1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies season

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Tampa Bay Rowdies
1975 season
PresidentUnited States George W. Strawbridge, Jr.
ManagerItaly Eddie Firmani
StadiumTampa Stadium
NASLDivision: 1st
Playoffs: Champions
U.S. Open CupDid not enter
Top goalscorerLeague:
South Africa Derek Smethurst (18 goals)
All:
South Africa Derek Smethurst (21 goals)
Highest home attendance22,710
(Aug. 17 vs. Miami)
Lowest home attendance5,281
(May 28 vs. Denver)
Average home league attendance12,064
← first season
1976 →

The 1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies season was the first season of the club's existence.

Kit

During the outdoor campaign occasionally a random Rowdies player could be seen wearing the collarless jersey[1] used by all players during the 1975 indoor season earlier in the year, but by season's end the full-collar style that would become so familiar in all of Tampa Bay's later NASL campaigns eventually took over.[2] The striping sequence on the sleeves was also different. Tampa Bay would not wear a cuff-style collar again until the 1986–87 American Indoor Soccer Association season.[3]

Club

No. Position Player Nation
1 GK Paul Hammond  England
1 GK Mike Hewitt  Scotland
1 GK Bob Stetler  United States
2 DF Farrukh Quraishi  England
3 DF Alex Pringle  Scotland
4 MF John Boyle (capt.)  Scotland
5 DF Malcolm Linton  England
6 DF Mike Connell  South Africa
7 MF Bernard Hartze  South Africa
8 MF Randy Garber  United States
9 FW Clyde Best  Bermuda
10 FW Stewart Scullion  Scotland
11 FW Doug Wark  Scotland
12 FW Derek Smethurst  South Africa
13 DF Stewart Jump  England
14 FW John Sissons  England
15 MF Mark Lindsay  England
16 DF John Bluem  United States
17 FW Eddie Austin  United States
18 DF Arsène Auguste  Haiti
18 MF Eddie Firmani  Italy

Honors

The Rowdies received eight individual honors following the 1975 NASL season.

Review

The 1975 North American Soccer League season was the Tampa Bay Rowdies first outdoors. The expansion Rowdies had only recently completed a successful debut in the 1975 indoor tournament, by finishing as runners-up. With Eddie Firmani as coach and John Boyle as team captain, they opened outdoor play by splitting a pair of preseason friendlies versus the San Antonio Thunder.

Tampa Bay's first regular season match was played at Tampa Stadium against the Rochester Lancers before 12,133 paying customers (and another 3,000-plus, who were there for free). Their first ever goal was scored by Derek Smethurst in the opening half. The first goal conceded by the Rowdies occurred at the 27:59 mark when Tommy Ord put one past Tampa Bay goalie Mike Hewitt. The game remained tied 1–1 at the end of 90 minutes. At 3:45 of golden goal overtime, second-half substitute, Alex Pringle, recorded the teams' first ever game-winning goal. The game also saw Firmani (age 41) insert himself into the lineup with about one minute remaining in regulation. This was because several players had been delayed in Europe, causing the Tampa Bay roster to be a bit thin for the match.[4]

The Rowdies success carried on as they went on to record winning streaks of six and seven games during the regular season. Tampa Bay finished the year tied with the Portland Timbers for the best record in the league with a mark of 16–6. The winning ways continued into the playoffs as they did not concede a single goal in any round. They defeated Toronto Metros-Croatia, 1–0, in the quarterfinals. That was followed by a 3–0 dismantling of 1974 league runners-up, and Florida Derby rival, Miami Toros in the semifinal, which sent them into the Soccer Bowl.

The Soccer Bowl '75 championship match featured the two teams with the best records in the NASL, the Rowdies and Portland. Coincidentally both squads were also expansion teams. Behind a stingy defense and a pair of second half goals by Arsène Auguste and Clyde Best, Tampa Bay came away the victors, 2–0. Defender Stewart Jump was named man of the match. This would be the Rowdies only outdoor NASL championship.

Competitions

Friendlies

April 11, 1975 1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–1 San Antonio Thunder Tarpon Springs, Florida
7:30 P.M. Boyle 65'
Smethurst 75'		 Report p. 3-C Marotte 89:30' Stadium: Tarpon Springs High School
April 13, 1975 2 Tampa Bay Rowdies 1–3 San Antonio Thunder Winter Park, Florida
1:30 P.M. Forteis 40:32' (o.g.) Report p. 3-C Wolf 9:16' (pen.)
Hylkema 16:35'
Didi 76:10'		 Stadium: Sandspur Field
Attendance: 2,000
May 19, 1975 3 Hartwick/Oneonta All-Stars 1–2 Tampa Bay Rowdies Oneonta, New York
Napolitano Report Wark (Lindsay)
Smethurst (Lindsay)		 Stadium: Oneonta State Field
Attendance: 1,000 (est)

