1983 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season
The 1983 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the ninth indoor season of the team's existence. The Rowdies captured the Indoor Grand Prix title. Although they would play for another 10 years, including two more indoors in 1983–84 and 1986–87, this would be the final trophy won by the original club.
| 1983 indoor season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| President |  | ||
| Manager | | ||
| Stadium | Bayfront Center, Lakeland Civic Center | ||
| NASL Grand Prix | Round robin: 2nd Grand Prix: Champions | ||
| Top goalscorer | League: All:  | ||
| Highest home attendance | 5,545 (Feb. 5 vs. Strikers) | ||
| Lowest home attendance | 3,506 (Feb. 25 vs. Strikers) | ||
| Average home league attendance | 4,756 | ||
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Overview
Nearly all of the NASL teams opted out of participating in a full 1982–83 indoor season.[1] Four clubs (Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Montreal Manic, Tulsa Roughnecks and Tampa Bay) played in a scaled down indoor tournament called the Grand Prix of Indoor Soccer. In this format each team would play a total of eight times, consisting of three weeks of double round-robin play, followed by a seeded "championship weekend" of matches.[2]
A four-week long "shootout challenge" competition sponsored by Molson beer,[3] was also played each match day, with the overall winners splitting a $5,000 purse on the final day.[4]
Overall Tampa Bay fared well in the round-robin stage with a 4–2 record and 42 points. However, both losses were to Montreal who had finished with an identical record and points. The Manic earned the number one seed based on the head-to-head tiebreaker.[5] This paired Tampa Bay up with the 3–3 Roughnecks for the semifinals. The Rowdies defeated Tulsa, 8–6, with a third quarter barrage that eventually turned a one-goal deficit into a three-goal cushion.[6] That victory earned them a rematch with Montreal for the Grand Prix title.
In the championship final, "Le Manic" and the Rowdies battled back and forth into double overtime at the Montreal Forum. The visitors gained a 2–0 advantage, before Dale Mitchell put Montreal in the lead with a second period hat-trick. Each team added a goal in the third quarter. Tampa Bay continued to trail for most of the fourth until Zequinha tied the match with 1:55 remaining to send it to sudden death overtime. The first extra session failed to produce a golden goal, but with just under two minutes lapsed in the second overtime Mark Karpun beat his defender down the left wing. He then tucked a shot past Manic goalie, Mehdi Cerbah, inside the far post for the game winner and the Rowdies' third indoor trophy.[7][8]
Combined with their 4–0 record in friendlies, the Tampa Bay Rowdies completed their winter 1983 indoor schedule with a record of 10–2 in all matches. The Rowdies also won the finals of the $5,000 shootout challenge against Fort Lauderdale. In that event, goalie Jürgen Stars stopped all five Strikers' shots, while Wes McLeod and Hugo Perez converted their attempts for a 2–0 victory.[9]
Club
The team's winter roster saw numerous changes over the course of the brief indoor season. Goalkeeper, Tom Boric was lost for the remainder of the indoor season after a knee injury in the Rowdies' second grand prix match on January 22.[10] Defender, Mike Connell was only able to appear in one match because of a nagging Achilles injury.[11][7] With Connell injured, Wes McLeod served as team captain for the 12-game indoor season[12] Brazilian indoor specialist Tatu did not arrive from São Paulo FC until January 28, because of transfer issues, and missed the first four games.[13] Peter Roe missed the final six matches with a broken toe.[14]
Around the same time the NASL began the ill-fated Team America experiment. The February try-outs for Team America overlapped with the Grand Prix schedule and as a result Arnie Mausser, Pedro DeBrito, Perry Van der Beck and Glenn Myernick became unavailable to the Rowdies for several games including the semifinal and championship matches.[15][16] This forced the Tampa Bay coach, Al Miller to use rookies and reserve team players more often.[11]
Roster
| No. | Position | Player | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00 | Goalkeeper | Arnie Mausser | |
| 1 | Goalkeeper | Jürgen Stars |  |
| 2 | Defender | Peter Gruber | |
| 3 | Defender | Glenn Myernick | |
| 4 | Defender | Refik Kozić | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| 5 | Defender | Peter Nogly | |
| 6 | Defender | Mike Connell |  |
| 7 | Forward | Zequinha | |
| 8 | Midfielder | Wes McLeod (capt.) | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| 10 | Forward | Tatu | |
| 11 | Midfielder | Marcelino Oliveira | |
| 12 | Midfielder | Perry Van der Beck | |
| 14 | Midfielder | Juan Carlos Molina |  |
| 15 | Midfielder | Peter Roe | |
| 16 | Forward | Pedro DeBrito | |
| 17 | Defender | Gregg Thompson | |
| 18 | Forward | Mark Karpun | |
| 19 | Forward | Hugo Pérez | |
| 20 | Goalkeeper | Tom Boric | |
| 21 | Defender | Bruce Bates | |
| 22 | Midfielder | Matty Miller | |
| 23 | Midfielder | Jim Easton | |
| — | Midfielder | Mike Fall | |
Management and technical staff
Honors
- NASL Grand Prix of Indoor Soccer: Champions
- Grand Prix assists leader: Wes McLeod (12)
Competitions
Friendlies
The Rowdies participated in and won four friendlies. The first was played at Reunion Arena in Dallas against Tulsa. Three days before the grand prix began they faced Tulsa again at Oklahoma City's Myriad Arena.[17] A mid-grand prix friendly pitted the club against Montreal at the Bayfront Center on January 29.[18] Finally, in-state rival, Fort Lauderdale, met Tampa Bay at the Lakeland Civic Center in a post-tournament fixture, to close out the Rowdies' abbreviated 1983 indoor campaign.[19]
Grand Prix round-robin table
G = Games, W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, GD = Goal Differential, PTS= point system
6 points awarded for a win. Beginning with the fourth goal, 1 bonus point awarded for each goal scored. Maximum of 5 bonus points per game.
