Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Robert Alan Stetler | ||
Date of birth | October 10, 1952 | ||
Place of birth | East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, United States | ||
Date of death | July 1990 (aged 38) | ||
Place of death | United States | ||
Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
College career | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1973–1974 | East Stroudsburg Warriors | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1975–1976 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 4 | (0) |
1975–1976 | Tampa Bay Rowdies (indoor) | 2 | (0) |
1977–1979 | Washington Diplomats | 12 | (0) |
1980 | Memphis Rogues | 27 | (0) |
1980–1981 | Phoenix Inferno (indoor) | 1 | (0) |
1981 | San Jose Earthquakes | 8 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Bob Stetler was an American soccer goalkeeper who played professionally in the North American Soccer League and the Major Indoor Soccer League.
Stetler graduated from Stroudsburg High School where he was a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association wrestling champion. He began his college career with Huron College before transferring to East Stroudsburg State University his junior year where he both played soccer and wrestled. He was a 1974 Third Team and 1975 Second Team Division II All American wrestler. [1] In 1974, he placed third in the 158 lb. division of the NCAA Division II national championship. [2]
In 1975, he signed with the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League. He spent the 1975 season as an amateur, then turned professional in 1976. Settler did not play during the 1975 indoor season, but did appear in two games during the Rowdies' championship 1976 indoor campaign, starting one of them. He saw time in four outdoor games, mostly as late game substitutes to Arnie Mausser. [3] The Rowdies released him just before the 1977 season. [4] In April 1977, he signed as a free agent with the Washington Diplomats. In the fall of 1977, the Diplomats sent him on loan to the Memphis Rogues for the indoor season, but a hand injury kept him out of any games. The Diplomats then traded him to the Rogues where he played 27 games during the outdoor season. In the fall of 1980, he moved to the Phoenix Inferno of the Major Indoor Soccer League. In 1981, he finished his professional career with the San Jose Earthquakes.
He died in a car accident in July 1990. At the time he owned the club, Rumours in the Gap. [5]
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 setting up Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996.
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.
The Connecticut Bicentennials were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1977. Originally founded as the Hartford Bicentennials, the team relocated to New Haven, Connecticut after the 1976 NASL season. At the end of 1977 season, the team was sold and relocated to California becoming the Oakland Stompers.
Derek Smethurst is a retired South African soccer forward who played professionally in South Africa, England and the United States.
Peter Ward is an English retired footballer, whose most successful times were with Brighton & Hove Albion, mostly as a forward. He now lives in the United States.
Arnold "Arnie" Mausser is an American former soccer goalkeeper who played with eight different NASL teams from 1975 to 1984. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Peter Roe is a Canadian international soccer player who spent twelve seasons in the North American Soccer League and two in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned nine caps, scoring one goal, with the Canadian national soccer team between 1974 and 1983.
Steve Wegerle is a South African former professional soccer player who played as a winger.
Mike Connell is a former professional footballer who spent most of his career as a defender. He played professionally in his native South Africa as well as in the North American Soccer League (NASL), mostly with the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Julio "Ringo" Cantillo is a Costa Rican former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. He played five seasons in the American Soccer League where he was the league MVP as a rookie. He won MVP honors a total of three times in the ASL. Cantillo also spent parts of seven seasons in the North American Soccer League and four in NASL indoor, one in the United Soccer League and one in Major Indoor Soccer League. Born in Costa Rica, Cantillo earned eleven caps with the U.S. national soccer team between 1979 and 1982.
Al Miller is an American former collegiate and professional soccer coach. After leaving coaching, he then became a general manager for two indoor soccer clubs in Cleveland, Ohio. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Farrukh Quraishi is an Iranian retired footballer. He spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League playing for the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Calgary Boomers. Since retiring from playing, he has held numerous executive positions with the United States Soccer Federation. Quraishi won the 1974 Hermann Trophy. Most recently he was the President and General Manager of the modern Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Peter Thomas Anderson is an English former football midfielder and manager.
Don Tobin is an English retired footballer who played in leagues including the English Football League, the League of Ireland, the American Soccer League, and Major Indoor Soccer League. Since 1995 he has coached at various levels in the Tampa Bay Area, most often with women's teams.
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.
The 1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies season was the first season of the club's existence.
North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. Beginning in 1975, the league final was called the Soccer Bowl.
Frantz St. Lot or Frantz St-Lot is a Haitian-born, American former soccer player that played professionally in the United States as a defender.
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.