1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies season

March 2026 August 2023 Tampa Bay Rowdies 1975 ITA Eddie Firmani Head coach USA George W. Strawbridge, Jr. President Tampa Stadium NASL Division: 1stPlayoffs: Champions U.S. Open Cup Did not enter RSA 1928 Derek Smethurst (18 goals) RSA 1928 Derek Smethurst (21 goals) 22,710(Aug. 16 vs. Miami) 5,281(May 28 vs. Denver) 12,064 true _collargreen _tbrowdies12h _tbrowdies12h _green_border _hoops_green_2 006600 ffffff 006600 FFFFff FFF200 _tbrowdies13h _tbrowdies12h _tbrowdies12h _norwich1617h _hoops_green_2 006600 006600 006600 006600 FFF200 _greencollar _tbrowdies13h _tbrowdies13h _green_border _hoops_green_2 006600 ffffff 006600 FFFFff FFF200 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 jerseyNasl Jerseys image 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.http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_axffduAi2BA/SXeH69KY77I/AAAAAAAAB2A/G-nKzp_t5sI/s1600-h/Derek+Smethurst,+Doug+Wark+vs+Cosmos+1975.JPG Derek Smethurst, Doug Wark vs Cosmos 1975 (Image) 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.Nasl Jerseys Team image Club Roster No.PositionNationPlayer1 ENG GK Paul Hammond Paul Hammond (footballer) 1 SCO GK Mike Hewitt Mike Hewitt (footballer) 1 USA GK Bob Stetler 2 ENG DF Farrukh Quraishi 3 SCO DF Alex Pringle 4 SCO MF John Boyle (capt.) John Boyle (footballer, born 1946) 5 ENG DF Malcolm Linton 6 RSA DF Mike Connell Mike Connell (soccer) 7 RSA MF Bernard Hartze 8 USA MF Randy Garber Randy Garber (soccer) 9 BER FW Clyde Best 10 SCO FW Stewart Scullion 11 SCO FW Doug Wark 12 RSA FW Derek Smethurst 13 ENG DF Stewart Jump 14 ENG FW John Sissons John Sissons (footballer) 15 ENG MF Mark Lindsay Mark Lindsay (footballer) 16 USA DF John Bluem 17 USA FW Eddie Austin 18 HAI DF Arsène Auguste 18 ITA MF Eddie Firmani Management and technical staff USA George Strawbridge, Jr., owner USA Beau Rogers, general manager ITA Eddie Firmani, head coach USA Chas Serednesky, business manager POR Francisco Marcos, director of public relations USA 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.Austin Jim Fans Rally For Rowdies April 28, 1975 Evening Independent https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=950&dat=19750428&id=JhMwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QFgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5528,3718109&hl=en 1-C 2016-04-28 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 1 February 8, 1975 12:00 P.M. South Florida Bulls 1–3 https://www.newspapers.com/image/318629897/?terms=bernard%2BHartze Tampa Bay Rowdies Hartze , USF Soccer Stadium Tampa, Florida W 2 April 11, 1975 7:30 P.M. Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–1 Report p. 3-C San Antonio Thunder Boyle 65Smethurst 75 Marotte 89:30 Tarpon Springs High School Tarpon Springs, Florida W 3 April 13, 1975 1:30 P.M. Tampa Bay Rowdies 1–3 Report p. 3-C San Antonio Thunder Forteis 40:32 o.g. Wolf 9:16 pen.Hylkema 16:35Didi 76:10 Sandspur Field Winter Park, Florida 2,000 L 4 May 19, 1975 Hartwick/Oneonta All-Stars 1–2 https://www.newspapers.com/image/260790485/?terms=Rowdies Tampa Bay Rowdies Napolitano Wark LindsaySmethurst Lindsay Oneonta State Field Oneonta, New York 1,000 (est) W 5 December 21, 1975 USSF All-Stars' Coaches 0–1 https://www.newspapers.com/image/334908626/?terms=Rowdies Tampa Bay Rowdies Garber Mausser Tangerine Bowl Orlando, Florida 250 (est) W NASL regular season Division standings Pos Position Eastern Division GP Games played W Won L Lost GF Goals