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1* | Montreal Manic | 6 | 4 | 2 | 36 | 31 | +5 | 42 |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 6 | 4 | 2 | 38 | 31 | +7 | 42 |
| 3 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 6 | 3 | 3 | 33 | 37 | −4 | 33 |
| 4 | Ft. Lauderdale Strikers | 6 | 1 | 5 | 32 | 40 | −8 | 20 |
*Montreal wins top seed based on 2–0 head-to-head record vs. Tampa Bay.[20]
Grand Prix Championship rounds
| Semifinals | Championship Final | ||||||||
| 1 | Montreal Manic | 11 | |||||||
| 4 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 4 | |||||||
| 1 | Montreal Manic | 4 | |||||||
| 2 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 5(2OT) | |||||||
| 3 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 6 | |||||||
| 2 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 8 | |||||||
Match reports
| January 15, 1983 friendly | Tulsa Roughnecks | 3–6 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Dallas, Texas |
Belfiore  Danaeifard Pesa |
Report 1 Report 2(p. 2C) |
McLeod Karpun Zequinha Van der Beck McLeod Pérez |
Stadium: Reunion Arena Attendance: 5,451 |
| January 18, 1983 friendly | Tulsa Roughnecks | 3–5 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| 7:30 PM (CST) | Saldana Saldana Saldana |
Report 1 Report 2 Report 3 |
Nogly Van der Beck McLeod Karpun Roe |
Stadium: Myriad Arena Attendance: 2,551 |
| January 21, 1983 Matchday 1 | Montreal Manic | 6–3 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| 7:00 PM (CST) | Ion Quinn Knight Dill Knight Vujović |
Report 1 Report 2 |
Kozić Zequinha Nogly |
Stadium: Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion Attendance: 3,552 |
| January 22, 1983 Matchday 2 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 2–7 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| 9:00 PM (CST) | Caskey Pesa |
Report 1 Report 2 |
Zequinha Pérez Pérez Roe Myernick Zequinha Pérez |
Stadium: Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion Attendance: 4,341 |
| January 29, 1983 friendly | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 7–5 | Montreal Manic | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 7:30 PM (EST) | Karpun Tatu Oliveira Tatu Pérez Nogly Van der Beck |
Report 1 Report 2(p. 2C) |
Mitchell Willey Usiyan Usiyan Mitchell |
Stadium: Bayfront Center Attendance: 5,525 |
| February 4, 1983 Matchday 3 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 7–6 | Tulsa Roughnecks | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 9:00 PM (EST) | Myernick Gruber Oliveira Tatu Pérez Pérez Tatu |
Report 1 Report 2(p. 2C) |
Wallace Pesa Weller Weller Caskey Weller |
Stadium: Bayfront Center Attendance: 4,450 Referee: Gus Constantine |
| February 5, 1979 Matchday 4 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 10–6 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 9:00 PM (EST) | Zequinha Tatu Molina McLeod McLeod Pérez Pérez Tatu McLeod DeBrito |
Report 1 Report 2 |
Cubillas Szatmari Šegota Šegota Bolitho Cubillas |
Stadium: Bayfront Center Attendance: 5,545 |
| February 11, 1983 Matchday 5 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 7–5 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| 7:00 PM (CST) | Tatu Tatu Tatu Karpun Karpun Molina Pérez |
Report 1 Report 2 |
Šegota Šegota Šegota Wegerle Cubillas |
Stadium: Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion Attendance: 2,064 Referee: Manuel Ortiz[21] |
| February 12, 1983 Matchday 6 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 4–5 | Montreal Manic | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| 7:00 PM (CST) | Karpun Molina Oliveira Oliveira |
Report 1 Report 2 |
Towers Ion Mitchell Mitchell Vujović |
Stadium: Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion Attendance: 3,245 |
| February 18, 1983 Semifinal | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 8–6 | Tulsa Roughnecks | Montreal, Quebec |
| 7:30 PM (EST) | Pérez Karpun Zequinha McLeod Nogly Karpun Tatu McLeod |
Report 1 Report 2 |
Pesa Abrahams Weller Abrahams Abrahams Pesa |
Stadium: Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec Attendance: 6,049 |
| February 20, 1983 Finals | Montreal Manic | 4–5 (2OT) | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Montreal, Quebec |
| 3:30 PM (EST) | Mitchel Mitchel Mitchel Lodeweges |
Report 1 Report 2 Report 3(p. 2C) |
Tatu Pérez Nogly Zequinha Karpun  |
Stadium: Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec Attendance: 7,895 Referee: Gordon Arrowsmith |
| February 25, 1983 friendly | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 8–5 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Lakeland, Florida |
| 8:00 PM (EST) | Tatu Karpun Miller Karpun Gruber Molina Bates Oliveira |
Report 1 Report 2 Report 3(p. 2C) |
Kidd Cubillas Kidd Meschbach Kidd |
Stadium: Lakeland Civic Center Attendance: 3,506 |
Statistics
Scoring
GP = Games Played, G = Goals (worth 2 points), A = Assists (worth 1 point), Pts = Points
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hugo Pérez | 12 | 12 | 8 | 32 |
| Tatu | 8 | 12 | 6 | 30 |
| Wes McLeod | 12 | 8 | 14 | 30 |
