1977 Tampa Bay Rowdies season

Tampa Bay Rowdies 1977 soccer season

Tampa Bay Rowdies1977 season

Owner|  George W. Strawbridge, Jr.
General manager|  Beau Rodgers
Head coach|  Eddie Firmani (resigned July 3)
Len Glover (interim)
John Boyle (hired July 9)
Stadium| Tampa Stadium
NASL| Division: 3rd
Playoffs: First round
U.S. Open Cup| Did not enter
Top goalscorer|  Derek Smethurst (19 goals)
Highest home attendance| 45,288
(May 29 v. Cosmos)
Lowest home attendance| 8,398
(July 6 v. Washington)
Average home league attendance| 19,491

Home colors

Away colors

|

<- 1976

1978 ->

The 1977 season was the original Tampa Bay Rowdies third season of existence, and their third season in the North American Soccer League, the top division of soccer in the United States and Canada at that time.

## Overview[edit]

The year would see the Rowdies host friendlies against teams from the Soviet Union, Italy and China. The team also took part in the preseason Tournament of Champions, finishing as runners-up. In the NASL season, the Rowdies finished with 131 points and a record of 14–12, which placed them third in the Eastern Division of the Atlantic Conference. The point total qualified them for the playoffs. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Cosmos, 3–0. For the second consecutive season Tampa Bay lost in the playoffs to the eventual champion. For the third consecutive season South African striker, Derek Smethurst lead the club in scoring with 19 goals.[1]

## Club[edit]

### Roster[edit]

No.  | Position  | Player  | Nation

|
|
|

1  | GK | Paul Hammond |  England
2  | MF | Farrukh Quraishi |  England
3  | MF | Ian Anderson |  Scotland
3  | DF | Alex Pringle |  Scotland
4  | DF | Arsène Auguste |  Haiti
5  | DF | Rino Agostinis |  Canada
5  | FW | Davie Robb |  Scotland
6  | DF | Mike Connell |  South Africa
7  | FW | Steve Wegerle |  South Africa
8  | MF | Wes McLeod |  Canada
9  | FW | Adrian Alston |  Australia
10  | FW | Rodney Marsh |  England
11  | MF | Len Glover (capt.) |  England
12  | FW | Derek Smethurst |  South Africa
13  | DF | Stewart Jump |  England
14  | FW | Joey Fink |  United States
15  | MF | Mark Lindsay |  England
16  | MF | Dennis Wit |  United States
17  | DF | Kevin Eagan |  United States
18  | GK | Winston DuBose |  United States
19  | DF | Frantz St. Lot |  United States
20  | FW | Boris Bandov |  United States
22  | DF | Radomir Stefanović |  Yugoslavia
23  | DF | Tony Crudo |  United States

### Team management[edit]

Eddie Firmani began the season as head coach, but abruptly resigned on June 3, a few days after a 4–2 victory over the Cosmos. The club’s record was 7–3 at the time.[2] Team captain, Len Glover, who had been sidelined with an injury at the time, served as interim coach for one match, a loss to Rochester on June 5.[3] Retired former Rowdies captain, John Boyle, was hired on June 9.[4] Under Boyle the Rowdies record was 7–8, and though Tampa Bay made the playoffs, Boyle resigned to accept a position as the team’s permanent European scout after the season.[5] For his part, Firmani re-immerged as the Cosmos coach (just as several of his former players had predicted in early June),[2][6] and ultimately eliminated Tampa Bay, 3–0, in the first round of the 1977 playoffs.

* George W. Strawbridge, Jr., owner
* Beau Rodgers, general manager
* Eddie Firmani, head coach (resigned June 3)
* Len Glover, head coach (interim)
* John Boyle, head coach (hired June 9)
* Ken Shields, trainer
* Francisco Marcos, public relations director
* Alfredo Beronda, equipment manager

### Honors[edit]

Four Rowdies received individual honors following the 1977 NASL season.

