1981–82 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season

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Tampa Bay Rowdies
1981–82 indoor season
OwnerUnited States George Strawbridge, Jr.
United States Lamar Hunt
United States Bill McNutt
PresidentUnited States Chas Serednesky, Jr
ManagerEngland Gordon Jago
StadiumBayfront Center
NASLDivision: 2nd
Playoffs: Finalists
Top goalscorerLeague:
Brazil Tatu (21 goals)

All:
Brazil Tatu (30 goals)
Highest home attendance6,122
(Feb. 12 vs. New York)
Lowest home attendance4,625
(Feb. 3 vs. Jacksonville)
Average home league attendance5,347
Biggest win10–3
(Feb. 6 @ New York)
Biggest defeat3–9
(Dec 13 @ Toronto)
1983 →

The 1981–82 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the eighth indoor season of the club's existence.

Overview[edit]

As in previous years, all home games were played at the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, Florida. Tampa Bay entered their eighth indoor season looking for redemption, after the 1980–81 indoor team was the first in club history to miss the playoffs.[1][2] The club had several noteworthy changes occur in the lead-up to the 1981–82 indoor campaign.

Just as the team's 1981 outdoor playoff run was ending the Rowdies announced a partnership with Brazilian giants São Paulo FC. The agreement would allow the Rowdies to sign up to three loan players during São Paulo’s off season, as well as allowing Tampa Bay’s young players to train with the Brazilian club’s reserve squad.[3]

Less than two weeks later on September 16, a press conference was held announcing that the Dallas Tornado were merging with Tampa Bay. The Dallas owners would become minority owners of the Florida club. For their part, the Rowdies gained the number one overall pick in the upcoming amateur draft, and their choice of players from the Dallas roster. Ultimately they added four, and sold the rest to various NASL, ASL, and MISL clubs.[4]

Just prior to the start of the indoor season Mike Connell was named team captain. He had served as acting captain since May, after Jan van der Veen was traded to California during the 1981 outdoor season.[5] Two noteworthy young players made their Rowdie debuts in December at the beginning of the indoor season. Hugo Pérez, a future U.S. Hall of Famer, who had just turned 18 a few weeks earlier, scored five goals in his first two indoor matches.[6] Not to be outdone, a 19-year-old São Paulo loaner, nicknamed Tatu, scored a hattrick to kick off what would become a legendary 21-year indoor career.[7]

For the team as a whole the 18-game regular season got of to a slow 1–3 start. Things began to pick up after Tatu’s arrival on match-day five. The Rowdies made it into the playoffs in large part by winning seven of their last nine matches. They were edged out for the division title by Chicago on the last day of the regular season, in an overtime thriller in front of a then-record indoor crowd of 19,938 at Chicago Stadium.[8]

Tampa Bay ended the regular season with an 11–7 record and placed second in the Central Division, qualifying them for the playoffs. Rookie sensation Tatu led the club with 21 goals, while Zequinha was the team’s points and assists leader with 60 and 22 respectively.[9]

In the playoffs, after exciting first and second round series wins against Montreal and Tulsa.[10][11] the Rowdies returned to the finals. The indoor finals were a passing of the torch from the Rowdies to the San Diego Sockers. Tampa Bay had been arguably the most successful NASL indoor team up to that point, but in the finals the Rowdies were swept by San Diego in convincing fashion. In doing so, the Sockers would start a dominant, decade-long run, winning titles in 10 of the next 11 NASL indoor and MISL seasons they participated in.

Shortly after the playoffs the Rowdies learned that they had placed three players on the 1981–82 all-star team first squad,[12] and one more on the second team.[13]

Club[edit]

Roster[edit]

No. Position Player Nation
1 GK Winston DuBose  United States
2 DF Peter Gruber  Germany
3 DF John Gorman  Scotland
4 DF Refik Kozić  Yugoslavia
6 DF Mike Connell (capt.)  South Africa
7 FW Zequinha  Brazil
8 MF Wes McLeod  Canada
9 FW Luís Fernando  Brazil
11 FW Njego Pesa  United States
12 MF # Perry Van der Beck  United States
13 DF Carl Bennett  United States
14 FW Tatu  Brazil
16 MF Pedro DeBrito  United States
16 DF Ray Vigliotti  United States
17 DF Terry Moore  Canada
18 FW Washington Olivera  Uruguay
19 MF Neill Roberts  South Africa
20 GK Jürgen Stars  Germany
21 MF Paul Roe  Canada
23 FW Keith Bailey  Canada
24 DF Peter Roe  Canada
25 FW Hugo Pérez  United States
27 FW Jaiminho  Brazil