| Mark Karpun | 10 | 11 | 2 | 24 |
| Peter Nogly | 11 | 5 | 12 | 22 |
| Zequinha | 10 | 7 | 6 | 20 |
| Juan Carlos Molina | 10 | 4 | 10 | 18 |
| Marcelino Oliveira | 10 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| Glenn Myernick | 7 | 2 | 7 | 11 |
| Peter Roe | 6 | 2 | 6 | 10 |
| Peter Gruber | 12 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| Perry Van der Beck | 7 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| Refik Kozić | 11 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| Bruce Bates | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Pedro DeBrito | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Matty Miller | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Mike Fall | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Jürgen Stars | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Gregg Thompson | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jim Easton Jr. | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Tom Boric | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Connell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arnie Mausser | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goalkeeping
Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; SV = Saves; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses
| Player | GP | Min | SV | GA | GAA | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jürgen Stars | 9 | 550 | 127 | 45 | 4.91 | 7 | 2 |
| Tom Boric | 2 | 120 | 38 | 5 | 2.50 | 2 | 0 |
| Arnie Mausser | 1 | 60 | 14 | 6 | 6.00 | 1 | 0 |
Player movement
See also
References
- Marmor, Jon (September 1, 1982). "If Strikers Survive, Seattle Shapes Up as Next Opponent". Palm Beach Post. p. D10. Retrieved March 14, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- Sarni, Jim (December 1, 1982). "Strikers in four-team indoor tournament". Fort Lauderdale Sun-Setinel. p. 3C. Retrieved March 14, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- Phillips, Randy (February 18, 1983). "Manic play sudden-death tonight". Montreal Gazette. p. D1. Retrieved March 14, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- "Rowdies enter tourney". Lakeland Ledger. December 2, 1982. p. 3D. Retrieved November 22, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
- Beard, Randy (February 15, 1983). "Rowdies pair united in feelings toward Team America and coach". The Evening Independent. p. 3-C. Retrieved November 22, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
- Beard, Randy (February 19, 1983). "Power play went short-handed Rowdies' way". The Evening Independent. p. 3-C. Retrieved November 22, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
- Beard, Randy (February 21, 1983). "Championship effort carried Rowdies to title". The Evening Independent. p. 1-C. Retrieved November 22, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
- Mudry, Richard (February 21, 1983). "Rowdies go OT to beat Montreal". Tampa Tribune. p. 6-C. Retrieved March 14, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- Johnson, Mark (February 21, 1983). "Karpun's overtime goal gives Rowdies 5-4 win Montreal". St. Petersburg Times. p. 3C. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
- "Injury takes edge off Rowdies' victory". The Evening Independent. January 24, 1983. p. 8-C. Retrieved November 22, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
- Johnson, Mark (February 20, 1983). "Rowdies in title fight vs. host Montreal". St. Petersburg Times. p. 3C. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
- Johnson, Mark (January 21, 1983). "Rolling Rowdies open quest to regain grand prestige". St. Petersburg Times. p. 3C. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
- "Tatu arrives Friday". Tampa Tribune. January 27, 1983. p. 10-C. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
- "Rowdies lose Roe". Tampa Tribune. February 6, 1983. p. 7-D. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
- Beard, Randy (February 7, 1983). "Keep-away style of Kozic worked". The Evening Independent. p. 6-C. Retrieved November 22, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
- Beard, Randy (January 26, 1983). "Mausser's year could be cut short". The Evening Independent. p. 6-C. Retrieved November 22, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
- Beard, Randy (January 18, 1983). "McLeod: 'I feel real good about playing soccer again'". The Evening Independent. p. 3-C. Retrieved November 22, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
- "Tatu, the 'little Brazilian' returns". The Evening Independent. January 25, 1983. p. 4-C. Retrieved November 22, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
- Allen, Diane Lacey (February 23, 1983). "Rowdies meet Strikers at Civic Center". Lakeland Ledger. p. 3D. Retrieved November 22, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
- "Rowdies fall to Manic 5-4". St. Petersburg Times. February 13, 1983. p. 1C. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
- "Rowdies rap Strikers in Grand Prix soccer". Fort Lauderdale News. February 12, 1983. p. 7C. Retrieved March 17, 2020.