# 1976 Tampa Bay Rowdies season

The 1976 season was the original Tampa Bay Rowdies second season of existence, and their second season in the North American Soccer League, the top division of soccer in the United States and Canada at that time. Tampa Bay entered the season as the defending Soccer Bowl champions.

## Overview

The defense of the Rowdies' NASL title began with the club going on a four-match preseason tour of Haiti. After winning the 1976 indoor tournament, the team later played two addition preseason games against the San Antonio Thunder at high schools in the Tampa Bay Area. The mercurial English star, Rodney Marsh was introduced as team captain on April 22, but resigned the post after just eleven days, handing the job to fellow Englishman, Tommy Smith. In the NASL season, the Rowdies finished with a league-best record of 18–6, which placed them first in the Eastern Division of the Atlantic Conference. As regular season champions, they qualified for the playoffs with home field advantage throughout. In an upset, they fell to Toronto Metros-Croatia, 0–2, in the conference finals. Toronto went on to win the Soccer Bowl. For the second consecutive season South African striker, Derek Smethurst was the club leader in scoring with 20 goals, a total which also led the league.

## Club
### Roster

| No. | Position | Player | Nation |
| 1 | GK | Arnie Mausser | United States |
| 1 | GK | Bob Stetler | United States |
| 2 | MF | Farrukh Quraishi | England |
| 3 | DF | Alex Pringle | Scotland |
| 4 | DF | Tommy Smith (capt.) | England |
| 5 | DF | Ringo Cantillo | United States |
| 6 | DF | Colin Fowles | United States |
| 7 | FW | Stewart Scullion | Scotland |
| 8 | MF | Randy Garber | United States |
| 9 | FW | Clyde Best | Bermuda |
| 10 | FW | Rodney Marsh | England |
| 11 | FW | Doug Wark | United States |
| 11 | MF | Dennis Wit | United States |
| 12 | FW | Derek Smethurst | South Africa |
| 13 | DF | Stewart Jump | England |
| 14 | FW | Joey Fink | United States |
| 15 | MF | Mark Lindsay | England |
| 16 | DF | John Bluem | United States |
| 17 | FW | Eddie Austin | United States |
| 18 | DF | Arsène Auguste | Haiti |
| 19 | MF | Len Glover | England |

### Management and technical staff

* George W. Strawbridge, Jr., owner
* Beau Rodgers, general manager
* Eddie Firmani, head coach
* Ken Shields, trainer
* Francisco Marcos, public relations director
* Alfredo Beronda, equipment manager

### Honors

Seven different Rowdies received nine individual honors following the 1976 NASL season.
* NASL North American Player of the Year: Arnie Mausser
* NASL Coach of the Year: Eddie Firmani
* NASL Leading goal scorer: Derek Smethurst (20 goals)
* NASL All-Star, First Team: Arnie Mausser
* NASL All-Star, First Team: Tommy Smith
* NASL All-Star, First Team: Rodney Marsh
* NASL All-Star, Second Team: Stewart Jump
* NASL All-Star, Second Team: Derek Smethurst
* NASL All-Star, Second Team: Stewart Scullion

## Competitions
### Preseason friendlies

In January 1976 Tampa Bay made a four match tour of Haiti. The first was a, 1–1, draw on January 13 versus the Haitian National Team before a crowd of 21,000. Two days later another 21,000 witnessed the National Team defeat the Rowdies, 1–0. The third match of the tour was played on January 17, against the club side Racing CH with Tampa Bay dominating, 4–1, as 21,500 looked on. In the final Haitian game, the Rowdies edged Victory SC, 2–1, before 13,000 fans.
In early April Tampa Bay also played back-to-back friendlies with the San Antonio Thunder. The first was a 1–2 defeat, played at Sarasota High School which drew 2,845 fans. The following night as Tarpon Springs High School the teams played to a 0–0 draw before 2,500 onlookers. Tampa Bay finished the preseason with a record of 2–2–2.

#### Results

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| January 13, 1976 | Haiti National Team | Stade Sylvio Cator | 1–1 | 21,000 | Joe Fink |
| January 15, 1976 | Haiti National Team | Stade Sylvio Cator | 1–0 | 21,000 | – |
| January 17, 1976 | Racing CH | Stade Sylvio Cator | 1–4 | 21,500 | Joe Fink (2), Rodney Marsh, Doug Wark |
| January 19, 1976 | Victory SC | Stade Sylvio Cator | 1–2 | 13,000 | Rodney Marsh, Derek Smethurst |
| April 9, 1976 | San Antonio Thunder | Ihrig Field | 1–2 | 2,845 | Clyde Best |
| April 10, 1976 | San Antonio Thunder | Tarpon Springs HS | 0–0 | 2,500 | – |

### North American Soccer League season

The Rowdies finished the regular season with 154 points, positioning them in 1st place in the Eastern Division of the Atlantic Conference, and first overall out of 20 NASL teams. After a solid 8–4 start to the season, Tampa Bay finished even stronger with a 10–2 record the rest of the way for a league-best record of 18–6. They earned two more victories than their nearest foe. They scored 58 goals, which was second in the league, while their 30 goals-against tied them with three other clubs as the fewest. As regular season champions, Tampa Bay also earned home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The club averaged 16,452 fans per game in the regular season, with three matches surpassing 15,000, one reaching 32,000, and still another topping 42,000.

