# 1982 Tampa Bay Rowdies season

The 1982 season was the original Tampa Bay Rowdies eighth season of existence, and their eighth season in the North American Soccer League, the then-top division of soccer in the United States and Canada. In the 1982 season, the Rowdies finished third in the Southern Division, failing to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Brazilian striker, Luís Fernando lead the club in scoring, with 16 goals in the regular season and 25 across all competitions.

## Club
### Roster

| No. | Position | Player | Nation |
| 0 | GK | Jack Brand | Canada |
| 1 | GK | Jürgen Stars | Germany |
| 2 | DF | Peter Gruber | Germany |
| 3 | DF | John Gorman | Scotland |
| 4 | DF | Refik Kozić | Yugoslavia |
| 5 | DF | Peter Nogly | Germany |
| 6 | DF | Mike Connell (capt.) | South Africa |
| 7 | FW | Zequinha | Brazil |
| 8 | MF | Wes McLeod | Canada |
| 9 | FW | Luís Fernando | Brazil |
| 10 | FW | Tatu | Brazil |
| 11 | MF | Marcelino Oliveira | Brazil |
| 12 | MF | Perry Van der Beck | United States |
| 13 | DF | Carl Bennett | United States |
| 14 | FW | Njego Pesa | United States |
| 15 | MF | Paul Roe | Canada |
| 16 | MF | Pedro DeBrito | United States |
| 17 | DF | Don Droege | United States |
| 17 | DF | Terry Moore | Canada |
| 19 | FW | Hugo Pérez | United States |
| 20 | GK | Tom Boric | Canada |
| 21 | DF | Bruce Bates | Canada |
| 22 | MF | Carlos Babington | Argentina |
| 22 | GK | Kevin Clinton | United States |
| 24 | DF | Peter Roe | Canada |

### Management and technical staff

Gordon Jago began the season as head coach but stepped down the day after a 2–1 loss to the Chicago Sting on July 7. Although Al Miller was immediately named as Jago's successor, assistant coach Kevin Keelan served as the interim head coach for one match at San Diego on July 10. Miller joined the team the following day. Keelan also filled in as coach on July 31, during the Sunshine International Series, while Miller attended his daughter's wedding in Dallas. Other members of the staff included the team's trainer, Ken Shields and equipment manager, Alfredo Beronda.
* George W. Strawbridge, Jr., owner
* Ted Moore, general manager
* Francisco Marcos, director of player personal
* Gordon Jago, head coach (resigned July 7)
* Kevin Keelan, head coach (interim)
* Al Miller, head coach (began July 11)
* Ken Shields, trainer
* Alfredo Beronda, equipment manager

### Honors

Three Rowdies received individual honors following the 1982 NASL season.
* NASL Rookie of the Year: Pedro DeBrito
* NASL All-Star, First Team: Peter Nogly
* NASL All-Star, Honorable Mention: Mike Connell

## Competitions
### Preseason friendlies

Tampa Bay finished their preseason exhibition schedule undefeated with three victories over other NASL teams, one victory over an NCAA Division I squad, one victory over an NCAA Division II squad, and a draw versus the Honduras National Team as that squad prepared for the upcoming 1982 FIFA World Cup.

#### Preseason results

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| March 17, 1982 | Toronto Blizzard | Tangerine Bowl | 1–0 | 1,936 | Luis Fernando |
| March 19, 1982 | Rollins College Tars | Sandspur Bowl | 4–0 | | Luis Fernando (3), Zequinha |
| March 20, 1982 | Montreal Manic | Tangerine Bowl | 3–2 (SO) | 2,623 | own goal, Luis Fernando |
| March 24, 1982 | Jacksonville Tea Men | Tangerine Bowl | 3–1 | 2,020 | Luis Fernando (2), Njego Pesa |
| March 28, 1982 | Honduras National Team | Tad Gormley Stadium | 1–1 | 7,000 | Zequinha |
| March 31, 1982 | South Florida Bulls | USF Soccer Stadium | 3–1 | | Njego Pesa (2), Peter Roe |

#### Other friendlies

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| April 14, 1982 | Univ. Tampa Spartans | Tampa Stadium | 4–0 | closed-door | Njego Pesa (2), Marcelino Oliveira, Fernando |

### North American Soccer League

The Rowdies finished the regular season with 112 points placing them in 3rd place out of four teams in the Southern Division, and 12th out of 14 teams in the league overall. It also marked the first time Tampa Bay failed to qualify for the NASL playoffs in eight seasons. Predictably, as the losses mounted attendance dipped, with only a handful of home games reaching the 20,000 mark. Two of those were rivalry games against Fort Lauderdale and New York. One match was followed by a massive Fourth of July fireworks display, while another preceded a free concert featuring music legends, Chuck Berry and The Drifters. The remaining 20,000+ crowd showed up for the opening night of the season.

