Hall of Fame
Quraishi, who grew up in England, achieved the highest honor of any men's soccer player in the history of Oneonta. As a senior he received the Herman Trophy as the National Soccer Player of the Year. The Herman Trophy is the soccer equivalent to the American football Heisman Trophy that is given to the best college football player.
Quaraishi was a three-time All-American, All-New York State and All-Conference player during his career. In addition to the Herman Trophy, Quraishi was selected as the College Player of the Year by Soccer Monthly Magazine and was the MVP of the Senior Bowl.
In 1975 he became the first pick in the North American Soccer League (NASL) draft when he was taken by the Tampa Bay franchise. At the end of his first professional season in which Tampa Bay won the NASL championship, he was selected as the Rookie of the Year and was a League All-Star.
Quraishi, a sociology major at Oneonta, played professionally until 1981 when he took a job as Public Relations Manager for Caspers Company in Tampa Bay, Fla. While there, he was in charge of overseeing the public relations management of McDonald's restaurant and various other businesses from 1981 to 1992. His main responsiblities were charitable contributions, implementation of local and national co-operative programs and incentives, sports sponsorships, educational programs, media and government relations. The most lasting legacy will be the organizing and administering one of the top five youth soccer tournaments in the country, the McDonald's Sun Bowl International Youth Soccer Tournament.
After working with the World Cup Tournament in 1994, Quraishi spent time as the President and General Manager of the Tampa Bay Mutiny of Major League Soccer. He currently is working in Boston, Mass. as the Chief Operating Officer of Massachusetts Professional Soccer. He owns three teams in the United Soccer Leagues and has a software development company that is on the cutting edge of computerized match analysis in the sports of soccer, hockey, handball and basketball.