#### Regular-season standings

W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, BP = Bonus Points, Pts= point system
6 points for a win, 1 point for a shootout 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 |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 18 | 6 | 58 | 30 | 46 | 154 | 12-0 | 6-6 |
| New York Cosmos | 16 | 8 | 65 | 34 | 52 | 148 | 9-3 | 7-5 |
| Washington Diplomats | 14 | 10 | 46 | 38 | 42 | 126 | 10-2 | 4-8 |
| Philadelphia Atoms | 8 | 16 | 32 | 49 | 32 | 80 | 6-6 | 2-10 |
| Miami Toros | 6 | 18 | 29 | 58 | 27 | 63 | 4-8 | 2-10 |

#### Regular season results

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| April 24, 1976 | Chicago Sting | H | 2–1 | 32,611 | Rodney Marsh, Derek Smethurst |
| April 30, 1976 | Boston Minutemen | H | 1–0 | 11,417 | Joey Fink |
| May 2, 1976 | Washington Diplomats | A | 2–0 | 8,238 | – |
| May 7, 1976 | Chicago Sting | A | 0–1 | 2,865 | Derek Smethurst |
| May 14, 1976 | Seattle Sounders | H | 3–2 | 10,342 | Rodney Marsh (2), Scullion |
| May 16, 1976 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | A | 2–0 | 3,890 | – |
| May 19, 1976 | Hartford Bicentennials | H | 5–2 | 7,692 | Derek Smethurst (3), Clyde Best, Rodnet Marsh |
| June 6, 1976 | New York Cosmos | H | 5–1 | 42,611 | Derek Smethurst (3), Clyde Best, Stewart Scullion |
| June 8, 1976 | Philadelphia Atoms | A | 2–1 | 4,241 | Stewart Scullion |
| June 12, 1976 | San Antonio Thunder | H | 0–0 (SO, 5–4) | 11,158 | – |
| June 18, 1976 | San Diego Jaws | A | 0–2 | 8,246 | Mark Lindsay, Stewart Scullion |
| June 19, 1976 | Los Angeles Aztecs | A | 2–1 (OT) | 9,354 | Derek Smethurst |
| June 23, 1976 | Rochester Lancers | H | 2–0 | 7,276 | Rodney Marsh (2) |
| July 2, 1976 | Miami Toros | A | 1–2 | 3,500 (est.) | Derek Smethurst (2) |
| July 10, 1976 | Washington Diplomats | H | 1–0 | 18,233 | Stewart Scullion |
| July 14, 1976 | New York Cosmos | A | 5–4 | 27,892 | Clyde Best (3), Derek Smethurst |
| July 17, 1976 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | H | 4–1 | 12,869 | Mark Lindsay, Rodney Marsh, Derek Smethurst, own goal |
| July 21, 1976 | Philadelphia Atoms | H | 2–1 (OT) | 10,262 | Clyde Best, Derek Smethurst |
| July 24, 1976 | Miami Toros | H | 4–1 | 15,951 | Stewart Scullion (3), Derek Smethurst |
| July 30, 1976 | Hartford Bicentennials | A | 0–7 | 3,800 | Derek Smethurst (4), Clyde Best, Stewart Jump, Mark Lindsay |
| August 1, 1976 | Boston Minutemen | A | 2–4 | 981 | Clyde Best (2), Rodney Marsh, Derek Smethurst |
| August 7, 1976 | Minnesota Kicks | H | 2–1 | 17,007 | Stewart Scullion, Rodney Marsh |
| August 11, 1976 | Rochester Lancers | A | 2–1 | 6,797 | Len Glover |
| August 14, 1976 | Portland Timbers | A | 2–3 (OT) | 17,199 | Stewart Scullion, Mark Lindsay, Derek Smethurst |

### NASL playoffs

Tampa Bay's two home playoff matches drew more than 36,000 and 28,000 respectively.