# on injured reserve all season

Management and technical staff[edit]

  • United States George W. Strawbridge, Jr., owner
  • United States Chas Serednesky, Jr., president
  • Portugal Francisco Marcos, director of player personal
  • England Gordon Jago, head coach
  • England Kevin Keelan, assistant coach
  • United States Ken Shields, trainer
  • United States Alfredo Beronda, equipment manager
  • United States Dr. Andrew Boyer, team physician

Honors[edit]

Individual honors[edit]

Four Rowdies received individual honors following the 1981–82 NASL indoor season.[12][13]

  • Atlantic Conference All-Star, First Team: Tatu
  • Atlantic Conference All-Star, First Team: Mike Connell
  • Atlantic Conference All-Star, First Team: Jürgen Stars
  • Atlantic Conference All-Star, Second Team: John Gorman

Preseason friendlies[edit]

Tampa Bay played one preseason exhibition match on December 2 against the Jacksonville Tea Men, winning, 9–2.[14]

Preseason results[edit]

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers "Ref."
December 2, 1981 Jacksonville Tea Men H 9–2 closed-door Peter Roe (2), Pérez (2), Roberts, Olivera, Gorman, Gruber, Zequinha [14]

Regular season[edit]

Final division standings[edit]

W = Wins, L = Losses, GB = Games behind 1st place, % = Winning percentage, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Atlantic Conference • Central Division W L GB % GF GA
Chicago Sting 12 6 .667 139 117
Tampa Bay Rowdies 11 7 1 .611 121 113
Tulsa Roughnecks 10 8 2 .556 128 103

Results[edit]

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers "Ref."
December 5, 1981 Montreal Manic H 8–5 5,545 Roberts (2), Zequinha(2), Pérez (2), Peter Roe, Pesa [15]
December 11, 1981 Tulsa Roughnecks A 6–5 5,531 Perez (3), Zequinha, Pesa [16]
December 13, 1981 Toronto Blizzard A 9–3 5,325 Pesa (3) [17]
December 17, 1981 Tulsa Roughnecks A 5–4 4,681 Kozić , Peter Roe, Pérez, Zequinha [18]
December 19, 1981 Jacksonville Tea Men H 8–6 4,918 Tatu (3), McLeod (2), Peter Roe, Gorman, Zequinha [7]
December 23, 1981 Chicago Sting H 10–8 5,081 Zequinha (2), Peter Roe (2), Pesa (2), Roberts, Moore, Tatu, Gorman [19]
December 26, 1981 Chicago Sting A 8–6 11,606 Tatu (3), Zequinha (2), Pérez [20]
January 2, 1982 Tulsa Roughnecks H 5–4 5,545 Pesa (2), Tatu (2), Gorman [21]
January 5, 1982 Jacksonville Tea Men A 4–2 6,526 Tatu (2) [22]
January 10, 1982 Toronto Blizzard A 2–4 3,492 McLeod (2), Pesa, Peter Roe [23]
January 15, 1982 Montreal Manic A 6–5 6,730 Gorman, Gruber, Zequinha, Pesa, Tatu [24]
January 20, 1982 Chicago Sting H 10–9(OT) 5,214 McLeod (3), Tatu (2), Moore, Pesa, Pérez, Gruber, Peter Roe [25]
January 23, 1982 Tulsa Roughnecks A 8–9 5,383 Zequinha (3), Roberts, McLeod, Gorman, Tatu, Pesa, Gruber [26]
January 30, 1982 Toronto Blizzard H 8–7 5,545 Roberts (2), Zequinha (2), Pesa (2), Tatu, Gorman [27]
February 3, 1982 Jacksonville Tea Men H 7–6(OT) 4,625 Tatu (3), McLeod (2), Zequinha, Peter Roe [28]
February 6, 1982 New York Cosmos A 3–10 10,199 McLeod (3), Tatu (2), Peter Roe (2), Kozić, Zequinha, Paul Roe [29]
February 12, 1982 New York Cosmos H 8–7 6,112 Pérez (3), Zequinha (2), McLeod (2), Kozić [30]
February 14, 1982 Chicago Sting A 10–9(OT) 19,938 Paul Roe (3), Roberts (2), Pérez (2), Kozić (2) [8]

Playoffs[edit]

The playoffs are a home and home series. If one team fails to win both games, then a non-sudden-death, 15-minute mini-game is played, with a brief halftime to changes ends of the field. If the mini-game remains tied after full-time, then the match moves to sudden-death overtime periods, each lasting 7:30.

