1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season

The 1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the first indoor season of the club's existence. It also marked the first time the expansion Rowdies participated in any North American Soccer League sanctioned competition.

Tampa Bay Rowdies
1975 indoor season
Owner George W. Strawbridge, Jr.
General manager Beau Rodgers
Manager Eddie Firmani
StadiumBayfront Center
NASLRegional: Champion
League: Runners-up
Top goalscorer
Doug Wark
(10 goals)
Highest home attendance4,437
(Feb. 14 vs. Diplomats)
Lowest home attendance4,032
(Feb. 16 vs. Comets)
Average home league attendance4,235

Original kit

The Rowdies' jersey used during the 1975 indoor season was different than later indoor and outdoor years in that the neckline was merely a cuff rather than the full collar style that became so familiar in all of Tampa Bay's later NASL campaigns.[1][2][3][4] Photographic evidence also indicates that the cuff-style jersey saw limited use during the 1975 outdoor season, but by season's end it disappeared altogether.[5][6][7]

Club

Roster
No. Position Player Nation
1 Goalkeeper Mike Hewitt  Scotland
1 Goalkeeper Bob Stetler*  United States
2 Defender Farrukh Quraishi  England
3 Defender Alex Pringle  Scotland
4 Midfielder John Boyle (capt.)  Scotland
5 Midfielder Ringo Cantillo  Costa Rica
6 Defender Mike Connell  South Africa
7 Midfielder Bernard Hartze  South Africa
8 Midfielder Randy Garber  United States
9 Defender Lima  Brazil
9 Midfielder Nick Papadakis  Canada
10 Forward Eddie Engerth  United States
11 Forward Doug Wark  United States
12 Forward Bob Isaacson  United States
12 Forward Javier Alvarez  Mexico
13 Midfielder Zygmunt Lezak  Poland
13 Defender John Bluem  United States
15 Forward Eddie Firmani  Italy

*amateur player

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

Individual honors

Review

In part because of the success of the spring 1974 indoor tour by the Red Army team the NASL decided to hold an indoor tournament of its own.[8] Of the 20 franchises in the league, sixteen participated. Teams were separated into four regional groups of four. The Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, was chosen as one of the Regional venues, with the Rowdies as hosts for Region 3. The San Jose Earthquakes were given the honor of hosting the championship semifinals and finals at the Cow Palace.[9]

Region 3 tournament

The winner of the Region 3 would gain an automatic place in the Championship tournament four weeks later in California. In their first tournament game the Rowdies had no trouble with the Washington Diplomats, winning by a score of 7–2.[10] Two nights later Tampa Bay had a tougher task in coming from behind to defeat the Baltimore Comets, 8–6. Those two victories left the Rowdies tied with the Miami Toros in the standings, however the tie-breaker was goal differential. Tampa Bay's plus-7 goal margin narrowly edged out the Toros’ plus-6, and the Rowdies advanced. Ringo Cantillo was named MVP of the Region, edging out Miami's Nico Bodonczy by one vote.[11]

Regional standings
Pos Team G W L GF GA GD PTS
1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2 2 0 15 8 +7 4
2 Miami Toros 2 2 0 18 12 +6 4
3 Baltimore Comets 2 0 2 14 19 -5 0
4 Washington Diplomats 2 0 2 6 14 -8 0

Championship tournament

Tampa Bay was paired up with the New York Cosmos in the semifinals, while the other semifinal had San Jose clashing with the Dallas Tornado. Led by Doug Wark’s record six-goal performance, the Rowdies jumped out to an early 3–0 lead, and never looked back, as they dispatched the Cosmos, 13–5, to advance to the final on Sunday.[12]

On March 16, 1975, the Tampa Bay faced a heavily favored San Jose Earthquakes team in the Rowdies first of what would be many championship finals, against. With the score 6–1 at the end of the first period, and 8,618 fans behind them, San Jose showed exactly why they were tabbed to win the tournament. From there the home team cruised to an 8–5 victory. In addition to the Rowdies’ runner-up performance, Doug Wark was named to the All-Tournament squad and was the second leading scorer in the tournament.[13]

Bracket
Semifinals Championship Final
      
R4 San Jose Earthquakes 8
R1 Dallas Tornado 5
R4 San Jose Earthquakes 8
R3 Tampa Bay Rowdies 5
R3 Tampa Bay Rowdies 13
R2 New York Cosmos 5