#### Playoff results

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| August 20, 1976 | New York Cosmos | H | 3–1 | 36,863 | Derek Smethurst, Stewart Scullion, Rodney Marsh |
| August 24, 1977 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | H | 0–2 | 28,046 | – |

#### Playoff bracket

| First round | First round | First round | Division Championships | Division Championships | Division Championships | Conference Championships | Conference Championships | Conference Championships | | Soccer Bowl '76 | Soccer Bowl '76 | Soccer Bowl '76 |
| E2 | New York Cosmos | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| E3 | Washington Diplomats | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| E3 | Washington Diplomats | 0 | E1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | | | E2 | New York Cosmos | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | E1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 0 | | | | |
| | | | | | | N2 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | 2 | | | | |
| N2 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | 2 | | | | | | | N2 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | 2 | | | | |
| N3 | Rochester Lancers | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| N3 | Rochester Lancers | 1 | N1 | Chicago Sting | 2(1) | | | | | | | |
| | | | N2 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | 2(3) | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | N2 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | 3 |
| | | | | | | | | | | W1 | Minnesota Kicks | 0 |
| S2 | Dallas Tornado | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | W1 | Minnesota Kicks | 0 |
| S3 | Los Angeles Aztecs | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| S3 | Los Angeles Aztecs | 0 | S1 | San Jose Earthquakes | 2 | | | | | | | |
| | | | S2 | Dallas Tornado | 0 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | S1 | San Jose Earthquakes | 1 | | | | |
| | | | | | | W1 | Minnesota Kicks | 3 | | | | |
| W2 | Seattle Sounders | 1 | | | | | | | W1 | Minnesota Kicks | 3 | | | | |
| W3 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| W3 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 0 | W1 | Minnesota Kicks | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | | | W2 | Seattle Sounders | 0 | | | | | | | |

## Statistics
### Season scoring

GP = Games Played, G = Goals (worth 2 points), A = Assists (worth 1 point), Pts = Points
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts |
| Derek Smethurst | 24 | 20 | 5 | 45 |
| Rodney Marsh | 21 | 11 | 9 | 31 |
| Stewart Scullion | 24 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| Clyde Best | 19 | 9 | 6 | 24 |
| Mark Lindsay | 21 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| Len Glover | 14 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| Joey Fink | 9 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Ringo Cantillo | 21 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Dennis Wit | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Stewart Jump | 17 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Alex Pringle | 22 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Randy Garber | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Arnie Mausser | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arsène Auguste | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tommy Smith | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Farrukh Quraishi | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Bluem | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Wark | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie Austin | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Stetler | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Colin Fowles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Season goalkeeping

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; Svs = Saves; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses
| Player | GP | Min | Svs | GA | GAA | W | L |
| Arnie Mausser | 24 | 2011 | 201 | 28 | 1.17 | 18 | 6 |
| Bob Stetler | 4 | 43 | 3 | 2 | 4.19 | 0 | 0 |

### Playoff scoring

GP = Games Played, G = Goals (worth 2 points), A = Assists (worth 1 point), Pts = Points
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts |
| Rodney Marsh | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Derek Smethurst | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Stewart Scullion | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Alex Pringle | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Clyde Best | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Lindsay | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Len Glover | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joey Fink | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ringo Cantillo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stewart Jump | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arnie Mausser | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tommy Smith | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie Austin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Wit | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Playoff goalkeeping

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; Svs = Saves; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses
| Player | GP | Min | Svs | GA | GAA | W | L |
| Arnie Mausser | 2 | 180 | 17 | 3 | 1.50 | 1 | 1 |

## Player movement
### In

| No. | Pos. | Player | Transferred from | Fee/notes | Date |
| 14 | FW | Joey Fink | New York Cosmos | purchased | November 18, 1975 |
| 1 | GK | Arnie Mausser | Hartford Bicentennials | purchased | November 25, 1975 |
| 10 | FW | Rodney Marsh | Manchester City | $100,000 transfer fee | January 11, 1976 |
| 6 | DF | Colin Fowles | LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds | amateur draft | January 14, 1976 |
| 4 | DF | Tommy Smith | Liverpool | on loan | February 24, 1976 |
| 5 | DF | Ringo Cantillo | New York Inter-Giuliana SC | on loan | April 20, 1976 |
| 19 | MF | Len Glover | Leicester City | on loan | April 22, 1976 |
| 11 | MF | Dennis Wit | San Diego Jaws | player trade | July 12, 1976 |

### Out

| No. | Pos. | Player | Transferred to | Fee/notes | Date |
| 1 | GK | Paul Hammond | Crystal Palace | returned from loan | August 28, 1975 |
| 14 | FW | John Sissons | Chelsea | returned from loan | August 28, 1975 |
| 4 | MF | John Boyle | none | released | September 13, 1975 |
| 6 | DF | Mike Connell | none | compulsory military service | December 17, 1975 |
| 1 | GK | Mike Hewitt | San Jose Earthquakes | sold contract | February 20, 1976 |
| 7 | MF | Bernard Hartze | Tacoma Tides | on loan | April 7, 1976 |
| 5 | DF | Malcolm Linton | Los Angeles Aztecs | sold contract | April 14, 1976 |
| 8 | MF | Randy Garber | Los Angeles Aztecs | traded for draft pick | May 17, 1976 |
| 10 | FW | Eddie Engerth | Philadelphia Atoms | traded for draft pick | June 10, 1976 |
| 11 | FW | Doug Wark | San Diego Jaws | player trade | July 12, 1976 |