Bracket[edit]

First round
Best-of-3
Conference finals
Best-of-3
Championship series
Best-of-3
               
P1 Edmonton Drillers 8 12
P4 Seattle Sounders 6 4
P1 Edmonton Drillers 2 3
P2 San Diego Sockers 8 12
P2 San Diego Sockers 4 8
P3 Vancouver Whitecaps 3 4
P2 San Diego Sockers 9 10
A3 Tampa Bay Rowdies 7 5
A1 Chicago Sting 4 7(OT) 1
A4 Tulsa Roughnecks 5 6 3
A4 Tulsa Roughnecks 4 4 0
A3 Tampa Bay Rowdies 5 3 1
A2 Montreal Manic 7 3 1
A3 Tampa Bay Rowdies 8(OT) 2 2(3OT)

Results[edit]

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers "Ref."
February 18, 1982 Montreal Manic H 8–7(OT) 4,880 Tatu (3), Zequinha (2), Pesa, DeBrito, Kozić [31]
February 21, 1982 Montreal Manic A 2–3 15,855 Tatu, own goal [10]
February 21, 1982 Montreal Manic A 1–2(3OT) (Mini-game) Fernando, Roberts [10]
February 25, 1982 Tulsa Roughnecks A 5–4 7,021 McLeod (2), Tatu (2), Peter Roe [32]
March 1, 1982 Tulsa Roughnecks H 3–4 5,545 Zequinha, McLeod, Tatu [11]
March 1, 1982 Tulsa Roughnecks H 1–0 (Mini-game) Pesa [11]
March 3, 1982 San Diego Sockers (Finals) A 9–7 12,840 Pérez (2), Gruber (2), Peter Roe, Zequinha, McLeod [33]
March 8, 1982 San Diego Sockers (Finals) H 5–10 6,325 Tatu (2), McLeod, Zequinha, Roberts [34]

Statistics[edit]

Season scoring[edit]

GP = Games played, G = Goals (worth 2 points), A = Assists (worth 1 point), Pts = Points[9]

Player GP G A Pts
Zequinha 18 19 22 60
Tatu 14 21 7 49
Wes McLeod 14 15 14 44
Peter Roe 16 10 23 43
Njego Pesa 13 15 8 38
Hugo Pérez 17 13 8 34
John Gorman 18 6 16 28
Neill Roberts 17 8 9 25
Peter Gruber 18 3 12 18
Refik Kozić 15 5 5 15
Mike Connell 16 0 12 12
Paul Roe 7 4 2 10
Terry Moore 13 2 6 10
Carl Bennett 6 0 2 2
Jürgen Stars 11 0 2 2
Washington Olivera 1 0 1 1
Winston DuBose 7 0 0 0
Keith Bailey 7 0 0 0
Pedro DeBrito 2 0 0 0
Ray Vigliotti 1 0 0 0
Jaiminho 1 0 0 0
Luís Fernando 0 0 0 0

Season goalkeeping[edit]

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses[9]

Player GP Min Svs GA GAA W L
Jürgen Stars 11 663:45 193 68 6.14 7 4
Winston DuBose 7 420:16 90 45 6.43 4 3

Playoff scoring[edit]

GP = Games played, G = Goals (worth 2 points), A = Assists (worth 1 point), Pts = Points[35]

Player GP G A Pts
Tatu 5 9 1 19
Wes McLeod 4 5 7 17
Zequinha 5 5 5 15
Refik Kozić 6 2 7 11
Peter Roe 6 2 6 10
Hugo Pérez 4 3 1 7
John Gorman 6 0 5 5
Neill Roberts 6 2 0 4
Peter Gruber 6 2 0 4
Jürgen Stars 5 0 4 4
Mike Connell 6 0 3 3
Paul Roe 6 0 3 3
Pedro DeBrito 3 1 0 2
Luís Fernando 3 1 0 2
Njego Pesa 2 1 0 2
Keith Bailey 2 0 0 0
Terry Moore 2 0 0 0
Winston DuBose 1 0 0 0
own goal 1 1 0 2

Playoff goalkeeping[edit]

Note: GP = Games played; MGP = Mini-games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses[35]

