Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993)
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. 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. 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. Petersburg, Florida. Although San Diego played indoors until 1996, the Rowdies were the last surviving NASL franchise that played outdoor soccer on a regular basis. NASL: 1975–1984 On June 19, 1974 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. In October 1974, Alex Pringle becomes the first player to sign with the team. On ...
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Tampa Stadium
Tampa Stadium (nicknamed The Big Sombrero and briefly known as Houlihan's Stadium) was a large open-air stadium (maximum capacity about 74,000) located in Tampa, Florida, which opened in 1967 and was significantly expanded in 1974–75. The facility is most closely associated with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League, who played there from their establishment in 1976 until 1997. It also hosted two Super Bowls, in 1984 and 1991, as well as the 1984 USFL Championship Game. Besides the Bucs, Tampa Stadium was home to the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the original North American Soccer League, the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League, the Tampa Bay Mutiny of Major League Soccer, and the college football programs of the University of Tampa and the University of South Florida. It also hosted many large concerts, and for a time, it held the record for the largest audience to ever see a single artist when a crowd of almost 57,000 witnessed a Led Zeppelin show ...
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American Soccer League (1988–89)
The American Soccer League has been a name used by four different professional soccer sports league in the United States. In 1988, the third American Soccer League was created as an East Coast counterpart to the West Coast-based Western Soccer Alliance. The third iteration of the ASL lasted only two seasons, merging with the WSA in 1990 to form the American Professional Soccer League. History The league comprised ten teams on the East Coast. During its second season, the league champion Fort Lauderdale Strikers played the San Diego Nomads, champions of the Western Soccer Alliance Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer Alli ... in the 1989 National Pro Soccer Championship. By 1990, the ASL and WSA had merged to form the American Professional Soccer League. Complete team li ...
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Soccer Bowl '78
Soccer Bowl '78 was the North American Soccer League's championship final for the 1978 season. It was the fourth NASL championship under the Soccer Bowl name. The match was played at Giants Stadium in the New York City suburb of East Rutherford, New Jersey on August 27 between the American Conference champion Tampa Bay Rowdies and the National Conference champion and defending Soccer Bowl champion New York Cosmos (who had dropped "New York" from their name to simply "Cosmos" for only the 1977–78 seasons). Seeing the large home crowds the Cosmos had drawn during the 1977 NASL season, the league awarded Soccer Bowl hosting duties to the club. The match drew a Soccer Bowl-record 74,901 fans, more than doubling the previous year's attendance at Portland's Civic Stadium. To date, it remains the largest crowd for a professional club soccer championship game in North America. The Cosmos won the match by a 3–1 score, capturing their third league title and becoming the first re ...
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Portland Timbers (1975–1982)
The Portland Timbers were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1982. The team was based in Portland, Oregon and played their home games at Civic Stadium for outdoor matches and the Memorial Coliseum for indoor games. The nickname "Soccer City, USA" to refer to Portland was coined during the team's first season. The team folded at the conclusion of the 1982 North American Soccer League season. History Origins and Early Success On 23 January 1975, North American Soccer League (NASL) Commissioner Phil Woosnam announced Portland, Oregon as the location of the league's 20th franchise for the upcoming season with an ownership group including former Cleveland Browns player Don Paul. On 7 March 1975, it was announced former Aston Villa F.C. player and manager Vic Crowe was hired as the team's head coach. A few days later, the name Timbers was chosen from approximately 3,000 entered suggestions. Crowe assembled a roster ...
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1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies Season
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 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. 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. Club Roster 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 T ...
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Soccer Bowl '75
Soccer Bowl '75 was the championship final of the 1975 NASL season, played between the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the Portland Timbers. The match took place on August 24, 1975 at Spartan Stadium, in San Jose, California. It was the first North American Soccer League championship to be known as the Soccer Bowl. The Tampa Bay Rowdies won the match, 2–0, to claim their first North American championship. This was the third consecutive year that an expansion team won the NASL title. Background Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies qualified for the playoffs by virtue of winning the Eastern Division with 135 points. The point total earned them the number 2 seed and the right to host all preliminary rounds of the playoffs. The Rowdies defeated the Toronto Metros-Croatia in the quarterfinal match, 1–0, on August 13, 1975. Three days later they dispatched the Miami Toros, 3–0, in their semifinal game played on August 16, 1975, to advance to the finals. Portland Timbers The Portla ...
