1977 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season

Last updated
Fort Lauderdale Strikers
1977 season
Owner Flag of the United States.svg Elizabeth Robbie
General managerKrikor Yepremian [1]
Manager Flag of England.svg Ron Newman
Stadium Lockhart Stadium
NASL Eastern Division: First place
Regular season: Champions
Top goalscorerLeague:
Flag of the United States.svg George Nanchoff (8)
All:
Flag of England.svg Maurice Whittle (9)
Average home league attendance8,148
←  1976 Toros
1978 Strikers →

The 1977 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season was the first season of the new team, and the club's eleventh season in professional soccer. It is also the first ever incarnation of the club's new name. Previously they were known as the Miami Toros. The 1977 squad won the North American Soccer League's Eastern Division of the Atlantic Conference, and was the top team in regular season with 19 victories for 161 points.

Contents

Background

First ever match

The Strikers first-ever game was a preseason indoor match played on February 27, 1977 at the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. [2] Though only an exhibition, this was the first meeting in what was to become one of the most enduring rivalries in North American soccer, the Florida Derby. It would also set the tone for many years of indoor frustration for the Strikers as they fell, 9–8, to the hosts. [3] [4]

Match report

February 27, 19771 Tampa Bay Rowdies 9–8 Fort Lauderdale Strikers St. Petersburg, Florida
8:00 p.m. (EST)
 Report
Stadium: Bayfront Center
Attendance: 5,016
Referee: Sam Hornich

Review

Competitions

Friendlies

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
February 27, 1977 Tampa Bay Rowdies Bayfront Center 9–85,016 (indoor)Sharp (3), Mulroy, Nanchoff, Ceballos, Chadwick, Hamlyn
March 5, 1977 Rollins College Tars Sandspur Bowl 1–6
March 12, 1977 Washington Diplomats Wilde Lake High School 3–21,093Sergio Ceballos (2)
March 13, 1977 Washington Diplomats City Stadium 3–4David Chadwick, Fred Pereira, Sergio Ceballos, Curtis Leeper
March 26, 1977 Miami Dade South MDC South Campus
March 27, 1977 FIU Sunblazers FIU Soccer Stadium 0–51,100
April 6, 1977 Rochester Lancers Lockhart Stadium 2–0Bobby Bell, Tony Whelan
June 10, 1977 Flag of Italy.svg S.S. Lazio Lockhart Stadium 1–43,500Norman Piper
October 2, 1977Business Machines, Inc. Leonard High School 2–3500Tony Whelan, David Proctor, Mike Fazee

NASL regular season

W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, BP = Bonus Points, Pts= point system

6 points for a win, 0 points for a loss, 1 point for each regulation goal scored up to three per game.

Atlantic Conference

Eastern DivisionWLGFGABPPtsHomeRoad
Fort Lauderdale Strikers19749294716111–28–5
Cosmos 151160395014010–35–8
Tampa Bay Rowdies 141255454713111–23–10
Washington Diplomats 1016324932926–74–9
Northern DivisionWLGFGABPPtsHomeRoad
Toronto Metros-Croatia 13134238371158–55–8
St. Louis Stars 12143335321047–65–8
Rochester Lancers 11153441339910–31–12
Chicago Sting 1016314328884–96–7
Connecticut Bicentennials 719346530724–93–10

Results summaries

Results by round

Match reports

NASL Playoffs

Divisional Championships

Higher seedLower seedGame 1Game 2(lower seed hosts Game 1)
Fort Lauderdale Strikers– Cosmos 3–82–3 (SO, 0–3)August 14 • Giants Stadium • 77,691
August 17 • Lockhart Stadium 14,152

Bracket

First RoundDivision ChampionshipsConference Championships Soccer Bowl '77
            
E2 Cosmos 3
E3 Tampa Bay Rowdies 0
E1 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 0
E2 Cosmos 2
E2 Cosmos 2
N3 Rochester Lancers 0
N2 St. Louis Stars 0(2)
N3 Rochester Lancers 0(4)
N1 Toronto Metros-Croatia 0
N3 Rochester Lancers 2
E2 Cosmos 2
W3 Seattle Sounders 1
S2 Los Angeles Aztecs 2
S3 San Jose Earthquakes 1
S1 Dallas Tornado 0
S2 Los Angeles Aztecs 2
S2 Los Angeles Aztecs 0
W3 Seattle Sounders 2
W2 Vancouver Whitecaps 0
W3 Seattle Sounders 2
W1 Minnesota Kicks 0
W3 Seattle Sounders 2

Match reports

Statistics

Transfers

See also

1977 Fort Lauderdale Strikers

Related Research Articles

Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983) American soccer team (1977–1983)

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers was a professional soccer team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1977 to 1983. They played their home matches at Lockhart Stadium.

Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) Football club

The Tampa Bay Rowdies were an American professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida, that competed in the original North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1984. They enjoyed broad popular support in the Tampa Bay area until the NASL folded in 1984, after which the team played in various minor indoor and outdoor leagues before finally folding on January 31, 1994. The Rowdies played nearly all of their outdoor home games at Tampa Stadium and nearly all of their indoor games at the Bayfront Center Arena in nearby St. Petersburg, Florida. Although San Diego played indoors until 1996, the Rowdies were the last surviving NASL franchise that played outdoor soccer on a regular basis.

Steve Wegerle South African soccer player

Steve Wegerle is a former professional soccer player who played as a winger.

Tampa Bay Rowdies American professional soccer team

The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. They formerly played in USSF Division 2 and the North American Soccer League (NASL), which were also second-tier leagues. The Rowdies play their home games at Al Lang Stadium on St. Petersburg's downtown waterfront.

Fort Lauderdale–Tampa Bay rivalry Club soccer rivalry in Florida

The Fort Lauderdale–Tampa Bay rivalry, also known as the Florida Derby, refers to the suspended soccer rivalry that most recently involved the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and the Tampa Bay Rowdies, both of whom played in the North American Soccer League through the 2016 season. Over the years the rivalry has spanned more than one hundred matches across eight soccer leagues and several tournaments, and involved nine different teams from the two regions of Florida. At times it has involved players, coaches, management and fans. Even the press has fanned the rivalry's flames at times. From 2010 through 2014, the winner of the regular season series automatically won the Coastal Cup as well. The status of the rivalry beyond 2016 remains unclear because the Rowdies have since joined the United Soccer League, while the Strikers ongoing ownership and legal battles of 2016 and 2017 have left them defunct.

The 2012 Tampa Bay Rowdies season was the current Tampa Bay Rowdies' third season of existence, and second in the North American Soccer League. Including the original Rowdies franchise and the Tampa Bay Mutiny, this was the 25th season of a professional soccer team fielded in the Tampa Bay region.

Soccer Bowl 78 North American Soccer League championship final for the 1978 season

Soccer Bowl '78 was the North American Soccer League's championship final for the 1978 season. It was the fourth NASL championship under the Soccer Bowl name.

The 2013 season was the current Tampa Bay Rowdies fourth season of existence, and third playing in the North American Soccer League, the second tier of American soccer pyramid. Including the original Rowdies franchise and the Tampa Bay Mutiny, this was the 26th season of a professional soccer team fielded in the Tampa Bay region.

The 1983 NASL Grand Prix of Indoor Soccer was an indoor soccer tournament staged by four franchises of the North American Soccer League.

The 1983 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season was the team's third season of indoor soccer in the North American Soccer League.

The 1979 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season was part of the club's twelfth season in professional soccer.

The 1979 NASL Budweiser Indoor Soccer Invitational was a four-team indoor soccer tournament held at the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, Florida on the final weekend of January 1979.

The Coastal Cup is a trophy and soccer competition among the USL Championship (USL) teams based in Florida. Established in 2010, the trophy was originally awarded to the best team in regular season play among Florida-based franchises. Head-to-head playoff games, U.S. Open Cup matches and friendlies have no bearing on the outcome of this competition. The Fort Lauderdale Strikers did not field a team in 2017 and were later dissolved. The Tampa Bay Rowdies also participated in this cup from 2010 though 2016, before leaving the NASL for the USL. With Miami FC joining the USL, the competition restarted in 2020.

The 1977 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the third indoor season of the club's existence.

The 1978 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the fourth indoor season of the club's existence.

The 1979 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the fifth indoor season of the club's existence.

The 1983 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the ninth indoor season of the team's existence. The Rowdies captured the Indoor Grand Prix title. Although they would play for another 10 years, including two more indoors in 1983–84 and 1986–87, this would be the final trophy won by the original club.

The 1980–81 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the seventh indoor season of the club's existence.

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.

The 1981–82 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the eighth indoor season of the club's existence.

References

  1. ↑ "13 Jan 1977, Page 58 – Fort Lauderdale News at". Newspapers.com. 1977-01-13. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
  2. ↑ "Rowdies Vs. Strikers In Exhibition Tonight". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. February 27, 1977. p. 3-D. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  3. ↑ Meyer, John (February 28, 1977). "Rowdies: Bombs Away!". Evening Independent. p. 1-C. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  4. ↑ Blankenship, Ken (February 28, 1977). "Smethurst-led Rowdies clip Strikers 9–8". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. Retrieved September 19, 2016.