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.
Charles Cooke is a Scottish former footballer. He played as a winger for Aberdeen, Dundee, Chelsea and Crystal Palace, before ending his career in the United States.
Derek Smethurst is a retired South African soccer forward who played professionally in South Africa, England and the United States.
Clive Walker is an English retired footballer. His playing career spanned some 1,000 league and cup games for Chelsea, Sunderland, Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion before enjoying a renaissance in the Conference with Woking and Cheltenham Town.
Michael Reginald Thomas is a Welsh former footballer who played as a winger. At club level, he played for Wrexham, Manchester United, Everton, Brighton & Hove Albion, Stoke City, Chelsea, West Bromwich Albion, Derby County, Shrewsbury Town and Leeds United. As a Welsh international, he made 51 appearances and scored four goals.
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.
Robert Alfred Smith was an English footballer who played as a centre-forward for Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton and Hove Albion and England. He finished as the First Division's top scorer in the 1957–58 season and he is Tottenham Hotspur's third-highest goal scorer with 208 goals.
Steve Wegerle is a South African former professional soccer player who played as a winger.
Emanuel Franciszek Andruszewski is an English former footballer who played for Southampton. He played at full back and centre back during the late 1970s.
Douglas Rougvie is a Scottish former footballer, who played mainly for Aberdeen and Chelsea. Rougvie played in one international match for Scotland, in 1983.
John Leslie Sissons is an English former footballer who played for West Ham United, Sheffield Wednesday, Norwich City and Chelsea.
Julio "Ringo" Cantillo is a 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.
Gordon Wilkinson Hill was an English football referee in the Football League. He originally came from Bolton, Lancashire.
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.
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.
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.
Charles Marshall Thomson was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Scottish League clubs Raith Rovers, Alloa Athletic and Falkirk and made 169 Football League appearances for Brighton & Hove Albion.
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.
