Peter Carli

Peter Carli (born January 4, 1958 in Los Angeles, California) is a former American soccer goalkeeper and entrepreneur. He had an extended trial with West Ham United F.C.^[1] making him one of the first American soccer players to play with a First Division (English Football) club. Along with his family he introduced the Reusch brand of goalkeeper gloves to America and later attempted to establish a professional soccer team in Connecticut.^[2]

Soccer career

Carli was originally drafted in 1981 by the Carolina Lightnin' of the American Soccer League. His rights were traded to the New England Sharks where a shoulder injury incurred in a preseason match ended his season.^[1] Later that year he got a trial with West Ham and was offered a contract by the club with the intention of loaning him to Leyton Orient F.C. a Third Division (English Football) team and then potentially selling him to a North American Soccer League team. The contract was contingent on obtaining a work permit (United Kingdom). Carli trained with West Ham for two months awaiting the permit which was ultimately denied by the government due to the then high 13% British unemployment rate and was let go by the club. In November that year he got a one-month contract with the NASL Jacksonville Tea Men but didn't appear in any matches.^[1] As an amateur Carli played collegiately one year each at Jacksonville University^[3] and The University of Connecticut. He played in his first soccer match at the age of 17 in high school at Bacon Academy in Colchester, Connecticut. As of May 1, 2013 he was a volunteer assistant soccer coach at Connecticut College where he has coached since 1992.^[4]

Soccer Entrepreneur

While at West Ham Carli was trained by legendary goalkeeper coach Ernie Gregory along with first team goalkeeper Phil Parkes (footballer born 1950). One morning Parkes gave him a pair of German made Reusch goalkeeper gloves to use and was impressed by their performance. Parkes told him that his agent was the U.K. distributor for Reusch. After he was let go by the club Carli contacted the agent about importing the brand to the United States. He and his mother started a small mail order business that was quickly overwhelmed with orders. They contacted Reusch GmbH and began purchasing gloves directly from them and were offered the exclusive U.S. distribution rights. In 1982 he and his parents, Mary and Ronald Jones, formed Reusch-USA Ltd.^[5] The company ultimately supplied over 1000 retail soccer stores and signed US National team goalkeepers Tony Meola^[6] and David Vanole to endorsement contracts as well as US National team goalkeeper coach Joe Machnik and international goalkeeper trainer Dan Gaspar. The company was closed in 1993 and a new company was started to distribute their own brand, 1.FC Goalkeeper.

The company's art director, Jacqueline Jones, is now an accomplished plein air artist in Connecticut and New York City.^[7] On August 16, 2013 she opened Jacqueline Jones Studio and Gallery in Glastonbury, Connecticut as a venue to offer her work to the public.^[8]

In 2004 Carli tried to establish a professional soccer team (the Connecticut Hammers) in Waterbury, Connecticut.^[2] He was granted the negotiating rights to a Pro Soccer League (PSL) franchise by the United Soccer Leagues which was the governing body for the two minor American soccer leagues.^[9] The team attempted to work with the city to convert Municipal Stadium (Waterbury) from a baseball stadium to a 5,000 seat soccer facility that would serve as its home venue.^[2][10] The Connecticut Hammers franchise ultimately never played a professional game.^[11]

Real Estate Developer

In June 2010 Carli's 253 unit affordable housing project, Hampton Woods, was approved by the East Hampton, Connecticut Planning and zoning commission. The townhouse community's primary purpose was to create housing for young professionals who were unable to find affordable housing and were forced to leave Connecticut as a result. Construction was expected to start in late 2010 or early 2011.^[12][13] Hampton Woods is believed to be the largest affordable housing project approved to date in Connecticut by a planning and zoning commission.

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