| 1975 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| President |  George W. Strawbridge, Jr. | |||
| Head coach |  Eddie Firmani | |||
| Stadium | Tampa Stadium | |||
| NASL | Division: 1st Playoffs: Champions | |||
| U.S. Open Cup | Did not enter | |||
| Top goalscorer | League:  Derek Smethurst (18 goals)All: Derek Smethurst (21 goals) | |||
| Highest home attendance | 22,710 (Aug. 16 vs. Miami) | |||
| Lowest home attendance | 5,281 (May 28 vs. Denver) | |||
| Average home league attendance | 12,064 | |||
The 1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies season was the first season of the club's existence.
During the outdoor campaign occasionally a random Rowdies player could be seen wearing the collarless jersey [1] used by all players during the 1975 indoor season earlier in the year, but by season's end the full-collar style that would become so familiar in all of Tampa Bay's later NASL campaigns eventually took over. [2] The striping sequence on the sleeves was also different. Tampa Bay would not wear a cuff-style collar again until the 1986–87 American Indoor Soccer Association season. [3]
| No. | Position | Player | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Paul Hammond |  England |
| 1 | GK | Mike Hewitt |  Scotland |
| 1 | GK | Bob Stetler | United States |
| 2 | DF | Farrukh Quraishi | England |
| 3 | DF | Alex Pringle | Scotland |
| 4 | MF | John Boyle (capt.) | Scotland |
| 5 | DF | Malcolm Linton | England |
| 6 | DF | Mike Connell |  South Africa |
| 7 | MF | Bernard Hartze | South Africa |
| 8 | MF | Randy Garber | United States |
| 9 | FW | Clyde Best |  Bermuda |
| 10 | FW | Stewart Scullion | Scotland |
| 11 | FW | Doug Wark | Scotland |
| 12 | FW | Derek Smethurst | South Africa |
| 13 | DF | Stewart Jump | England |
| 14 | FW | John Sissons | England |
| 15 | MF | Mark Lindsay | England |
| 16 | DF | John Bluem | United States |
| 17 | FW | Eddie Austin | United States |
| 18 | DF | Arsène Auguste |  Haiti |
| 18 | MF | Eddie Firmani | Italy |
George Strawbridge, Jr., owner Beau Rogers, general manager Eddie Firmani, head coach Chas Serednesky, business manager
Francisco Marcos, director of public relations Alfredo Beronda, equipment managerThe Rowdies received eight individual honors following the 1975 NASL season.
The 1975 North American Soccer League season was the Tampa Bay Rowdies first outdoors. The expansion Rowdies had only recently completed a successful debut in the 1975 indoor tournament, by finishing as runners-up. With Eddie Firmani as coach and John Boyle as team captain, they opened outdoor play by splitting a pair of preseason friendlies versus the San Antonio Thunder.
Tampa Bay's first regular season match was played at Tampa Stadium against the Rochester Lancers before 12,133 paying customers (and another 3,000-plus, who were there for free). Their first ever goal was scored by Derek Smethurst in the opening half. The first goal conceded by the Rowdies occurred at the 27:59 mark when Tommy Ord put one past Tampa Bay goalie Mike Hewitt. The game remained tied 1–1 at the end of 90 minutes. At 3:45 of golden goal overtime, second-half substitute, Alex Pringle, recorded the teams' first ever game-winning goal. The game also saw Firmani (age 41) insert himself into the lineup with about one minute remaining in regulation. This was because several players had been delayed in Europe, causing the Tampa Bay roster to be a bit thin for the match. [4]
The Rowdies success carried on as they went on to record winning streaks of six and seven games during the regular season. Tampa Bay finished the year tied with the Portland Timbers for the best record in the league with a mark of 16–6. The winning ways continued into the playoffs as they did not concede a single goal in any round. They defeated Toronto Metros-Croatia, 1–0, in the quarterfinals. That was followed by a 3–0 dismantling of 1974 league runners-up, and Florida Derby rival, Miami Toros in the semifinal, which sent them into the Soccer Bowl.
