| 1975 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| President |  George W. Strawbridge, Jr. | |||
| Manager |  Eddie Firmani | |||
| Stadium | Tampa Stadium | |||
| NASL | Division: 1st Playoffs: Champions | |||
| U.S. Open Cup | Did not enter | |||
| Top goalscorer | League: .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Derek Smethurst (18 goals)All: Derek Smethurst (21 goals) | |||
| Highest home attendance | 22,710 (Aug. 16 vs. Miami) | |||
| Lowest home attendance | 5,281 (May 28 vs. Denver) | |||
| Average home league attendance | 12,064 | |||
|
| ||||
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
Roster
| 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
- George Strawbridge, Jr., owner
- Beau Rogers, general manager
- Eddie Firmani, head coach
- Chas Serednesky, business manager
Francisco Marcos, director of public relations- Alfredo Beronda, equipment manager
Honors
The Rowdies received eight individual honors following the 1975 NASL season.
- Soccer Bowl Man of the Match: Stewart Jump
- NASL All-Star, First Team: Farrukh Quraishi
- NASL All-Star, Second Team: Stewart Jump, John Boyle, Stewart Scullion
- NASL All-Star, Honorable Mention: John Sissons, Clyde Best, Derek Smethurst
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
| 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
Division 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  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
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
Player movement
References
- ↑ Nasl Jerseys image
- ↑ "Derek Smethurst, Doug Wark vs Cosmos 1975 (Image)".
- ↑ Nasl Jerseys Team image
- ↑ Austin, Jim (April 28, 1975). "Fans Rally For Rowdies". Evening Independent. p. 1-C. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
- ↑ "Boyle Selected Rowdie of Week". St. Petersburg Times. May 20, 1975. p. 7-C. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
- ↑ Austin, Jim (May 29, 1975). "Tampa Rains On Denver". Evening Independent. p. 1-C. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
