| 1978 indoor season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner |  George Strawbridge, Jr. | ||
| General manager | Chas Serednesky, Jr | ||
| Manager |  Gordon Jago | ||
| Stadium | Bayfront Center | ||
| Top goalscorer | League: All:  Derek Smethurst (14 goals) | ||
| Highest home attendance | 6,410 (Feb. 3 vs. Diplomats) & (March 10 vs. Kicks) | ||
| Lowest home attendance | 2,600 (May 3 vs. Norwich City) | ||
| Average home league attendance | 5,641 | ||
The 1978 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the fourth indoor season of the club's existence.
Though it had appeared, after the success of an international friendly between Tampa Bay and Zenit Leningrad in 1977, [1] that the North American Soccer League was finally poised to sanction a full indoor season for 1978, [2] the owners ultimately pulled the plug on the idea for the second straight year with a majority "no" vote. [3] [4] [5] The NASL however did not restrict teams from scheduling matches on their own.
Tampa Bay scheduled nine indoor games for 1978, eight of which were played. The Rowdies first match on January 28 against the Washington Diplomats also marked Gordon Jago's debut as Rowdies head coach. [6] [7] This was followed by two more matches with Washington. What would have been the fourth match of the season was canceled because the roof of the Hartford Civic Center Coliseum, where the Rowdies were scheduled to take on the Rochester Lancers, collapsed under the weight of a heavy snowfall in the early morning hours of January 18. [8] [9] The next two matches, both against the Tulsa Roughnecks, marked the Roughnecks' first ever match and first ever match in Tulsa, played on February 11 and 14 respectively. [10] This was followed by matches against the Dallas Tornado and Minnesota Kicks. The Rowdies' final match was nearly two months later, an international friendly against Norwich City on May 3. All home games were played at the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, Florida.
| No. | Position | Player | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Paul Hammond | England |
| 2 | DF | Farrukh Quraishi | England |
| 4 | DF | Arsène Auguste |  Haiti |
| 5 | FW | David Robb |  Scotland |
| 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 (capt.) | England |
| 11 | MF | Graham Paddon | England |
| 12 | FW | Derek Smethurst | South Africa |
| 14 | FW | Joey Fink | United States |
| 15 | MF | Mark Lindsay | England |
| 15 | MF | Luis Papandrea |  Argentina |
| 16 | DF | Guy Newman | United States |
| 17 | FW | Kevin Eagan | United States |
| 18 | GK | Winston DuBose | United States |
| 19 | DF | Frantz St. Lot | Haiti |
| 20 | FW | Boris Bandov | United States |
| 23 | DF | Tony Crudo | United States |
George W. Strawbridge, Jr., owner Chas Serednesky, Jr., general manager Gordon Jago, head coach Ken Shields, trainer Alfredo Beronda, equipment manager| January 28, 19781 | Washington Diplomats | 7–6 (OT) | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Washington, D.C. |
| 8:00 PM | Welch  0:52' (Garber)Welch 3:57' (Pringle)Welch 4:16'Garber 20:18' (Steele)Garber 22:24' (Steele)Garber 55:30' (Steele, Demkowski)Askew  63:04' (Demkowski) | Report | Smethurst 2:11' (Bandov) Smethurst 20:36' (Marsh)Alston 25:15' (Fink)Smethurst 28:14'Smethurst 40:19' (Quaraishi)Fink 41:23' (Smethurst, Wegerle) | Stadium: D.C. Armory Attendance: 3,662 [11] |
| January 29, 19782 | Washington Diplomats | 3–11 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Washington, D.C. |
| 3:00 PM | Welch 42:52' Garber 55:47' (Darrell)Steele 57:24' (Welch) | Report | Crudo 10:48' (Marsh) Fink 14:32' (Smethurst)Wegerle 20:25'Fink 21:25' (Quaraishi)Quraishi 30:39' (Crudo)St. Lot 31:26' (Wegerle)Quraishi 36:23'Fink 37:57'Quraishi 40:46'Marsh 46:27'Marsh 59:09' (Eagan) | Stadium: D.C. Armory Attendance: 3,111 |
| February 3, 19783 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 6–5 | Washington Diplomats | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 8:00 PM | Smethurst 20:08' (Marsh) Lindsay 25:10' (Quraishi)Lindsay 28:36' (Marsh)Auguste 53:31' (Marsh, Smethurst)Smethurst 54:24'Crudo 57:10' (Alston) | Report | Welch 3:13' Askew 37:20' (Welch)Steele 43:00'Darrell 44:13' (Garber)Welch 48:38' (Fink) | Stadium: Bayfront Center Attendance: 6,410 Referee: Fred Usher |
| February 5, 19784 | Rochester Lancers | Canceled | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Hartford, Connecticut |
| Cancelled due to roof collapse | Report | Stadium: Hartford Civic Center Coliseum | ||
| Note: Cancelled due to roof collapse. | ||||
| February 11, 19785 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 7–3 | Tulsa Roughnecks | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 8:00 PM | Smethurst 4:29' (Lindsay) McLeod 13:58'Fink 26:15'Quraishi 29:59' (St. Lot)Fink 30:29' (Eagan)Wegerle 41:05'McLeod 49:38' (Eagan) | Report A Report B | Dovedon 7:01' García 8:34' (Stamenkovic)Ferrel 11:26' (Molnar) | Stadium: Bayfront Center Attendance: 6,384 |