The Soccer Bowl '75 championship match featured the two teams with the best records in the NASL, the Rowdies and Portland. Coincidentally both squads were also expansion teams. Behind a stingy defense and a pair of second half goals by Arsène Auguste and Clyde Best, Tampa Bay came away the victors, 2–0. Defender Stewart Jump was named man of the match. This would be the Rowdies only outdoor NASL championship.
| February 8, 19751 | South Florida Bulls | 1–3 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Tampa, Florida |
| 12:00 P.M. | Report | Hartze  , | Stadium: USF Soccer Stadium |
| April 11, 19752 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2–1 | San Antonio Thunder | Tarpon Springs, Florida |
| 7:30 P.M. | Boyle 65' Smethurst 75' | Report p. 3-C | Marotte 89:30' | Stadium: Tarpon Springs High School |
| April 13, 19753 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1–3 | San Antonio Thunder | Winter Park, Florida |
| 1:30 P.M. | Forteis 40:32' (o.g.) | Report p. 3-C | Wolf 9:16' (pen.) Hylkema 16:35'Didi 76:10' | Stadium: Sandspur Field Attendance: 2,000 |
| May 19, 19754 | Hartwick/Oneonta All-Stars | 1–2 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Oneonta, New York |
| Napolitano | Report | Wark (Lindsay) Smethurst (Lindsay) | Stadium: Oneonta State Field Attendance: 1,000 (est) |
| December 21, 19755 | USSF All-Stars' Coaches | 0–1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Orlando, Florida |
| Report | Garber (Mausser) | Stadium: Tangerine Bowl Attendance: 250 (est) |
| Pos | Eastern Division | GP | W | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 22 | 16 | 6 | 46 | 27 | +19 | 135 | NASL Playoffs |
| 2 | Miami Toros | 22 | 14 | 8 | 47 | 30 | +17 | 123 | |
| 3 | Washington Diplomats | 22 | 12 | 10 | 42 | 47 | −5 | 112 | |
| 4 | Philadelphia Atoms | 22 | 10 | 12 | 33 | 42 | −9 | 90 | |
| 5 | Baltimore Comets | 22 | 9 | 13 | 34 | 52 | −18 | 87 | |
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portland Timbers | 22 | 16 | 6 | 43 | 27 | +16 | 138 |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 22 | 16 | 6 | 46 | 27 | +19 | 135 |
| 3 | Seattle Sounders | 22 | 15 | 7 | 42 | 28 | +14 | 129 |
| 4 | Miami Toros | 22 | 14 | 8 | 47 | 30 | +17 | 123 |
| 5 | Boston Minutemen | 22 | 13 | 9 | 41 | 29 | +12 | 116 |
| April 26, 19751 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2–1(OT) | Rochester Lancers | Tampa, Florida |
| Smethurst 13:51' (Sissons) Pringle  93:45' (Boyle) | Report | Ord 27:59' (Jijon) | Stadium: Tampa Stadium Attendance: 12,133 |
| May 3, 19752 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1–0 | New York Cosmos | Tampa, Florida |
| Scullion 7:46' | Report | Stadium: Tampa Stadium Attendance: 8,378 |
| May 9, 19753 | Washington Diplomats | 3–0 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Washington, D.C. |
| Ingram 6:17' (Pillinger) Horton 16:17' (DeLeon)Horton 18:52' (Barry) | Report | Stadium: Robert F. Kennedy Stadium Attendance: 10,340 |
| May 14, 19754 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 3–1 | Boston Minutemen | Tampa, Florida |
| Smethurst 28:55' (Jump) Best 71:49' (Sissons)Best 74:44' (Scullion) | Report | Wooler 81:28' | Stadium: Tampa Stadium Attendance: 6,117 Referee: Don DeSalvador |
| May 17, 19755 | Connecticut Bicentennials | 1–3 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | New Haven, Connecticut |
| Travljanin 78' (H. McCully) | Report | Smethurst 30' [5] Boyle 53' (Smethurst)Best 82' (Quraishi) | Stadium: Yale Bowl Attendance: 3,410 |
| May 21, 19756 | Baltimore Comets | 1–2 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Henderson 5:36' (Aqui) | Report | Boyle 53:56' (Smethurst) Smethurst 81:15' (Sissons) | Stadium: Memorial Stadium Attendance: 3,648 |
| May 28, 19757 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 3–2 | Denver Dynamos | Tampa, Florida |
| Scullion 3:35' (Sissons) Ntsoelengoe [6] 42:32' (o.g.)Scullion 60:21' (Best) | Report | Dawes 17:31' (Flater) Flater 22:28' (Dawes) | Stadium: Tampa Stadium Attendance: 5,281 Referee: Larry King |
| May 31, 19758 | San Antonio Thunder | 0–4 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | San Antonio, Texas |
| Report | Smethurst 20:22' (Scullion) Best 65:55' (Wark)Garber 70:34'Hartze 74:58' (Austin) | Stadium: Alamo Stadium Attendance: 4,619 Referee: Robert Evans |