for GA Goals against GD Goal differential Pts PointsQualification 1Tampa Bay Rowdies221664627+19135NASL Playoffs 2Miami Toros221484730+17123 3 Washington Diplomats2212104247−5112 4 Philadelphia Atoms2210123342−990 5 Baltimore Comets229133452−1887 Overall League Placing Pos Club Pld W L GF GA GD Pts1Portland Timbers22 16 6 43 27 +161382Tampa Bay Rowdies22 16 6 46 27 +191353Seattle Sounders22 15 7 42 28 +14 1294Miami Toros22 14 8 47 30 +17 1235Boston Minutemen22 13 9 41 29 +12 116 Match reports 1 April 26, 1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–1(OT) http://soccerstats.us/games/36541/ Rochester Lancers Smethurst 13:51 SissonsPringle 93:45 Boyle Ord 27:59 Jijon Tampa Stadium Tampa, Florida 12,133 W 2 May 3, 1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies 1–0 http://soccerstats.us/games/36602/ New York Cosmos Scullion 7:46 Tampa Stadium Tampa, Florida 8,378 W 3 May 9, 1975 Washington Diplomats 3–0 http://soccerstats.us/games/36653/ Tampa Bay Rowdies Ingram 6:17 PillingerHorton 16:17 DeLeonHorton 18:52 Barry Robert F. Kennedy Stadium Washington, D.C. 10,340 L 4 May 14, 1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies 3–1 http://soccerstats.us/games/36674/ Boston Minutemen Smethurst 28:55 JumpBest 71:49 Sissons Best 74:44 Scullion Wooler 81:28 Tampa Stadium Tampa, Florida 6,117 Don DeSalvador W 5 May 17, 1975 Connecticut Bicentennials 1–3 http://soccerstats.us/games/36690/ Tampa Bay Rowdies Travljanin 78 H. McCully Smethurst 30Boyle Selected Rowdie of Week May 20, 1975 St. Petersburg Times https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=feST4K8J0scC&dat=19750520&printsec=frontpage&hl=en 7-C 2016-04-27Boyle 53 SmethurstBest 82 Quraishi Yale Bowl New Haven, Connecticut 3,410 W 6 May 21, 1975 Baltimore Comets 1–2 http://soccerstats.us/games/36722/ Tampa Bay Rowdies Henderson 5:36 Aqui Boyle 53:56 SmethurstSmethurst 81:15 Sissons Memorial Stadium Baltimore, Maryland 3,648 W 7 May 28, 1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies 3–2 http://soccerstats.us/games/36780/ Denver Dynamos Scullion 3:35 SissonsNtsoelengoeAustin Jim Tampa Rains On Denver May 29, 1975 Evening Independent https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=950&dat=19750529&id=mWdQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=P1gDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4799,3836748&hl=en 1-C 2016-04-27 42:32 o.g.Scullion 60:21 Best Dawes 17:31 FlaterFlater 22:28 Dawes Tampa Stadium Tampa, Florida 5,281 Larry King W 8 May 31, 1975 San Antonio Thunder 0–4 http://soccerstats.us/games/36804/ Tampa Bay Rowdies Smethurst 20:22 ScullionBest 65:55 WarkGarber 70:34Hartze 74:58 Austin Alamo Stadium San Antonio, Texas 4,619 Robert Evans W 9 June 6, 1975 Miami Toros 0–1 http://soccerstats.us/games/36854/ Tampa Bay Rowdies Smethurst 56:14 Boyle Miami Orange Bowl Miami, Florida 14,259 W 10 June 11, 1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies 0–2 http://soccerstats.us/games/36894/ Miami Toros David 49:11 ArchibaldJordan 79:36 David Tampa Stadium Tampa, Florida 18,654 Gino D'Ippolito L 11 June 13, 1975 Philadelphia Atoms 1–2 Report on p. 1-C Tampa Bay Rowdies McLaughlin 74:45 pen. Best 45:55 ScullionScullion 84:41 Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 5,819 W 12 June 20, 1975 Dallas Tornado 0–0 http://soccerstats.us/games/36948/ Tampa Bay Rowdies Texas Stadium Irving, Texas 4,179 L Ley Gore Moore Chadwick 4–2 Smethurst Garber Connell Boyle 13 June 21, 1975 St. Louis Stars 1–1 http://soccerstats.us/games/36954/ Tampa