At the time, Dallas principals Lamar Hunt and Bill McNutt retained a minority stake in the Rowdies. Main article: Fort Lauderdale–Tampa Bay rivalryįollowing the 1981 season the Dallas Tornado merged with Tampa Bay. Lauderdale Strikers and the New York Cosmos. The Rowdies had long-standing rivalries with both the Ft. In 1979 three different matches were attended by over 40,000 people, and the following year two more surpassed the 50,000 mark. At one three-year point in their history, the team regularly drew crowds of well over 25,000 a night. On and off the pitch, the Rowdies would prove to be one of the league's most recognizable brands. While no NASL team ever captured a treble, in 1975–76 Tampa Bay came the closest by winning the three different NASL titles available at the time ( Soccer Bowl '75, 1976 Indoor Title, 1976 Regular Season title) in succession within twelve months. Coached along the way by Firmani, John Boyle, Gordon Jago, Al Miller, and Marsh after his retirement, their catch phrase and marketing slogan was "The Rowdies arrrre.a kick in the grass!" The team showcased international stars such as midfielder, and team captain Rodney Marsh (England), 1979 league scoring leader Óscar Fabbiani (Chile), swift and forward Steve Wegerle (South Africa), rock-solid defenseman Arsene Auguste (Haiti), 1976 NASL goal scoring champion Derek Smethurst (South Africa), who was also the franchise's all-time leading goal scorer with 57 tallies in 65 games, as well as forward Clyde Best (Bermuda). The Rowdies also finished as runners-up in 19. The Rowdies played ten seasons at Tampa Stadium and won their only Soccer Bowl championship in their 1975 inaugural season, defeating the Portland Timbers 2–0 on August 24. On November 21, 1974, the Tampa Bay Professional Soccer Club announced that they would henceforth be known as the Tampa Bay Rowdies. In October 1974, Alex Pringle becomes the first player to sign with the team. On J George Strawbridge and Beau Rogers, IV purchased an expansion franchise in North American Soccer League for the sum of $25,000 and by July 24 they named Eddie Firmani their coach. Although San Diego played indoors until 1996, the Rowdies were the last surviving NASL franchise that played outdoor soccer on a regular basis. The Rowdies played nearly all of their outdoor home games at Tampa Stadium and nearly all of their indoor games at the Bayfront Center Arena in nearby St. They enjoyed broad popular support in the Tampa Bay area until the NASL folded in 1984, after which the team played in various minor indoor and outdoor leagues before finally folding on January 31, 1994. Click here to become a patron today.The Tampa Bay Rowdies were an American professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida, that competed in the original North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1984. If you’re at all curious about the history of branding in sports - and judging by the fact you read this far, you are - go check the site out.Īnd if you like this sort of stuff, check out a piece that inspired the escalation of my original commentary on the Fire’s new branding, written by Buzz Carrick over at two years ago.įollow John on Twitter: Soc Takes on Patreon for access to exclusive content and supporter benefits. Part III will then begin with New York City FC and Orlando City SC, and continue through the present.Īs always, a massive tip of the hat goes to Chris Creamer and, one of my favorite resources for sports design history. Part II picks up where we left off with the two expansion teams from 1998, and continues through the teams announced by 2011. This concludes Part I of this comprehensive look at the history of MLS crests and branding. Sadly, the team’s move to Raymond James Stadium in 1998 came with a rather horrid lease, and attempts to convince Malcolm Glazer to buy the team failed, with him instead deciding to buy a community team in northern England, and MLS decided after the 2001 season to fold both Florida teams. MLS owned and operated the Tampa Bay Mutiny for all six seasons of the team’s existence, all under an unusual video game and sci-fi-inspired crest featuring some strange mutant alien creature that Nike claimed would control the ball with its mind.
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