NASL regular season

Standings

Pos Eastern Division GP W L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 22 16 6 46 27 +19 135 NASL Playoffs
2 Miami Toros 22 14 8 47 30 +17 123
3 Washington Diplomats 22 12 10 42 47 −5 112
4 Philadelphia Atoms 22 10 12 33 42 −9 90
5 Baltimore Comets 22 9 13 34 52 −18 87

Overall League Placing

Pos Club Pld W L GF GA GD Pts
1 Portland Timbers 22 16 6 43 27 +16 138
2 Tampa Bay Rowdies 22 16 6 46 27 +19 135
3 Seattle Sounders 22 15 7 42 28 +14 129
4 Miami Toros 22 14 8 47 30 +17 123
5 Boston Minutemen 22 13 9 41 29 +12 116

Results summaries

Results by round

Match reports

April 26, 1975 1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–1(OT) Rochester Lancers Tampa, Florida
Smethurst 13:51' (Sissons)
Pringle gold-colored soccer ball 93:45'  (Boyle)		 Report Ord 27:59' (Jijon) Stadium: Tampa Stadium
Attendance: 12,133
May 3, 1975 2 Tampa Bay Rowdies 1–0 New York Cosmos Tampa, Florida
Scullion 7:46' Report Stadium: Tampa Stadium
Attendance: 8,378
May 9, 1975 3 Washington Diplomats 3–0 Tampa Bay Rowdies Washington, D.C.
Ingram 6:17' (Pillinger)
Horton 16:17' (DeLeon)
Horton 18:52' (Barry)		 Report Stadium: Robert F. Kennedy Stadium
Attendance: 10,340
May 14, 1975 4 Tampa Bay Rowdies 3–1 Boston Minutemen Tampa, Florida
Smethurst 28:55' (Jump)
Best 71:49' (Sissons)
Best 74:44' (Scullion)		 Report Wooler 81:28' Stadium: Tampa Stadium
Attendance: 6,117
Referee: Don DeSalvador
May 17, 1975 5 Connecticut Bicentennials 1–3 Tampa Bay Rowdies New Haven, Connecticut
Travljanin 78' (H. McCully) Report Smethurst 30'[5]
Boyle 53' (Smethurst)
Best 82' (Quraishi)
 Stadium: Yale Bowl
Attendance: 3,410
May 21, 1975 6 Baltimore Comets 1–2 Tampa Bay Rowdies Baltimore, Maryland
Henderson 5:36' (Aqui) Report Boyle 53:56' (Smethurst)
Smethurst 81:15' (Sissons)		 Stadium: Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 3,648
May 28, 1975 7 Tampa Bay Rowdies 3–2 Denver Dynamos Tampa, Florida
Scullion 3:35' (Sissons)
Ntsoelengoe[6] 42:32' (o.g.)
Scullion 60:21' (Best)		 Report Dawes 17:31' (Flater)
Flater 22:28' (Dawes)		 Stadium: Tampa Stadium
Attendance: 5,281
Referee: Larry King
May 31, 1975 8 San Antonio Thunder 0–4 Tampa Bay Rowdies San Antonio, Texas
Report Smethurst 20:22' (Scullion)
Best 65:55' (Wark)
Garber 70:34'
Hartze 74:58' (Austin)		 Stadium: Alamo Stadium
Attendance: 4,619
Referee: Robert Evans
June 6, 1975 9 Miami Toros 0–1 Tampa Bay Rowdies Miami, Florida
Report Smethurst 56:14' (Boyle) Stadium: Miami Orange Bowl
Attendance: 14,259
June 11, 1975 10 Tampa Bay Rowdies 0–2 Miami Toros Tampa, Florida
Report David 49:11' (Archibald)
Jordan 79:36' (David)		 Stadium: Tampa Stadium
Attendance: 18,654
Referee: Gino D'Ippolito
June 13, 1975 11 Philadelphia Atoms 1–2 Tampa Bay Rowdies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
McLaughlin 74:45' (pen.) Report on p. 1-C Best 45:55' (Scullion)
Scullion 84:41'		 Stadium: Veterans Stadium
Attendance: 5,819
June 20, 1975 12 Dallas Tornado 0–0
(4–2 p)		 Tampa Bay Rowdies Irving, Texas
Report Stadium: Texas Stadium
Attendance: 4,179
Penalties
Ley soccer ball with check mark
Gore soccer ball with check mark
Moore soccer ball with check mark
Chadwick soccer ball with check mark		 soccer ball with check mark Smethurst
soccer ball with red X Garber
soccer ball with check mark Connell
soccer ball with red X Boyle
June 21, 1975 13 St. Louis Stars 1–1
(3–5 p)		 Tampa Bay Rowdies St. Louis, Missouri
Geimer 11:41' (Burnett) Report Smethurst 41:33' (Connell) Stadium: Francis Field
Attendance: 7,731
Penalties
Burnett soccer ball with red X
Hawley soccer ball with check mark
Matteson soccer ball with check mark
Trost soccer ball with check mark		 soccer ball with check mark Smethurst
soccer ball with check mark Pringle
soccer ball with check mark Jump
soccer ball with check mark Connell
soccer ball with check mark Scullion
June 28, 1975 14 Tampa Bay Rowdies 6–1 Baltimore Comets Tampa, Florida
Sissons 8:45' (Lindsay)
Scullion 13:25' (Sissons)
Sissons 34:40' (Scullion)
Smethurst 71:50' (Sissons)
Sissons 78:53' (Hartze)
Scullion 79:20' (Best)		 Report Henderson 26:59' Stadium: Tampa Stadium
Attendance: 8,610
July 12, 1975 15 Tampa Bay Rowdies 4–0 Baltimore Comets Tampa, Florida
Sissons (Scullion)
Smethurst (Boyle)
Smethurst 84:38'
Lindsay 89:20' (Smethurst)		 Report Stadium: Tampa Stadium
Attendance: 13,400
July 19, 1975 16 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–1 Philadelphia Atoms Tampa, Florida
Smethurst 3:33' (Best)
Smethurst 17:26' (Scullion)		 Report Bahr 16:32' Stadium: Tampa Stadium
Attendance: 10,103
July 23, 1975 17 Tampa Bay Rowdies 5–1 Miami Toros Tampa, Florida
Best 19:12' (Sissons)
Sissons 57:40' (Scullion)
Connell 66:50'
Smethurst 72:57'
Smethurst 87:35' (Lindsay)		 Report David 89:57' Stadium: Tampa Stadium
Attendance: 11,415
July 26, 1975 18 Tampa Bay Rowdies 3–1 Washington Diplomats Tampa, Florida
Scullion 36:25'
Smethurst 72:51' (Best)
Boyle 85:45'		 Report Barry 56:36' (Ingram) Stadium: Tampa Stadium
Attendance: 11,153
July 29, 1975 19 Philadelphia Atoms 0–1(OT) Tampa Bay Rowdies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Report Smethurst gold-colored soccer ball 90:56' Stadium: Veterans Stadium
Attendance: 4,517
August 2, 1975 20 Washington Diplomats 3–1 Tampa Bay Rowdies Washington, D.C.
Horton 21:23' (Ingram)
Ingram 27:58' (Barry)
Horton 40:13' (Darrell)		 Report Smethurst 5:35' Stadium: RFK Stadium
Attendance: 2,415
August 6, 1975 21 Tampa Bay Rowdies 0–3 Chicago Sting Tampa, Florida
Report Hill 11:54' (Griffiths)
Hill 37:59'
Allen 88:00' (May)		 Stadium: Tampa Stadium
Attendance: 12,761
August 9, 1975 22 Toronto Metros-Croatia 3–1 Tampa Bay Rowdies Toronto, Ontario
Vieri 10:30'
Ferreira 69:30' (Polak)
Polak 77:15' (Coyne)		 Report Smethurst 11:30' (Best) Stadium: Varsity Stadium
Attendance: 8,248

