalkeeper] Ray Clements saying to me, ‘Well done, Kev,’” Kewley said, “But I felt like saying to everybody, ‘I’m not really a Liverpool player anymore; I signed with Dallas.’ The only people who knew were the coaches. So it felt really weird.”
Despite the unusual circumstances, Kewley finally made it to the First Team of a club in what is now known as the Premier League. Though he would soon leave for America, that would always be on his resume.
“It was a hell of an accomplishment to play for Liverpool,” Roy Turner said.
Now a full-time Dallas Tornado, Kewley settled into life in America, hanging out at Turner’s pool with the rest of the team after games. He found that he fit in on the pitch as well.
“I played right midfield, Roy played in the middle, and [the Scottish international] Bobby Hope was on the left. He was a skillful older player. That was the ideal midfield. I was doing all the running because I was a youngster, Roy was the defensive guy, and Hope was the playmaker. It went great and we did brilliant,” Kewley said.
But Turner’s career soon ended due to an ACL injury. The “Iron Man of the NASL,” a nickname earned for his streak of games played, would hang up his cleats but stay with the Tornado to lead their efforts to grow the game of soccer in the Dallas area.
Kewley’s career was just getting started. In 1978, coach Al Miller named Kewley captain of the team. He was a little reticent. Kewley was only 22 and wasn’t sure if he wanted the responsibility of planning things. And he could tell some players resented it.
“You had all these guys who were more experienced and better leaders than I was. It kind of bothered me that at that young age he put me as captain,” Kewley said.
Kewley remembers that at the first practice of the season, Miller told the team that it was pretty obvious that Kewley had earned the captain’s armband.
“I thought it was well-expected because of the way he played on the field, where he was a leader. Everybody respected his ability. That respect overcame the age difference. To this day, he gets along with everybody. Everybody liked him. That’s why Al chose him, quite rightly, I think. It’s very hard to have a young boy of 23 telling an international player what to do and how to do it. But he handled it well,” Turner recalled.
Next Week: The conclusion to “Tigers Come from Liverpool.”