Bay Rowdies Geimer 11:41 Burnett Smethurst 41:33 Connell Francis Field St. Louis, Missouri 7,731 W Burnett Hawley Matteson Trost 3–5 Smethurst Pringle Jump Connell Scullion 14 June 28, 1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies 6–1 http://soccerstats.us/games/36988/ Baltimore Comets Sissons 8:45 LindsayScullion 13:25 SissonsSissons 34:40 ScullionSmethurst 71:50 SissonsSissons 78:53 HartzeScullion 79:20 Best Henderson 26:59 Tampa Stadium Tampa, Florida 8,610 W 15 July 12, 1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies 4–0 http://soccerstats.us/games/37080/ Baltimore Comets Sissons ScullionSmethurst BoyleSmethurst84:38Lindsay 89:20 Smethurst Tampa Stadium Tampa, Florida 13,400 W 16 July 19, 1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–1 http://soccerstats.us/games/37144/ Philadelphia Atoms Smethurst 3:33 BestSmethurst 17:26 Scullion Bahr 16:32 Tampa Stadium Tampa, Florida 10,103 W 17 July 23, 1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies 5–1 http://soccerstats.us/games/37173/ Miami Toros Best 19:12 SissonsSissons 57:40 ScullionConnell 66:50Smethurst 72:57 Smethurst 87:35 Lindsay David 89:57 Tampa Stadium Tampa, Florida 11,415 W 18 July 26, 1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies 3–1 http://soccerstats.us/games/37201/ Washington Diplomats Scullion 36:25Smethurst 72:51 BestBoyle 85:45 Barry 56:36 Ingram Tampa Stadium Tampa, Florida 11,153 W 19 July 29, 1975 Philadelphia Atoms 0–1(OT) http://soccerstats.us/games/37223/ Tampa Bay Rowdies Smethurst 90:56 Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 4,517 W 20 August 2, 1975 Washington Diplomats 3–1 http://soccerstats.us/games/37257/ Tampa Bay Rowdies Horton 21:23 IngramIngram 27:58 BarryHorton 40:13 Darrell Smethurst 5:35 RFK Stadium Washington, D.C. 2,415 L 21 August 6, 1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies 0–3 http://soccerstats.us/games/37284/ Chicago Sting Hill 11:54 GriffithsHill 37:59Allen 88:00 May Tampa Stadium Tampa, Florida 12,761 L 22 August 9, 1975 Toronto Metros-Croatia 3–1 http://soccerstats.us/games/37306/ Tampa Bay Rowdies Vieri 10:30Ferreira 69:30 PolakPolak 77:15 Coyne Smethurst 11:30 Best Varsity Stadium Toronto, Ontario 8,248 L NASL Playoffs Bracket Quarter-finals Semi-finals Soccer Bowl '75 25 150px W1 Portland Timbers 2 W2 Seattle Sounders 1 C1 St. Louis Stars 1(5) W3 Los Angeles Aztecs 1(4) E2 Miami Toros 2 N1 Boston Minutemen 1 N2 Toronto Metros-Croatia 0 E1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 1 W1 Portland Timbers 1 C1 St. Louis Stars 0 E2 Miami Toros 0 E1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 3 W1 Portland Timbers 0 E1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2 Match reports Quarterfinals August 13, 1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies 1–0 http://soccerstats.us/games/12315/ Toronto Metros-Croatia Best 49:42 Lindsay Tampa Stadium Tampa, Florida 16,111 W Semifinals August 16, 1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies 3–0 https://www.newspapers.com/image/318676411/?terms=rowdies Miami Toros Scullion 54:33 BestSmethurst 66:58 SissonsBoyle 88:40 Sissons Tampa Stadium Tampa, Florida 22,710 W Soccer Bowl '75 August 24, 1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–0 http://soccerstats.us/games/12325/ Portland Timbers Auguste 66:00 SmethurstBest 87:40 Spartan Stadium San Jose, California 17,009 W References 1975 Category:Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) seasons Tampa Bay Rowdies Tampa Bay Rowdies Tampa Bay Rowdies