| June 6, 19759 | Miami Toros | 0–1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Miami, Florida |
| Report | Smethurst 56:14' (Boyle) | Stadium: Miami Orange Bowl Attendance: 14,259 |
| June 11, 197510 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 0–2 | Miami Toros | Tampa, Florida |
| Report | David 49:11' (Archibald) Jordan 79:36' (David) | Stadium: Tampa Stadium Attendance: 18,654 Referee: Gino D'Ippolito |
| June 13, 197511 | Philadelphia Atoms | 1–2 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| McLaughlin 74:45' (pen.) | Report on p. 1-C | Best 45:55' (Scullion) Scullion 84:41' | Stadium: Veterans Stadium Attendance: 5,819 |
| June 20, 197512 | Dallas Tornado | 0–0 (4–2 p) | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Irving, Texas |
| Report | Stadium: Texas Stadium Attendance: 4,179 | |||
| Penalties | ||||
Ley  Gore Moore Chadwick | Smethurst  Garber Connell Boyle | |||
| June 21, 197513 | St. Louis Stars | 1–1 (3–5 p) | Tampa Bay Rowdies | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Geimer 11:41' (Burnett) | Report | Smethurst 41:33' (Connell) | Stadium: Francis Field Attendance: 7,731 | |
| Penalties | ||||
| Burnett Hawley Matteson Trost | Smethurst Pringle Jump Connell Scullion | |||
| June 28, 197514 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 6–1 | Baltimore Comets | Tampa, Florida |
| Sissons 8:45' (Lindsay) Scullion 13:25' (Sissons)Sissons 34:40' (Scullion)Smethurst 71:50' (Sissons)Sissons 78:53' (Hartze)Scullion 79:20' (Best) | Report | Henderson 26:59' | Stadium: Tampa Stadium Attendance: 8,610 |
| July 12, 197515 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 4–0 | Baltimore Comets | Tampa, Florida |
| Sissons (Scullion) Smethurst (Boyle)Smethurst 84:38'Lindsay 89:20' (Smethurst) | Report | Stadium: Tampa Stadium Attendance: 13,400 |
| July 19, 197516 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2–1 | Philadelphia Atoms | Tampa, Florida |
| Smethurst 3:33' (Best) Smethurst 17:26' (Scullion) | Report | Bahr 16:32' | Stadium: Tampa Stadium Attendance: 10,103 |
| July 23, 197517 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 5–1 | Miami Toros | Tampa, Florida |
| Best 19:12' (Sissons) Sissons 57:40' (Scullion)Connell 66:50'Smethurst 72:57'Smethurst 87:35' (Lindsay) | Report | David 89:57' | Stadium: Tampa Stadium Attendance: 11,415 |
| July 26, 197518 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 3–1 | Washington Diplomats | Tampa, Florida |
| Scullion 36:25' Smethurst 72:51' (Best)Boyle 85:45' | Report | Barry 56:36' (Ingram) | Stadium: Tampa Stadium Attendance: 11,153 |
| July 29, 197519 | Philadelphia Atoms | 0–1(OT) | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Report | Smethurst 90:56' | Stadium: Veterans Stadium Attendance: 4,517 |
| August 2, 197520 | Washington Diplomats | 3–1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Washington, D.C. |
| Horton 21:23' (Ingram) Ingram 27:58' (Barry)Horton 40:13' (Darrell) | Report | Smethurst 5:35' | Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 2,415 |
| August 6, 197521 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 0–3 | Chicago Sting | Tampa, Florida |
| Report | Hill 11:54' (Griffiths) Hill 37:59'Allen 88:00' (May) | Stadium: Tampa Stadium Attendance: 12,761 |
| August 9, 197522 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | 3–1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Toronto, Ontario |
| Vieri 10:30' Ferreira 69:30' (Polak)Polak 77:15' (Coyne) | Report | Smethurst 11:30' (Best) | Stadium: Varsity Stadium Attendance: 8,248 |
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Soccer Bowl '75 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Portland Timbers | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Seattle Sounders | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Portland Timbers | 1 | ||||||||||||
| C1 | St. Louis Stars | 0 | ||||||||||||
| C1 | St. Louis Stars | 1(5) | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Los Angeles Aztecs | 1(4) | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Portland Timbers | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Miami Toros | 2 | ||||||||||||
| N1 | Boston Minutemen | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Miami Toros | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 3 | ||||||||||||
| N2 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1 | ||||||||||||