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Alex Pringle
Alex Pringle (born 8 November 1948) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Active in Scotland and the United States, Pringle made over 100 appearances in a 10-year career. Career Born in Edinburgh, Pringle played professionally in Scotland and the United States for Glasgow United, Hibernian, Dundee, Clyde, the Tampa Bay Rowdies, the Washington Diplomats and the New Jersey Americans. While in Tampa he also served as the head coach of the University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UT) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UT offers more than 200 programs of study, including 22 master's degrees and a broad variety of majors, ... men's soccer team in 1975 and 1976. In two seasons, he compiled a record of 11 wins 15 losses and 1 draw. References 1948 births Men's association football fullbacks Clyde F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Expatriate men's soccer player ...
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North American Soccer League (1968–84)
The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league based in the United States. The league was named for, but had no connection to, the original North American Soccer League. The later NASL was founded in 2009, and b ...

San Diego Sockers (1978–96)
San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996), a soccer team in the North American Soccer League *San Diego Sockers (2001–2004), a soccer team in the World Indoor Soccer League and second Major Indoor Soccer League *San Diego Sockers (2009), an American professional indoor soccer franchise **San Diego Sockers 2 The San Diego Sockers 2 is an American professional indoor soccer team based in San Diego, California, formed in 2017 with the Major Arena Soccer League 2, the MASL's developmental league. Like its parent club, the San Diego Sockers, its home fi ...

Bayfront Arena
Bayfront Center was an indoor arena located in St. Petersburg, Florida that hosted many concerts, sporting and other events. Depending on the configuration, it could hold up to 8,600 people. The arena was opened in 1965 and demolished in 2004. It adjoined the Mahaffey Theater, which is still standing. Musical acts Over its 40-year history, a wide variety of top entertainers performed at the Bayfront Center including: Elvis Presley, Metallica, Lynyrd Skynyrd, B.B. King, Van Halen, Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, Aerosmith, the Beach Boys, James Brown, the Grateful Dead, Elton John, RUSH, The Police, Johnny Cash, the Beastie Boys, Liberace, Bon Jovi, Jimmy Buffett, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, KISS, and The Who. Sports Basketball The venue hosted the American Basketball Association's The Floridians when the team played in St. Petersburg during the 1970–71 and 1971–72 seasons. The South Florida Bulls men's basketball team used the Bayfront Center for some home games between 197 ...
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Indoor Soccer
Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor soccer, as it is most often known in the United States and Canada, was originally developed in these two countries as a way to play soccer during the winter months, when snow would make outdoor play difficult. In those countries, gymnasiums are adapted for indoor soccer play. In other countries the game is played in either indoor or outdoor arenas surrounded by walls, and is referred to by different names (such as "fast football" (''futbol rapido'') in Mexico, ''Futebol Society'' or ''showbol'' in Brazil, and "indoor football" (''futbol indoor'') in Spain). Indoor soccer has different regulations from other versions of association football designed for indoor play, such as futsal and five-a-side football. Unlike futsal, which is played on wood ...
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Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the County seat, seat of Hillsborough County, Florida, Hillsborough County. With a population of 384,959 according to the 2020 census, Tampa is the third-most populated city in Florida after Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville and Miami and is the List of United States cities by population, 52nd most populated city in the United States. Tampa functioned as a military center during the 19th century with the establishment of Fort Brooke. The cigar industry was also brought to the city by Vicente Martinez Ybor, Vincente Martinez Ybor, after whom Ybor City is named. Tampa was formally reincorporated as a city in 1887, following the American Civil War, Civil War. Today, Tampa's economy is driven by tourism, health care, finance, insurance, tec ...
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