Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984)
- This article is about the original Tulsa Roughnecks of the NASL. For other teams to use the name, see Tulsa Roughnecks (disambiguation).
Full name | Tulsa Roughnecks | ||
---|---|---|---|
Nickname(s) | Roughnecks, Necks | ||
Founded | 1978 | ||
Ground | outdoor: Skelly Stadium (40,000) indoor: Tulsa Assembly Center[1] (8,900) Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion (6,311) | ||
League | NASL | ||
|
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 moved to Tulsa from Hawaii before the 1978 season and went out of business after the 1984 season when the NASL became defunct. According to former General Manager Noel Lemon, the team was a relative success compared to other NASL franchises. When Tulsa joined the league, there were 24 teams compared to just four teams when the league went out of business. Lemon said that none of the teams were profitable.[2]
Highlights
The Roughnecks were a regular in the NASL playoffs and won the NASL title in Soccer Bowl '83, defeating the Toronto Blizzard at BC Place Stadium (Vancouver) by a score of 2–0 before a paid attendance of 60,051.[3] The teams all-time win-loss record was 104–106. The Roughnecks' home games consistently drew better-than-league-average attendance with the annual record occurring during the 1980 season when the team averaged 19,787 spectators over 16 games for a total attendance that year of 316,593 (placing the Roughnecks at No. 5 between the Seattle Sounders and the Washington Diplomats). The largest home game attendance for Tulsa occurred on April 26, 1980 when 30,822 fans watched the Roughnecks' 2–1 victory over the New York Cosmos at Skelly Stadium. The highest attendance for any Roughneck game occurred on August 26, 1979 when Tulsa met the Cosmos in New York for a NASL playoff game before a crowd of 76,031.[3]
Famous Roughneck players include Iraj Danaeifard, Charlie Mitchell, Billy Caskey, Victor Moreland,[4] Barry Wallace, Alan Woodward, Zeljko Bilecki, Carmelo D'Anzi, Winston DuBose, Njego Pesa, Laurie Abrams, Chance Fry, Terry Moore and David McCreery.
Year-by-year
Year | League | W | L | Pts | Reg. Season | Playoffs | Avg. Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1978 | NASL | 15 | 15 | 132 | 2nd, National Conference, Central Division | Lost 1st Round (Minnesota) | 11,256 |
1979 | NASL indoor | 0 | 2 | — | N/A | 3rd Place, Budweiser Invitational[5] | 6,340 |
1979 | NASL | 14 | 16 | 139 | 3rd, National Conference, Central Division | Won Conference Quarterfinal (Minnesota) Lost Conference Semifinal (New York) |
16,426 |
1979–80 | NASL Indoor | 7 | 5 | — | 3rd, Western | Lost 1st Round (Minnesota) | 4,657 |
1980 | NASL | 15 | 17 | 139 | 3rd, National Conference, Central Division | Lost 1st Round (New York) | 19,787 |
1980–81 | NASL Indoor | 9 | 9 | — | 2nd, Southern Division | Did not qualify | 5,288 |
1981 | NASL | 17 | 15 | 154 | 3rd, Central Division | Lost 1st Round (Minnesota) | 17,188 |
1981–82 | NASL Indoor | 10 | 8 | — | 3rd, American Conference, Central Division | Won 1st Round (Chicago) Lost Semifinal (Tampa Bay) |
5,308 |
1982 | NASL | 16 | 16 | 112 | 2nd, Southern Division | Lost 1st Round (New York) | 14,554 |
1983 | NASL Indoor Grand Prix | 4 | 4 | — | 3rd in Grand Prix preliminary rounds | Lost Semifinal (Tampa Bay) Won 3rd place match (Ft. Lauderdale) |
3,293 |
1983 | NASL | 17 | 13 | 145 | 1st, Southern Division | Won 1st Round (Ft. Lauderdale) Won Semifinals (Montreal) Won Soccer Bowl '83 (Toronto) |
12,415 |
1983–84 | NASL Indoor | 11 | 21 | — | 6th | Did not qualify | 3,707 |
1984 | NASL | 10 | 14 | 98 | 4th, Western Division | Did not qualify | 7,797 |
Honors
Template:MultiColNASL Championships (1)
Division Champions (1)
- 1983 Southern Division
Rookie of the Year
- 1981 Joe Morrone, Jr.