Player GP MGP Min Svs GA GAA W L
Jürgen Stars 5 2 343:41 117 31 5.41 3 4
Winston DuBose 1 0 60:03 17 7 6.98 1 0
Mike Connell 4 0 3:54 3 0 0.00 0 0

Player movement[edit]

In[edit]

No. Pos. Player Transferred from Fee/notes Date Source
7 FW Brazil Zequinha United States Dallas Tornado Rowdies/Tornado merger September 16, 1981 [4]
11 FW United States Njego Pesa United States Dallas Tornado Rowdies/Tornado merger September 16, 1981 [4]
13 DF United States Carl Bennett United States Dallas Tornado Rowdies/Tornado merger September 16, 1981 [4]
2 DF Germany Peter Gruber United States Dallas Tornado Rowdies/Tornado merger September 16, 1981 [4]
16 DF United States Ray Vigliotti United States Dallas Tornado Rowdies/Tornado merger September 16, 1981 [4]
20 GK Germany Jürgen Stars Canada Calgary Boomers NASL dispersal draft October 6, 1981 [36]
14 FW Brazil Tatu Brazil São Paulo loan in December 1, 1981 [37]
21 MF Canada Paul Roe Canada Hamilton Steelers free transfer December 12, 1981 [38]
16 FW United States Pedro DeBrito United States UConn NASL entry draft December 14, 1981 [39]
27 MF Brazil Jaiminho Brazil São Paulo loan in January 11, 1982 [40]

Out[edit]

