Wikipedia

1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies season

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

Tampa Bay Rowdies
1975 season
PresidentUnited States George W. Strawbridge, Jr.
Head coachItaly 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. 16 vs. Miami)
Lowest home attendance5,281
(May 28 vs. Denver)
Average home league attendance12,064
← first season
1976 →

Kit

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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

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Roster

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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

Management and technical staff

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Honors

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

Review

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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

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Friendlies

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February 8, 1975 1 South Florida Bulls 1–3 Tampa Bay Rowdies Tampa, Florida
12:00 P.M. Report Hartze  ,   Stadium: USF Soccer Stadium
April 11, 1975 2 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 3 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 4 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)
December 21, 1975 5 USSF All-Stars' Coaches 0–1 Tampa Bay Rowdies Orlando, Florida
Report Garber   (Mausser) Stadium: Tangerine Bowl
Attendance: 250 (est)

NASL regular season

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Division standings

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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

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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

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Results by round

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Match reports

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April 26, 1975 1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–1(OT) Rochester Lancers Tampa, Florida
Smethurst   13:51' (Sissons)
Pringle   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  
Gore  
Moore  
Chadwick  		   Smethurst
  Garber
  Connell
  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  
Hawley  
Matteson  
Trost  		   Smethurst
  Pringle
  Jump
  Connell
  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   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

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Bracket

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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

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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

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Player movement

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References

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  1. ^ Nasl Jerseys image
  2. ^ "Derek Smethurst, Doug Wark vs Cosmos 1975 (Image)".
  3. ^ Nasl Jerseys Team image
  4. ^ Austin, Jim (April 28, 1975). "Fans Rally For Rowdies". Evening Independent. p. 1-C. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  5. ^ "Boyle Selected Rowdie of Week". St. Petersburg Times. May 20, 1975. p. 7-C. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  6. ^ Austin, Jim (May 29, 1975). "Tampa Rains On Denver". Evening Independent. p. 1-C. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
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