Soccer Bowl MVP
- 1983 Njego Pesa
Indoor Leading Goal Scorer[6]
- 1983 Laurie Abrahams (12 goals)
Indoor Leading Scorer[6]
- 1983 Laurie Abrahams (12 goals, 6 assists, 30 points)
Indoor Tournament Offensive MVP
- 1983 Laurie Abrahams
Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame
- 2004 Bob Bolitho
- 2005 Terry Moore
- 2008 Jack Brand
Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame[7]
- 2012 Kim Roentved
| class="col-break " |
All-Star First Team Selections
- 1983 Barry Wallace
All-Star Second Team Selections
- 1981 Barry Wallace
- 1982 Barry Wallace
- 1984 Terry Moore
- 1984 Victor Moreland
All-Star Honorable Mentions
- 1981 Duncan McKenzie
- 1982 Laurie Abrahams
- 1984 Ron Futcher
Indoor All-Stars
- 1981–82 Barry Wallace
- 1983–84 Barry Wallace (starter)
- 1983–84 Zequinha (reserve)
Ownership & Staff
- Carl Moore – Co-Owner (1978–83)
- Mike Kimbrel – Co-Owner (1978–83)
- Rick Lowenherz – Co-Owner (1978–83)
- Fred Williams – Co-Owner (1978–83)
- Jim Boeh – Communications Director
- Noel Lemon – General Manager
- Tulsa Cable – Owner (1984)
Players
Many former players have found employment as paid trainers of youth soccer teams for clubs such as the Tulsa United, Tulsa Soccer Club (TSC), Tornado Soccer Club, and Hurricane Football Club (HFC).
Coaches
- Bill Foulkes (1978)
- Alex Skotarek (1978)
- Alan Hinton (1979)
- Charlie Mitchell (1980–1981)
- Terry Hennessey (1981–1983, won 1983 Soccer Bowl)
- Steve Earle (1983-84 indoor season only)
- Wim Suurbier (1984)
External links
- Tulsa Roughnecks on FunWhileItLasted.net
- Jimmie Tramel, "Roughnecks a colorful, talented group", Tulsa World, June 26, 2006.
- Randy Krehbiel, "Soccer team's success wasn't easy", Tulsa World, September 15, 2002.
- J Hutcherson, "Tulsa's Charity Case" at USSoccerPlayers.com.
- Clive Gammon, "Blowing Out The Blizzard: Tulsa won Soccer Bowl '83 with a little assist from the NASL boss", Sports Illustrated, October 10, 1983.
- "Sports People; Too Rough In Tulsa", New York Times, November 17, 1983.
See also
- San Antonio Thunder
- Team Hawaii
- Tulsa Renegades
- Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000)
- Tulsa Roughnecks FC
- Tulsa Tornados
References
- ^ https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19780214&id=R4JIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tlkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6781,4725398&hl=en
- ^ Krehbiel, Randy. "Soccer team's success wasn't easy." Tulsa World. September 15, 2002. Updated April 9, 2008. Retrieved June 20, 2013.[1]
- ^ a b http://tulsaroughnecks.com/Scores___Crowds_1978-84.html
- ^ Brucculeri, Jeff (January 30, 2014). "Soccer great Victor Moreland liked what he discovered in Tulsa in 1978". Tulsa Beacon. Tulsa, OK: Biggs Communications. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
- ^ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rsEwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3VgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6654,3317860&dq=rowdies+had+to+do+more&hl=en
- ^ a b https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qcJaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HFkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2106,1706476&dq=championship+effort+carried+rowdies&hl=en
- ^ http://www.indoorsoccerhall.com/hall-of-fame-classes
- Tulsa Roughnecks
- Association football clubs established in 1978
- Association football clubs disestablished in 1984
- Sports in Tulsa, Oklahoma
- North American Soccer League (1968–84) teams
- Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States
- Defunct soccer clubs in Oklahoma
- 1978 establishments in Oklahoma
- 1984 disestablishments in Oklahoma