#### Regular-season standings

| NASL Southern Division | W | L | GF | GA | PTS |
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 18 | 14 | 64 | 74 | 163 |
| Tulsa Roughnecks | 16 | 16 | 69 | 57 | 151 |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 12 | 20 | 47 | 77 | 112 |
| Jacksonville Tea Men | 11 | 21 | 41 | 71 | 105 |

#### Regular season results

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| April 3, 1982 | Tulsa Roughnecks | H | 3–1 | 27,379 | Luis Fernando (2), Zequinha |
| April 10, 1982 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | H | 2–3 | 25,390 | Zequinha, Luis Fernando |
| April 18, 1982 | New York Cosmos | A | 2–0 | 52,436 | |
| April 24, 1982 | Toronto Blizzard | H | 1–2 | 17,761 | Peter Nogly |
| April 30, 1982 | Jacksonville Tea Men | A | 2–0 | 10,031 | |
| May 2, 1982 | Montreal Manic | A | 0–2 | 20,612 | Luis Fernando, Mike Connell |
| May 5, 1982 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | A | 2–3 | 15,205 | Marcelino Oliveira, Fernando, Connell |
| May 7, 1982 | Seattle Sounders | H | 1–0 | 15,700 | Luis Fernando |
| May 15, 1982 | Portland Timbers | H | 1–2 (SO) | 18,237 | Luis Fernando |
| May 19, 1982 | Jacksonville Tea Men | H | 0–2 | 13,204 | |
| May 22, 1982 | Golden Bay Earthquakes | A | 6–2 | 12,797 | Luis Fernando, Zequinha |
| May 29, 1982 | Edmonton Drillers | H | 4–1 | 25,387 | Tatu (2), Luis Fernando (2) |
| June 2, 1982 | Tulsa Roughnecks | H | 2–0 | 12,109 | own goal, Zequinha |
| June 5, 1982 | Tulsa Roughnecks | A | 2–0 | 14,332 | |
| June 9, 1982 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | H | 4–2 | 15,211 | Nogly, Tatu, Fernando, Pedro DeBrito |
| June 12, 1982 | New York Cosmos | H | 0–2 | 28,475 | |
| June 16, 1982 | Vancouver Whitecaps | A | 3–0 | 18,257 | |
| June 20, 1982 | Edmonton Drillers | A | 1–3 | 4,023 | Luis Fernando (2), Wes McLeod |
| June 23, 1982 | Golden Bay Earthquakes | H | 2–1 (OT) | 13,103 | Luis Fernando, Peter Nogly |
| June 26, 1982 | Vancouver Whitecaps | H | 2–5 | 14,633 | Carlos Babington, Wes McLeod |
| June 30, 1982 | Jacksonville Tea Men | A | 4–0 | 8,488 | |
| July 4, 1982 | Jacksonville Tea Men | H | 2–0 | 40,098 | Carlos Babington, Tatu |
| July 7, 1982 | Chicago Sting | H | 1–2 (SO) | 12,863 | Carlos Babington |
| July 10, 1982 | San Diego Sockers | A | 1–2 | 6,785 | Luis Fernando |
| July 15, 1982 | Tulsa Roughnecks | A | 3–0 | 14,527 | |
| July 17, 1982 | Seattle Sounders | A | 3–4 (SO) | 11,132 | Tatu (2), own goal |
| August 4, 1982 | Chicago Sting | A | 3–1 | 9,051 | Pedro DeBrito |
| August 8, 1982 | Portland Timbers | A | 5–0 | 6,620 | |
| August 10, 1982 | Montreal Manic | H | 0–3 | 7,131 | |
| August 13, 1982 | San Diego Sockers | H | 3–1 | 9,436 | own goal, Tatu, Luis Fernando |
| August 18, 1982 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | A | 2–1 | 11,426 | Peter Nogly |
| August 22, 1982 | Toronto Blizzard | A | 9–2 | 9,731 | Perry Van Der Beck, Don Droege |

### Sunshine International Series

The Sunshine International Series was the first international competition to use the NASL’s point system to determine the standings. As such, teams were awarded six points for wins in regulation or overtime, four points for a shoot–out win, and up to three bonus points for each goal scored in regulation. All four teams faced one another. The Rowdies netted four goals and were winless in the series. On the final day of the competition a double header was played at Tampa Stadium with all four teams in action, followed by a concert featuring country-pop crossover singer, Crystal Gayle.

#### Series standings

| SIS Teams | League | W | L | GF | GA | PTS |
| São Paulo FC | Série A | 3 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 24 |
| Ipswich Town F.C. | First Div. | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 15 |
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | NASL | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | NASL | 0 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 4 |

#### Series results

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| July 24, 1982 | Ipswich Town F.C. | H | 1–3 | 10,693 | Luis Fernando |
| July 28, 1982 | São Paulo FC | H | 2–3 | 8,353 | Luis Fernando, Refik Kozić |
| July 31, 1982 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | H | 1–3 | 21,220 | Pedro DeBrito |