| February 14, 19786 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 6–11 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| 8:00 PM (CST) | Stamenkovic 2:27' Molnár 16:25'Ferrel 25:23' (Stamenkovic)Molnár 46:04' (Dovedan)McKeown 52:25' (Dovedan)Molnár 58:53' | Report | McLeod 7:54' (Crudo) Wegerle 5:17' (Eagan)Smethurst 7:02'Fink 9:05' (Wegerle)Lindsay 13:11' (Wegerle)Smethurst 33:07' (Marsh)Smethurst 34:22' (Connell)Smethurst 41:29' (Bandov)St. Lot 53:34' (Bandov)Marsh 54:51' (Smethurst)Smethurst 56:37' (Lindsay) | Stadium: Tulsa Assembly Center Attendance: 3,250 |
| February 18, 19787 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 7–3 | Dallas Tornado | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 8:00 PM | Fink 15:56' (Bandov) Smethurst 29:45' (Marsh)Marsh 42:50' (Eagan)Marsh 43:37'McLeod 45:49' (Bandov)Smethurst 51:49' (Marsh)McLeod 53:14' (Eagan) | Report | Newman 19:37' (Ryan) Newman 23:50' (Ryan)Stahl 41:04' | Stadium: Bayfront Center Attendance: 6,399 |
| March 10, 19788 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 11–2 | Minnesota Kicks | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 8:00 PM | McLeod 3:49' (Marsh) Eagan 4:25' (Fink)Marsh 11:22'Eagan 12:46' (Alston)Alston 14:18'Alston 20:40' (Marsh)Eagan 45:00' (Alston)Marsh 52:10' (Fink)Wegerle 56:39' (Quraishi)Wegerle 58:51' (Marsh)Fink 59:57' | Report | Willey 8:10' (Hamilton) Vujkovic 23:46' | Stadium: Bayfront Center Attendance: 6,410 |
| May 3, 19789 Int’l friendly | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 10–11 (OT) | Norwich City | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 8:00 PM | Paddon 11:20' Fink 18:56' (Marsh)McLeod 19:23' (Papandrea)Wegerle 24:45'Bandov 27:40' (Fink)McLeod 39:57' (Fink)Marsh 50:05' (Eagan)Connell 53:48' (Marsh)Marsh 54:07' (Connell)Robb 59:44' | Report 1 Report 2 | Sainty 17:55' (Suggett) Sainty 24:16' (Bond)Ryan 25:18' (Sainty)Peters 26:21'Peters 30:45' (Nightengale)Ryan 33:58'Suggett 34:58'Sainty 41:28'Peters 53:14' (Sainty)Suggett 59:32' (Ryan)Peters 63:43' (Suggett) | Stadium: Bayfront Center Attendance: 2,384 [12] Referee: Sam Homich |
GP = Games Played, G = Goals (worth 2 points), A = Assists (worth 1 point), Pts = Points
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derek Smethurst | 6 | 14 | 4 | 32 |
| Rodney Marsh | 8 | 9 | 13 | 31 |
| Joey Fink | 8 | 10 | 6 | 26 |
| Wes McLeod | 5 | 8 | 0 | 16 |
| Steve Wegerle | 7 | 6 | 4 | 16 |
| Kevin Eagan | 7 | 3 | 7 | 13 |
| Farrukh Quraishi | 7 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| Adrian Alston | 4 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| Mark Lindsay | 7 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| Boris Bandov | 6 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| Tony Crudo | 7 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Frantz St. Lot | 7 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Mike Connell | 8 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Arsène Auguste | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| David Robb | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Graham Paddon | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Luis Papandrea | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Guy Newman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes; SV = Saves; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses
| Player | GP | Min | SV | GA | GAA | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winston DuBose | 7 | 428 | 111 | 35 | 4.91 | 5 | 2 |
| Paul Hammond | 1 | 60 | 11 | 5 | 5.00 | 1 | 0 |
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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 was 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.
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.
The Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984) were a North American Soccer League (NASL) team from Tulsa, Oklahoma. It played its home games at Skelly Stadium on the campus of the University of Tulsa. The team, previously Team Hawaii, moved to Tulsa after the 1977 season. In 1983, Alex Skotarek became general manager and led one of the lowest-budgeted teams in the NASL to a championship, defeating Toronto, 2-0, at Soccer Bowl '83.
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 South African former professional soccer player who played as a winger.
The 1978 North American Soccer League season was the 66th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer, the 11th with a national first-division league, in the United States and Canada.
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.
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 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 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 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.
The 1978 NASL Skelly Invitational was a four-team indoor soccer tournament held in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the Tulsa Assembly Center on the first weekend of March 1979.
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 1981–82 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the eighth indoor season of the club's existence.
