Armada FC's Tyler Ruthven Learned About Life, Not Sports From Professional Athlete Father

It seemed like a natural.

The son of a professional athlete, a professional athlete himself, learning the ropes and bingeing on the stories of his father. Except in the Ruthven household in Georgia, the paterfamilias who spent 14 years pitching in the Major Leagues allowed his three athletic sons to pursue their own paths. He did not prod. He did not push. He provided support.

For Tyler Ruthven, the baseball route ended before age 10, when he decided to concentrate on soccer, a path which has now landed the defender a spot with Jacksonville Armada FC of the NASL.

“When he came up to me and said he was going to quit baseball, I asked him if he was sure,” said Dick Ruthven, 64. “He said there was too much standing around and he just walked off. He was only seven or eight years old. Everyone asked me if I was disappointed. I said it wasn’t my choice – that you have to play what puts a smile on your face. I’m about producing happy and healthy kids. It’s always been a non-issue between Tyler and me and we find it entertaining when the subject comes up. When people ask me if I got mad I always give them this incredulous look.”

The Philadelphia Phillies made Dick Ruthven the club’s No. 1 pick in the 1972 amateur draft. He was an all-star twice and pitched for the victorious Phillies in the 1980 World Series (when he had a 17-10 record). In addition to two separate stints with Philadelphia, Ruthven pitched for the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago Cubs. He finished with a 123-127 record and a career earned run average of 4.14.

After retiring, Ruthven and his family settled in Alpharetta, Ga., where he now works in property management and doesn’t watch much baseball, save for the postseason.

“He’s so far detached from baseball,” Tyler said. “When he was done he was done, and was ready to be a father and hangout with his kids. It was never about following any of the teams he played with or even going to spring training. Going to spring training never interested us one bit. He’s told me stories about how he’d go to the stadium for two hours to throw in the morning, then go out and play golf with [Steve] Carlton by 10 a.m.”

With so many Major League Baseball teams poised to decamp to Florida for spring training, it would seem to be the perfect opportunity for the Ruthven’s to spend some quality time together. You would think that Tyler and his father might bond during a trip to spring training, which is quickly approaching as the Armada FC are preparing for the team’s second year in the North American Soccer League.

You would be wrong.

Tyler, who is back in the NASL after playing for Atlanta in 2011, in MLS in 2012 (New York Red Bulls), in Europe (Sweden and Finland) in 2013 and in the USL (Arizona) the past two years, is focused on nailing down a starting spot under the club’s first-year coach, Tony Meola.

“It’s been good to get going after a long offseason,” Tyler said. “It’s good to be playing again.”

Ruthven is among an attractive group of acquisitions for Jacksonville, a group that includes Danny Barrow, Alex Dixon, Richie Ryan, and Brian Burke.

And while Tyler is the son of a former professional athlete, his approach to sports, and to life, is imbued with the quiet confidence and modesty he absorbed from his family over the years.

“He just doesn’t talk about his career,” Tyler said, referring to his father. “The last time I saw his World Series and all-star rings they were in a plastic bag on the floor in the back of his closet. He’s not the type of guy to wear them or flaunt them, and I love that. He has a World Series trophy from Philadelphia in the basement, off in a corner. We’ve had guests over and we’d be watching TV and someone looks over and sees it and they’re kind of stunned. He simply couldn’t care less about what other people think.”

In a way, Tyler has had the benefit of getting to know his father as, well, his father and not his father the professional athlete. At 27, the rugged 6-foot-2 defender speaks and acts with a depth of knowledge and self-awareness usually absent in younger athletes. But after speaking with his father, it is clear from where that mindset springs.

“I never felt like reliving the past with my kids,” Dick said. “It’s a difficult thing to come out of professional sports and figure out what you want to do with the rest of life when you’re really only qualified to throw or hit a baseball. I drew a line in the sand, one part of my life was pre-real world, another is post-real world. That’s the way I did it. It worked for me. I’m not saying it’s the greatest or the best way. But I have three well-adjusted sons and I’ve got to believe I did something right.”