Championship standings
Pos Team G W L GF GA GD
1 San Jose Earthquakes 4 4 0 37 17 +20
2 Tampa Bay Rowdies 4 3 1 33 21 +11
3 Dallas Tornado 4 2 2 14 12 +2
4 New York Cosmos 4 1 3 18 27 -9
5 Miami Toros 2 2 0 18 12 +6

Match reports
February 14, 1975 Regional #1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 7–2 Washington Diplomats St. Petersburg, Florida
8:30 PM EST Engerth  10:38'
Engerth  14:55'
Wark  23:30'
Wark  29:33'
Cantillo  36:17'
Cantillo  39:15'
Connell  43:15' (Garber)		 Report on p. 5-C DeLeon  23:45'
Diane  35:25'		 Stadium: Bayfront Center
Attendance: 4,437
February 16, 1975 Regional #2 Tampa Bay Rowdies 8–6 Baltimore Comets St. Petersburg, Florida
8:30 PM EST Quraishi  12:17', 26:38', 39:12'
Papadakis  14:51', 24:49'
Cantillo  40:43', 40:46'
Wark  41:59'		 Report Scurti  1:24'
Kazmierski  6:12',  31:29'
Wit  12:54', 14:28', 25:28'		 Stadium: Bayfront Center
Attendance: 4,032
March 14, 1975 Semifinal Tampa Bay Rowdies 13–5 New York Cosmos Daly City, California
7:00 PM PDT Cantillo  2:31' (Boyle)
Wark  4:13' (Pringle)
Wark  6:34' (Quraishi)
Wark  13:50'
Wark  14:34' (Hartze)
Lezak  17:22'
Hartze  22:03'
Hartze  22:42' (Cantillo)
Wark  33:03' (Lima)
Hartze  35:34'
Lezak  35:55' (Cantillo)
Lezak  39:35' (Hartze)
Wark  59:35' (Connell)		 Report A
Report B		 Lamas  10:46' (Mărdărescu)
Mărdărescu  12:07'
Lamas  27:08' (Parades)
Lamas  44:06' (Roth)
Correa  49:36'		 Stadium: Cow Palace
Attendance: 9,113
Referee: John Davies
March 16, 1975 Final San Jose Earthquakes 8–5 Tampa Bay Rowdies Daly City, California
9:00 PM PDT Roboostoff  7:10'
Child  9:25' (Gavric)
Roboostoff  14:36' (Child)
Child  16:22' (Welch)
Roboostoff  18:38' (Moore)
Welch  19:38' (Child)
Zaczynski  50:50' (Child)
Child  52:56'		 Report A (p. 2C)
Report B		 Engerth  9:36' (Lima)
Hartze  25:14' (Quraishi)
Lezak  33:35'
Wark  50:55' (Hartze)
Quraishi  54:56' (Boyle)		 Stadium: Cow Palace
Attendance: 8,618
Referee: Henry Landuer

Statistics

Scoring

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

Player GP G A Pts
Doug Wark410020
Ringo Cantillo45212
Bernard Hartze34311
Farrukh Quraishi44210
Zygmunt Lezak2408
Eddie Engerth3306
Nick Papadakis3204
Mike Connell3113
John Boyle4022
Lima2022
Alex Pringle4011
Randy Garber1011
Javier Alvarez-000
Bob Isaacson-000

Goalkeeping

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

Player GP Min GA GAA W L
Mike Hewitt4210215.2531
Bob Stetler000000

Player movement

Since Tampa Bay was a newly formed club, the entire roster was new.