NASL Playoffs

Bracket

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Soccer Bowl '75
         
W1 Portland Timbers 2
W2 Seattle Sounders 1
W1 Portland Timbers 1
C1 St. Louis Stars 0
C1 St. Louis Stars 1(5)
W3 Los Angeles Aztecs 1(4)
W1 Portland Timbers 0
E1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2
E2 Miami Toros 2
N1 Boston Minutemen 1
E2 Miami Toros 0
E1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 3
N2 Toronto Metros-Croatia 0
E1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 1

Match reports

August 13, 1975 Quarterfinals Tampa Bay Rowdies 1–0 Toronto Metros-Croatia Tampa, Florida
Best 49:42' (Lindsay) Report Stadium: Tampa Stadium
Attendance: 16,111
August 16, 1975 Semifinals Tampa Bay Rowdies 3–0 Miami Toros Tampa, Florida
Scullion 54:33' (Best)
Smethurst 66:58' (Sissons)
Boyle 88:40' (Sissons)		 Report Stadium: Tampa Stadium
Attendance: 22,710
August 24, 1975 Soccer Bowl '75 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–0 Portland Timbers San Jose, California
Auguste 66:00' (Smethurst)
Best 87:40'		 Report Stadium: Spartan Stadium
Attendance: 17,009

Statistics

Transfers

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.nasljerseys.com/images/Rowdies/Rowdies%2075%20Home%20Qarashi,%20Eddie%20Engerth,%20Dips.jpg
  2. ^ http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_axffduAi2BA/SXeH69KY77I/AAAAAAAAB2A/G-nKzp_t5sI/s1600-h/Derek+Smethurst,+Doug+Wark+vs+Cosmos+1975.JPG
  3. ^ http://www.nasljerseys.com/images/2015/Rowdies%2086-87%20Road%20Team.jpg
  4. ^ Austin, Jim (April 28, 1975). "Fans Rally For Rowdies". Evening Independent. p. 1-C. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  5. ^ "Boyle Selected Rowdie of Week". St. Petersburg Times. May 20, 1975. p. 7-C. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  6. ^ Austin, Jim (May 29, 1975). "Tampa Rains On Denver". Evening Independent. p. 1-C. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
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