| August 13, 1975Quarterfinals | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1–0 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | Tampa, Florida |
| Best 49:42' (Lindsay) | Report | Stadium: Tampa Stadium Attendance: 16,111 |
| August 16, 1975Semifinals | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 3–0 | Miami Toros | Tampa, Florida |
| Scullion 54:33' (Best) Smethurst 66:58' (Sissons)Boyle 88:40' (Sissons) | Report | Stadium: Tampa Stadium Attendance: 22,710 |
| August 24, 1975 Soccer Bowl '75 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2–0 | Portland Timbers | San Jose, California |
| Auguste 66:00' (Smethurst) Best 87:40' | Report | Stadium: Spartan Stadium Attendance: 17,009 |
 | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (February 2018) |
| | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (February 2018) |
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the United States. The league final was called the Soccer Bowl from 1975 to 1983 and the Soccer Bowl Series in its final year, 1984. The league was headed by Commissioner Phil Woosnam from 1969 to 1983. The NASL laid the foundations for soccer in the United States that helped lead to the country hosting the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the set-up of Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996.
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Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1976. This was the 9th season of the NASL.
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1975. This was the 8th season of the NASL.
Stewart McNab Adam Scullion is a Scottish former footballer, who played as a winger. Born in Bo'ness, Scotland, he started his professional career in the Football League, helping Watford to the Third Division title, and then spending three seasons at Sheffield United. After a second spell at Watford, he joined Tampa Bay Rowdies in the North American Soccer League. He was their second highest goalscorer in his first season, and in both years was named in the league's second All-star team. Scullion briefly returned to England with Wimbledon, before finishing his professional career in America with the Portland Timbers.
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Over the course of three weekends in March 1976, the North American Soccer League hosted its second league-wide indoor soccer tournament. Twelve of the twenty NASL teams participated.
Soccer Bowl '75 was the championship final of the 1975 NASL season, played between the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the Portland Timbers. The match took place on August 24, 1975 at Spartan Stadium, in San Jose, California. It was the first North American Soccer League championship to be known as the Soccer Bowl. The Tampa Bay Rowdies won the match, 2–0, to claim their first North American championship. This was the third consecutive year that an expansion team won the NASL title.
The Philadelphia Fury were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1978 to 1980. The team was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and played their home games at Veterans Stadium. Included in the team's ownership group were rock musicians Rick Wakeman, Peter Frampton, Mick Jagger, and Paul Simon. During the team's three years of play in Philadelphia it never had a winning record, but qualified for, and advanced to the second round, of the 1979 playoffs. After the 1980 NASL season, the team was sold and moved to Montreal, rebranding as the Montreal Manic.
The 1977 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the third indoor season of the club's existence.
The 1976 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the second indoor season of the club's existence. The Rowdies were able to replicate their 1975 outdoor success by winning the North American Soccer League's 1976 indoor championship.
The 1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the first indoor season of the club's existence. It also marked the first time the expansion Rowdies participated in any North American Soccer League sanctioned competition.
The 1976 season was the original Tampa Bay Rowdies second season of existence, and their second season in the North American Soccer League, the top division of soccer in the United States and Canada at that time. Tampa Bay entered the season as the defending Soccer Bowl champions.