No. Pos. Player Transferred to Fee/notes Date Source
2 DF Scotland Ian Anderson United States Cleveland Force returned from loan September 10, 1981 [41]
9 FW England Frank Worthington England Birmingham City returned from loan September 10, 1981 [41]
25 FW England David Moss England Luton Town returned from loan September 10, 1981 [41]
11 DF United States Dave Taber none release October 21, 1981 [42]
16 MF Canada Billy Sweetzer none release October 21, 1981 [42]
13 GK England Kevin Keelan United States Tampa Bay release, hired as asst. coach October 21, 1981 [42]
15 MF England Dave Mehmet England Charlton Athletic sold contract for $130,000 November 18, 1981 [43]
14 FW Republic of Ireland Tony Kinsella England Ipswich Town sold contract November 20, 1981 [44]
21 DF England Manny Andruszewski none released November 20, 1981 [44]
22 GK United States Kevin Clinton none released December 3, 1981 [5]
16 DF United States Ray Vigliotti United States Baltimore Blast released; signed with Baltimore December 12, 1982 [45]
27 MF Brazil Jaiminho Brazil São Paulo returned from loan February 23, 1982 [46]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Scheiber, Dave (February 13, 1981). "Rowdies: humiliating 8-7 ending". St. Petersburg Times. p. 3C. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  2. ^ Henderson, Jim (February 14, 1981). "Strikers End Playoff Hope Of Rowdies". Tampa Tribune. p. 4C. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  3. ^ McEwen, Tom (September 4, 1981). "Rowdies, Sao Paulo Agree to Working Arrangement". Tampa Tribune. p. 1-C. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f McEwen, Tom (September 17, 1981). "Rowdie Get Dallas Players, Hunt In Merger". Tampa Tribune. p. 1-C. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Scheiber, Dave (December 4, 1981). "Connell to captain Rowdies". St. Petersburg Times. p. 9C. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  6. ^ Scheiber, Dave (December 16, 1981). "Jago hopes to find cure". St. Petersburg Times. p. 4C. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Henderson, Jim (December 20, 1981). "Rowdies 'Tatu' Tea Men, 8-6". Tampa Tribune. p. 1-D. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  8. ^ a b Davis, Michael (February 15, 1982). "Rowdies lose overtime thriller to Sting 10-9". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  9. ^ a b c "Rowdies 1982 Indoor Stats". Tampa Tribune. February 16, 1982. p. 2-C. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  10. ^ a b c Henderson, Jim (February 22, 1982). "Playoff War Has A Very Rowdie End". Tampa Tribune. p. 1-C. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  11. ^ a b c Scheiber, Dave (March 2, 1982). "Rowdies earn shot at the title". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Three Rowdies on all-star team". The Tampa Times. March 31, 1982. p. 4C. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Mudry, Richard (April 1, 1982). "Rowdies an unfamiliar bunch to fans". The Tampa Times. p. 5C. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  14. ^ a b Henderson, Jim (December 3, 1981). "Rowdies Clobber Tea Men In Practice". Tampa Tribune. p. 13-C. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  15. ^ Henderson, Jim (December 6, 1981). "Rowdies Kick In Door, 8-5". Tampa Tribune. p. 1-D. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  16. ^ Henderson, Jim (December 12, 1981). "Tulsa Tumbles Rowdies". Tampa Tribune. p. 1-C. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  17. ^ "Blizzard blows past Rowdies 9-3". St. Petersburg Times. December 14, 1981. p. 3C. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  18. ^ O’Brien, Steve (December 18, 1981). "Rowdies Rally Not Enough". Tampa Tribune. p. 1-C. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  19. ^ Scheiber, Dave (December 24, 1981). "Rowdies zap Sting with mark of 'Z'". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  20. ^ Kay, Linda (December 27, 1981). "Sting repay Rowdies for loss 'Z'". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  21. ^ Henderson, Jim (January 3, 1982). "Rowdies Trip Tulsa". Tampa Tribune. p. 3-D. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  22. ^ Henderson, Jim (January 6, 1982). "The Rocky Road: Rowdies Fall 4-2". Tampa Tribune. p. 3-C. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  23. ^ "Rowdies rebound on road for win". St. Petersburg Times. January 11, 1982. p. 1C. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  24. ^ "Sluggish Start Dooms Rowdies To 6-5 Defeat". Tampa Tribune. January 16, 1982. p. 1-C. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  25. ^ Mudry, Richard (January 21, 1982). "Roe helps Rowdies get even". Tampa Times. p. 1C. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  26. ^ "Gruber Goal Lifts Rowdies To Win". Tampa Tribune. January 24, 1982. p. 3-D. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  27. ^ Johnson, Mark (January 31, 1982). "Revitalized Rowdies do in Blizzard". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  28. ^ Henderson, Jim (February 4, 1982). "Tatu Scores 3 As Rowdies Win". Tampa Tribune. p. 1-C. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  29. ^ "Rowdies Win 10-3, Earn Playoff Berth". Tampa Tribune. February 7, 1982. p. 1-D. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  30. ^ Henderson, Jim (February 13, 1982). "Rowdies 'Compensate' For Win". Tampa Tribune. p. 1-C. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  31. ^ Scheiber, Dave (February 19, 1982). "Rowdies rally, rule in overtime 8-7". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  32. ^ Henderson, Jim (February 26, 1982). "Rowdies Rally Late To Edge Roughnecks". Tampa Tribune. p. 1-C. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  33. ^ Henderson, Jim (March 4, 1982). "San Diego Socks It To Rowdies, 9-7". Tampa Tribune. p. 1-C. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  34. ^ Mudry, Richard (March 9, 1982). "'Greybeards' send Rowdies home empty". Tampa Times. p. 1C. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  35. ^ a b "Rowdies Indoor Playoff Stats". Tampa Tribune. February 24, 1982. p. 2-C. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  36. ^ Cote, Greg (October 7, 1981). "Strikers draft Mikkelsen". Miami Herald. p. 4C. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  37. ^ Scheiber, Dave (December 2, 1981). "Rowdies turn to Tatu for a fantasy quest". St. Petersberg Times. p. 1C. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  38. ^ Henderson, Jim (December 13, 1981). "Rowdies Try To Avoid Blizzard". Tampa Tribune. p. 11-D. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  39. ^ Henderson, Jim (December 15, 1981). "Rowdies Stock Up; DeBrito No. 1 Pick". Tampa Tribune. p. 1-C. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  40. ^ "Rowdies get Brazilian help". Orlando Sentinel. September 17, 1980. p. 3C. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  41. ^ a b c Scheiber, Dave (September 11, 1981). "Coming Back?". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  42. ^ a b c "Rowdies axe three; two more in limbo". Tampa Times. October 22, 1981. p. 4C. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  43. ^ Mudry, Richard (November 19, 1981). "Rowdies deal Mehmet". Tampa Times. p. 3C. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  44. ^ a b Scheiber, Dave (November 21, 1981). "Roberts is taking care of business". St. Petersburg Times. p. 3C. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  45. ^ Henderson, Jim (December 13, 1981). "Rowdies Try To Avoid Blizzard". Tampa Tribune. p. 11-D. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  46. ^ "Jaiminho returns to Rowdies". Tampa Times. February 24, 1982. p. 4C. Retrieved August 26, 2021.

External links[edit]