| 1977 indoor season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner |  George W. Strawbridge, Jr. | ||
| General manager | Beau Rodgers | ||
| Manager |  Eddie Firmani | ||
| Stadium | Bayfront Center | ||
| Top goalscorer | League: All:  Derek Smethurst (5 goals) | ||
| Highest home attendance | 6,354 (March 9 vs. Zenit) | ||
| Lowest home attendance | 5,016 (Feb. 27 vs. Strikers) | ||
| Average home league attendance | 5,685 | ||
The 1977 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the third indoor season of the club's existence.
Despite much lobbying from Rowdies owner, George W. Strawbridge, Jr., the North American Soccer League voted not to sanction an indoor season or tournament in 1977. [1] [2] As such, Tampa Bay played only two indoor matches that year. [3] The first one versus the Fort Lauderdale Strikers was played on February 27. [4] [5] This marked the first meeting of what would soon become one of the most enduring rivalries in North American soccer, the Florida Derby. The Rowdies' other match was an international friendly against Zenit Leningrad on March 9. [6] At the time Zenit was the reigning champion of the Soviet indoor league. [7] Likewise, the Rowdies were the defending NASL indoor champs. Both matches were played at the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Originally Tampa Bay had planned on playing FC Dynamo Moscow, but the match was canceled because of government delays in the Soviet Union. [8] The Rowdies were also the first NASL side to ever be invited to the Wembley Indoor Invitational in mid June. [9] The ten-team tournament featured five English clubs, plus other top squads from Europe. Although they originally planned to attend the London event, ultimately the tournament was canceled and the Rowdies scheduled an outdoor international friendly in Tampa versus A.S. Roma instead. [10] [11] [12]
Not only was this brief indoor season the flash-point for one of the longest running professional soccer derbies in North America as previously mentioned, but it was significant for another reason. When Ed Tepper approached Earl Foreman about starting a fully professional indoor-only soccer league, he used a videotape of the 1977 Rowdies–Zenit Leningrad match [13] to show not only the game's potential, but also the crowd's enthusiastic responses to the end-to-end action. By October 1977 the pair announced the formation of the Major Indoor Soccer League. [14] [15] That league would grow to become the sport's standard bearer for many years, even gaining a regular slot in the ESPN programming line up, before finally folding in 1992. Today, though most popular in North America, indoor soccer is played throughout the world, with its own FIFA-like governing body. The World Minifootball Federation, based in the Czech Republic, is the international federation dedicated to promoting the sport.
| No. | Position | Player | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Paul Hammond |  England |
| 1 | GK | Arnie Mausser | United States |
| 1 | GK | Winston DuBose | United States |
| 2 | DF | Farrukh Quraishi | England |
| 3 | DF | Alex Pringle (capt.) |  Scotland |
| 4 | DF | Arsène Auguste |  Haiti |
| 5 | DF | Rino Agostinis |  Canada |
| 6 | DF | Mike Connell |  South Africa |
| 7 | MF | Steve Wegerle | South Africa |
| 8 | MF | Wes McLeod | Canada |
| 9 | FW | Adrian Alston |  Australia |
| 10 | FW | Rodney Marsh | England |
| 11 | FW | Len Glover | England |
| 12 | FW | Derek Smethurst | South Africa |
| 14 | FW | Joey Fink | United States |
| 15 | MF | Mark Lindsay | England |
| 16 | DF | Dennis Wit | United States |
| 17 | FW | Kevin Eagan | United States |
| 19 | DF | Frantz St. Lot | United States |
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 manager| February 27, 19771 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 9–8 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 8:00 p.m. (EST) | Lindsay  4:21' (Wegerle)Smethurst 33:13'Smethurst 34:04' (Alston)Quraishi 41:34' (Smethurst)Smethurst 41:57' (Wegerle)Wegerle 48:29'Smethurst 49:30' (Wegerle)Wegerle 50:41'Alston 51:47' (Smethurst) | Report | Mulroy 12:07' (Nanchoff, Sharp) Sharp 12:27'Nanchoff 26:40' (Chadwick)Ceballos 44:20' (Sharp)Chadwick 47:40' (Hamlyn, Sharp)Sharp 50:41'Sharp 58:04'Hamlyn 59:57' | Stadium: Bayfront Center Attendance: 5,016 Referee: Sam Hornich |
| March 9, 19772 Int’l friendly | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 7–8 | Zenit Leningrad | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 8:00 p.m. (EST) | Wegerle 6:51' (Connell) Marsh 13:32'Marsh 14:33' (Wit, Quraishi)Smethurst 15:43' (Quraishi)Glover 31:13'Marsh 33:02' (Alston)Marsh 47:25' (Pringle) | Report 1 Report 2 | Lokhov 3:47' (Davydov) Jakimtsev 10:42', 42:26'Orlov 17:11' (Golubev, Jakimtsev)Rasputin 21:48'Davydov 32:31' (Markin)Jakimtsev 42:26'Lokhov 56:11'Golubev 56:47' | Stadium: Bayfront Center Attendance: 6,354 Referee: Rene Imar (USA) |
G = Goals (worth 2 points), A = Assists (worth 1 point), Pts = Points
| Player | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Derek Smethurst | 5 | 2 | 12 |
| Steve Wegerle | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| Rodney Marsh | 4 | 0 | 8 |
| Adrian Alston | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Farrukh Quraishi | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Len Glover | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Mark Lindsay | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Dennis Wit | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Alex Pringle | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Mike Connell | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Rino Agostinis | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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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 is a former professional soccer player who played as a winger.
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 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.
The 1977 season was the original Tampa Bay Rowdies third season of existence, and their third season in the North American Soccer League, the top division of soccer in the United States and Canada at that time.
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.
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 1978 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the fourth 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 1979 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the fifth indoor season of the club's existence.
The 1979–80 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the sixth indoor season of the club's existence.
Dave Power is an English-born, American retired professional footballer.
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.
Keith Bailey is a Canadian retired professional soccer player.
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.
Rino Agostinis, sometimes referred to as Reno Agostinis, is a Canadian former soccer player who played as a defender.
The 1981–82 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the eighth indoor season of the club's existence.