In
No. Pos. Player Transferred From Fee/Notes Date Source
3DF Alex Pringle Clyde F.C.No details availableDecember 1974[14][15]
1GK Mike Hewitt Dundee F.C.Contract purchased from DundeeDecember 1974[14][15]
7MF Bernard Hartze Cape Town SpursNo details availableDecember 17, 1974[15][16]
2DF Farrukh Quraishi Oneonta State1st overall pick of NASL college draftJanuary 18, 1975[17]
10FW Eddie Engerth Philadelphia amateur teamFormer Hartwick College playerJanuary 20, 1975[18]
6DF Mike Connell Rangers JohannesburgNo details availableJanuary 20, 1975[18]
11DF Doug Wark Rochester LancersPurchased from RochesterJanuary 27, 1975[19]
4DF John Boyle OrientObtained release after 5-month pursuitFebruary 6, 1975[20]
9MF Nick PapadakisnoneFree agentFebruary 9, 1975[21]
8MF Randy Garber Penn State2nd round of college draftFebruary 9, 1975[21]
12FW Bob Isaacson Hartwick College3rd round of college draftFebruary 9, 1975[21]
13DF John Bluem Hartwick College4th round of college draftFebruary 9, 1975[21]
12FW Javier Alvarez St. Petersburg KickersFree transferMarch 11, 1975[22]
15FW Eddie FirmaninoneAdded as an emergency playerMarch 11, 1975[22]
1GK Bob Stetler East Stroudsburg StateNo contract, to keep amateur statusJanuary 1975[23]

Out

none

Loan in
No. Pos. Player Loaned From Details Start Source
5MF Ringo Cantillo Cincinnati CometsIndoor season loanFebruary 9, 1975[21]
9MF Lima Club Deportivo OroIndoor loan with option for transferMarch 11, 1975[22]
13MF Zygmunt Lezak Polonia NYIndoor loan with option for transferMarch 11, 1975[22]

See also

References
  1. http://www.nasljerseys.com/images/Rowdies/Rowdies%2075%20Home%20Qarashi,%20Eddie%20Engerth,%20Dips.jpg
  2. http://www.nasljerseys.com/images/Rowdies/Rowdies%2075%20Inoor%20Home%20Team.jpg
  3. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UHT0q7mhSGs/TtdAqFiRotI/AAAAAAAAMCA/trHxNOhwU44/s1600/Mike+Hewitt+vs+Quakes+id+Final+1975.jpg
  4. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_axffduAi2BA/SWSLF2wTU4I/AAAAAAAAB0I/Ta4_V3WXHiA/s1600-h/Nick+Papadakis+vs+Comets+1975+id.JPG
  5. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_axffduAi2BA/SKde-cY_wJI/AAAAAAAAAlA/2394EKVL_Vc/s1600-h/stetler.JPG
  6. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_axffduAi2BA/SXeH69KY77I/AAAAAAAAB2A/G-nKzp_t5sI/s1600-h/Derek+Smethurst,+Doug+Wark+vs+Cosmos+1975.JPG
  7. http://www.nasljerseys.com/images/Rowdies/Rowdies%2075%20Home%20Clyde%20Best.jpg
  8. http://www.rsssf.com/usadave/usindoor.html
  9. Zier, Patrick (November 6, 1974). "Preview Of Soccer Set For Bayfront". Lakeland Ledger. p. 2A. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  10. Martz, Ron (February 15, 1975). "Rousing Rowdie debut: 7–2 victory all". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1-C. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  11. Martz, Ron (February 17, 1975). "Rowdies do it all". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1-C. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  12. Spander, Art (March 15, 1975). "Rowdies triumph". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1-C. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  13. Gurney, Jack (March 17, 1975). "Rowdies Shaken By Earthquake". Evening Independent. p. 1-C. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  14. "Pringle named Tampa coach". St. Petersburg Times. September 24, 1975. p. 2-C. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  15. Martz, Ron (December 18, 1974). "Striking addition for the Rowdies". St. Petersburg Times. p. 2-C. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  16. http://naslsoccer.blogspot.com/2010/09/bernard-hartze.html
  17. Martz, Ron (January 17, 1975). "Quraishi year-round Rowdy?". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1-C. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  18. "Rowdies sign pair, have six in fold". St. Petersburg Times. January 21, 1975. p. 3-C. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  19. Austin, Jim (January 28, 1975). "Rowdies Star-Struck". Evening Independent. p. 1-C. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  20. Blankenship, Ken (February 7, 1975). "Rowdies sign a captain: Boyle". St. Petersburg Times. p. 8-C. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  21. Blankenship, Ken (February 10, 1975). "Rowdies sign four, want more". St. Petersburg Times. p. 20-C. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  22. Blankenship, Ken (March 12, 1975). "Rowdies brace for title try". St. Petersburg Times. p. 6-C. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  23. Bubil, Harold (March 15, 1976). "Goalie Stetler Makes The Most Of First Pro Chance". Sarasota Journal. p. 3-C. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
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