* NASL All-Star, First Team: Derek Smethurst
* NASL All-Star, Second Team: Arsène Auguste
* NASL All-Star, Second Team: Rodney Marsh
* NASL All-Star, Second Team: Steve Wegerle

## Competitions[edit]

### Tournament of Champions[edit]

The inaugural Tournament of Champions was a friendly two-day tournament hosted by the Cosmos at Giants Stadium on April 2 and 3. Four teams participated: the Cosmos, Tampa Bay, Toronto Metros-Croatia and Victory SC of Haiti. In the opening match the Rowdies and Metros-Croatia played to a scoreless draw, before Tampa Bay won using the NASL’s new shoot-out tiebreaker, 2–1.[7] This put the Rowdies into the finals vs. the Cosmos the following day. The Rowdies lost the match, 2–1, and were runners-up. Their lone goal came from Wes McLeod with an assist by Farrukh Quraishi.[8]

#### Series results[edit]

Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers

|
|
|
|
|

April 2, 1977  |  Toronto Metros-Croatia | A  | 0–1 (SO)  | 7,212  |
April 3, 1977  |  Cosmos | A  | 2–1  | 11, 098  | Wes McLeod

### Other friendlies[edit]

Tampa Bay hosted three international friendlies in 1977. The first was a, 1–0, losing effort on March 5 versus FC Zenit Leningrad. A crowd of more than 41,000 attended the preseason match.[9] The second international was midseason match-up versus A.S. Roma on June 14. They drew with the Italians, 1–1. Adrian Alston scored for the Rowdies on 30-yard free kick.[10] The third was played on October 13, and pitted the Rowdies against the Chinese National Team. Boris Bandov scored for Tampa Bay in the, 2–1, loss.[11]

The Rowdies also played a postseason friendly versus the Dallas Tornado in Tulsa, Oklahoma five days after the match against China. The game was meant to serve as a test balloon to see if Tulsa would support soccer. Tampa Bay won, 1–0, on an early second half goal by Mark Lindsay. The game drew 11,147 fans. Team Hawaii owner and potato chip magnate, Ward Lay soon moved his club, redubbing them the Tulsa Roughnecks.[12][13]

#### Results[edit]

Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers

|
|
|
|
|

March 5, 1977  |  FC Zenit Leningrad | Tampa Stadium | 0–1  | 41,680  |
June 14, 1977  |  A.S. Roma | Tampa Stadium  | 1–1  | 9,203  | Adrian Alston
October 13, 1977  |  China National Team | Tampa Stadium  | 1–2  | 14,675  | Boris Bandov
October 18, 1977  |  Dallas Tornado | Skelly Stadium | 0–1  | 11,147  | Mark Lindsay

### North American Soccer League season[edit]

The Rowdies finished the regular season with 131 points placing them in 3rd place in the Eastern Division of the Atlantic Conference, and 7th out of 18 teams in the league overall. After a 7–3 start to the season, which put them at the top of the league standings, Tampa Bay limped home with a 7–9 record the rest of the way for a record of 14–12. The team’s midseason slump coincided exactly with Eddie Firmani’s abrupt resignation as head coach. The club averaged 19,491 fans per game, with three matches surpassing 21,000, one reaching 33,000 and still another topping 45,000.

#### Regular-season standings[edit]

W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, BP = Bonus Points, Pts= point system

6 points for a win, 0 points for a loss, 1 point for each regulation goal scored up to three per game.

-League Premiers (most points).  -Other playoff teams.
Eastern Division  | W  | L  | GF  | GA  | BP  | Pts  | Home  | Road

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 19 | 7 | 49 | 29 | 47 | 161 | 11-2 | 8-5
Cosmos | 15 | 11 | 60 | 39 | 50 | 140 | 10-3 | 5-8
Tampa Bay Rowdies | 14 | 12 | 55 | 45 | 47 | 131 | 11-2 | 3-10
Washington Diplomats | 10 | 16 | 32 | 49 | 32 | 92 | 6-7 | 4-9

