Michael Arthur Foley (14 December 1928 – 28 October 2019) was an Irish hurler who played as a goalkeeper for the Wexford senior team.
As a member of the Leinster inter-provincial team on a number of occasions, Foley won one Railway Cup medal.
Horeswood's Paddy Shannon, Rathnure's Jim Rackard, and UCD's Ray Brennan were tried as alternative replacements.
Billy Rackard in his 1996 book 'No Hurling at the Dairy Door' wrote: After back-to-back Leinster defeats over the next two years, Wexford faced Dublin in the 1954 decider.
A goal by Tim Flood nine minutes from the end clinched a 3–13 to 2–8 victory and a first All-Ireland medal for Foley.
Ring remarked in an interview many years later; "When I got through I thought I had it, but Foley had other ideas, and fair play to him he made a great save."
According to Martin Codd's 2005 book The Way I Saw It, once the sliotar had been cleared, Ring raced in and grabbed Foley by the hair and said "You little black bastard you've beaten us".
[5][6] Within a minute the ball dropped into Foley again and after it was cleared it made its way up the pitch and was buried in the back of the Cork net by Nicky Rackard giving Wexford a 2–14 to 2–8 victory.
In 1958, Foley was on a tour with the Wexford team in New York City when he decided to end his inter-county career and stay in the United States.