Dallas soccer icons gathered to celebrate the life of former Dallas Tornado winger Mike Renshaw on Saturday at Episcopal School of Dallas. Renshaw died February 17 at the age of 72.
“He was very involved in soccer in the area,” said Renshaw’s former Tornado teammate Bobby Moffat.
The Manchester, England-born Renshaw moved to Dallas in 1968 to play for the NASL’s Dallas Tornado. He played nine seasons for the Tornado before turning to broadcasting and coaching.
“We actually used to call him Mr. Tornado,” said another former Tornado teammate, Dick Hall. “He got into coaching and was an assistant coach of the Tornado and eventually took over the team. He was a big part of the Dallas Tornado and its development.”
“I first met Mike in 1969 in England. The team I was playing for, Chelmsford City, had sold my contract to Dallas Tornado who were on a European tour. We played a game against the Tornado. It was quite a dirty game actually. I met Mike in the dressing room before the game because it was a very quick deal. We were off to France the next day. Halfway through the first half, (there was) a bad tackle and Mike gets carried off in a stretcher. That was my first introduction to Mike. He was okay the next day and he played a few days later. That’s a memory that sticks with me because first introductions are very important.”
Renshaw served as the color analyst for the Dallas Sidekicks and coached girls soccer at Episcopal School of Dallas where the team won four straight Southwest Preparatory Conference titles from 2014-17.
Men like Renshaw, Hall and Moffat helped grow a passion for the beautiful game in Dallas/Fort Worth. FC Dallas wouldn’t be where it is today without the leadership and love of the game.
“When Mike and I used to go watch FC Dallas play, we would say ‘Yeah, we’re part of this. We helped develop this.’ That was a good feeling, that we had a little part to play in it,” said Hall.
“He was a very good coach for the kids around here and did a great job at ESD,” Moffat added. “Unfortunately, he passed away too soon. It’s a cliché, I know, but in his case it’s accurate.”
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