#### Regular season results[edit]

Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers

|
|
|
|
|

April 9, 1977  | Dallas Tornado | A  | 2–1  | 15,212  | Rodney Marsh
April 16, 1977  | Chicago Sting | H  | 4–0  | 33,484  | Derek Smethurst (2), Adrian Alston (2)
April 24, 1977  | Washington Diplomats | A  | 0–1  | 9,099  | Rodney Marsh
April 30, 1977  | Rochester Lancers | H  | 3–1  | 21,426  | Derek Smethurst (2), Steve Wegerle
May 7, 1977  | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | H  | 1–0  | 24,753  | Rodney Marsh
May 13, 1977  | Connecticut Bicentennials | H  | 4–0  | 12,759  | Derek Smethurst (2), Adrian Alston, Steve Wegerle
May 15, 1977  | Connecticut Bicentennials | A  | 1–4  | 1,520  | Derek Smethurst (2), Adrian Alston, Mark Lindsay
May 20, 1977  | Chicago Sting | A  | 3–4  | 3,233  | Derek Smethurst (2), Adrian Alston
May 22, 1977  | Toronto Metros-Croatia | A  | 4–0  | 7,649  |
May 29, 1977  | Cosmos | H  | 4–2  | 45,288  | Steve Wegerle (2), Ian Anderson, Rodney Marsh
June 5, 1977  | Rochester Lancers | A  | 2–0  | 5,247  |
June 11, 1977  | Vancouver Whitecaps | H  | 1–2  | 15,225  | Derek Smethurst
June 19, 1977  | Cosmos | A  | 3–1  | 62,394  | Wes McLeod
June 22, 1977  | Team Hawaii | H  | 4–3 (SO)  | 10,220  | Adrian Alston, David Robb, Ian Anderson
June 25, 1977  | Seattle Sounders | A  | 3–0  | 22,388  |
June 27, 1977  | San Jose Earthquakes | A  | 1–4  | 17,612  | Derek Smethurst (2), Rodney Marsh, David Robb
July 1, 1977  | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | A  | 3–2  | 9325  | Steve Wegerle, David Robb
July 6, 1977  | Washington Diplomats | H  | 1–2  | 8,398  | Derek Smethurst
July 9, 1977  | Las Vegas Quicksilvers | H  | 4–1  | 12,123  | Smethurst, Auguste, Marsh, Alston
July 13, 1977  | Los Angeles Aztecs | H  | 4–1  | 16,133  | Derek Smethurst (3), David Robb
July 16, 1977  | Minnesota Kicks | A  | 1–0  | 36,302  |
July 20, 1977  | Portland Timbers | H  | 3–2 (OT)  | 14,230  | David Robb, Derek Smethurst, Rodney Marsh
July 23, 1977  | Toronto Metros-Croatia | H  | 2–0  | 17,473  | Arsène Auguste, David Robb
July 27, 1977  | Portland Timbers | A  | 4–1  | 13,328  | David Robb
July 30, 1977  | St. Louis Stars | H  | 3–2 (SO)  | 21,876  | Rodney Marsh, David Robb
August 5, 1977  | St. Louis Stars | A  | 1–0  | 9,158  |

#### Playoff results[edit]

Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers

|
|
|
|
|

August 10, 1977  | Cosmos | A  | 3–0  | 57,828  |

## Statistics[edit]

### Season scoring[edit]

GP = Games Played, G = Goals (worth 2 points), A = Assists (worth 1 point), Pts = Points[1]

Player  | GP  | G  | A  | Pts

|
|
|
|

Derek Smethurst | 21 | 19 | 4 | 42
Rodney Marsh | 24 | 8 | 11 | 27
Steve Wegerle | 25 | 5 | 11 | 25
David Robb | 15 | 8 | 1 | 17
Adrian Alston | 17 | 7 | 3 | 17
Wes McLeod | 20 | 1 | 5 | 7
Mark Lindsay | 20 | 1 | 3 | 5
Arsène Auguste | 14 | 2 | 0 | 4
Ian Anderson | 11 | 2 | 0 | 4
Len Glover | 19 | 0 | 3 | 3
Mike Connell | 26 | 0 | 1 | 1
Dennis Wit | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1
Paul Hammond | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0
Stewart Jump | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0
Kevin Eagan | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0
Farrukh Quraishi | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0
Joey Fink | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0
Boris Bandov | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0
Frantz St. Lot | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0
Winston DuBose | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0
Radomir Stefanović | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0
Alex Pringle | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0
Rino Agostinis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0

### Season goalkeeping[edit]

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses[1]

Player  | GP  | Min  | Svs  | GA  | GAA  | W  | L

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Paul Hammond | 24 | 2185 | 174 | 41 | 1.69 | 13 | 11
Winston DuBose | 3 | 196 | 22 | 4 | 1.83 | 1 | 1

## Player movement[edit]

### In[edit]

No.  | Pos.  | Player  | Transferred from  | Fee/notes  | Date  | Source

|
|
|
|
|
|

5 | DF |  Rino Agostinis |  Vancouver Columbus | none | March 2, 1977 | [14]
5 | FW |  David Robb |  Aberdeen F.C. | on loan | May 16, 1977 | [15]
3 | MF |  Ian Anderson |  St. Johnstone F.C. | on loan | May 16, 1977 | [16]
20 | FW |  Boris Bandov |  Seattle Sounders | no details | July 24, 1977 | [17]
22 | DF |  Radomir Stefanović |  HNK Rijeka | arrived July 29, 1977 | July 19, 1977 | [18]

### Out[edit]

No.  | Pos.  | Player  | Transferred to  | Fee/notes  | Date  | Source

|
|
|
|
|
|

1 | GK |  Arnie Mausser |  Vancouver Whitecaps | sold contract | April 2, 1977 | [19]
3 | DF |  Alex Pringle |  Washington Diplomats | sold contract | April 10, 1977 | [20]
5 | DF |  Rino Agostinis | none | released from team | May 2, 1977 | [21]

## See also[edit]

* 1977 North American Soccer League season
* 1977 in American soccer
* Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993)

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Rowdies stats". Tampa Tribune. August 9, 1977. p. 2-C. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
2. ^ a b Blankenship, Ken (June 4, 1977). "Firmani's bombshell: a kick in the derriere". St. Petersburg Times. p. 5C. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
3. ^ Henderson, Jim (June 4, 1977). "For Shaken Rowdies, The Show Must Go On". Tampa Tribune. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
4. ^ Mudry, Richard (June 10, 1977). "Boyle, Rowdies singing old tune". Tampa Times. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
5. ^ Henderson, Jim (October 21, 1977). "John Boyle Going 'Over There'". Tampa Tribune. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
6. ^ Blankenship, Ken (June 5, 1977). "Shocked, leaderless Rowdies take on Lancers". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
7. ^ "Rowdies Win; Face Cosmos". Tampa Tribune. April 3, 1977. p. 1-C. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
8. ^ "Cosmos hold off Rowdies 2-1, Mausser sold". St. Petersburg Times. April 4, 1977. p. 1C. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
9. ^ Henderson, Jim (March 6, 1977). "Russians Go One-Up On Rowdies". Tampa Tribune. p. 1-D. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
10. ^ Blankenship, Ken (June 15, 1977). "Morale boost for Rowdie: Roma tied 1-1". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
11. ^ Tierney, Mike (October 14, 1977). "Chinese nip Rowdies 2–1 for first tour win". Tampa Times. p. 1-C. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
12. ^ "Lindsay Lifts Rowdie". St. Petersburg Times. October 19, 1977. p. 5C. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
13. ^ "Team Hawaii makes it official: Headed for Tulsa". Honolulu Advertiser. November 16, 1977. p. C2. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
14. ^ "Agostinis to complete Rowdies roster". St. Petersburg Times. March 2, 1977. p. 3C. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
15. ^ Henderson, Jim (May 17, 1977). "Rowdies To Sign Two Scots, Will Host Rome Club In June". Tampa Tribune. p. 1-C. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
16. ^ Henderson, Jim (May 17, 1977). "Rowdies To Sign Two Scots, Will Host Rome Club In June". Tampa Tribune. p. 1-C. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
17. ^ Henderson, Jim (July 26, 1977). "The Bull To Dress On Trip". Tampa Tribune. p. 1-C. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
18. ^ Henderson, Jim (July 30, 1977). "An Odyssey Of Red Tape Finally Ends". Tampa Tribune. p. 7-C. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
19. ^ Henderson, Jim (April 3, 1977). "Vancouver Purchases Mausser". Tampa Tribune. p. 1-C. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
20. ^ Henderson, Jim (April 11, 1977). "Rowdies Return Minus Pringle". Tampa Tribune. p. 1-C. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
21. ^ Mudry, Richard (May 3, 1977). "Agostinis trimmed from Rowdies". Tampa Times. p. 5C. Retrieved April 11, 2020.

* 1977 Rowdies results

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FC Tampa Bay / Tampa Bay Rowdies seasons

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