Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984)

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Tulsa Roughnecks
NASL

The Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984) were a

Skelly Stadium on the campus of the University of Tulsa. The team, previously Team Hawaii, moved to Tulsa after the 1977 season.[3] In 1983, Alex Skotarek became general manager and led one of the lowest-budgeted teams in the NASL to a championship, defeating Toronto, 2–0, at Soccer Bowl '83
.

Shortly after the Tulsa Roughnecks victory of the 1983 Soccer Bowl, President Ronald Reagan sent congratulatory remarks to the team as they carried the trophy in a celebration parade through downtown Tulsa. The Roughnecks still stands (as of 2024) as the only major professional team from Oklahoma to win a championship.

Highlights

The Roughnecks first match was a 6–5

New York Cosmos at Skelly Stadium. The highest attendance for any Roughneck game occurred on August 26, 1979, when Tulsa met the Cosmos in New York for a NASL playoff game before a crowd of 76,031.[7]

Post-NASL

Although the NASL's final season was 1984, and the league folded in early 1985, the Roughnecks continued to operate as an independent club. They had put together an ambitious schedule of more than 20 matches stretching from May into August, against teams from the

MISL, WACS, Europe, and South America, as well as other former NASL sides that had not folded.[8] Excluding several cancelations along the way, the team compiled a record of 8–2–1, before suspending operations on July 17, 1985.[9]

Famous Roughnecks players include

Zeljko Bilecki, Carmelo D'Anzi, Winston DuBose, Njego Pesa, Laurie Abrahams, Chance Fry, Terry Moore and David McCreery
.

Year-by-year

Year League W L T Pts Reg. season Playoffs Avg. attendance
1978 NASL indoor 2 2 0 — N/A Won, Skelly Invitational 2,250
1978 NASL 15 15 0 132 2nd, National Conference, Central Division Lost 1st Round (Minnesota) 11,256
1979 NASL indoor 0 3 0 — N/A 3rd Place, Budweiser Invitational[11] 6,340
1979 NASL 14 16 0 139 3rd, National Conference, Central Division Won Conference Quarterfinal (
New York
) 		16,426
1979–80
 NASL Indoor 7 5 0 — 3rd, Western Lost 1st Round (Minnesota) 4,657
1980 NASL 15 17 0 139 3rd, National Conference, Central Division Lost 1st Round (
New York
) 		19,787
1980–81
 NASL Indoor 9 9 0 — 2nd, Southern Division did not qualify 5,288
1981 NASL 17 15 0 154 3rd, Central Division Lost 1st Round (Minnesota) 17,188
1981–82
 NASL Indoor 10 8 0 — 3rd, American Conference, Central Division Won 1st Round (Chicago)
Lost Semifinal (Tampa Bay) 		5,308
1982 NASL 16 16 0 112 2nd, Southern Division Lost 1st Round (
New York
) 		14,554
1983 NASL Indoor Grand Prix 4 4 0 — 3rd in Grand Prix preliminary rounds Lost Semifinal (
Ft. Lauderdale
) 		3,293
1983 NASL 17 13 0 145 1st, Southern Division Won 1st Round (
Toronto
) 		12,415
1983–84
 NASL Indoor 11 21 0 — 6th did not qualify 3,707
1984 NASL 10 14 0 98 4th, Western Division did not qualify 7,797
1985 Independent 8 2 1 — friendlies only none 3,651

Honors

Ownership & Staff

  • United States Carl Moore – Co-Owner (1978–83)
  • United States Mike Kimbrel – Co-Owner (1978–83)
  • United States Rick Lowenherz – Co-Owner (1978–83)
  • United States Fred Williams – Co-Owner (1978–83)
  • United States Jim Boeh – Communications Director
  • United States Noel Lemon – General Manager (1978–1981
  • United States Alex Skotarek – General Manager (1983)
  • Tulsa Cable – Owner (1984)

Players

Many former players have found employment as paid trainers of youth soccer teams for clubs such as the Tulsa United, Tulsa Soccer Club (TSC), Tornado Soccer Club, and Hurricane Football Club (HFC).

Coaches

[9]

External links

See also

References

  1. ^ Chase, Al (November 16, 1977). "Pro Soccer in Island Gone with Wind". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  2. ^ "St. Petersburg Times – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  3. ^ "Breaking up is hard to do". Chicago Tribune. July 18, 1985. p. 2, Sec 3. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  4. ^ Tierney, Mike (February 11, 1978). "Rowdies expected to rough up Roughnecks". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  5. ^ Tierney, Mike (February 15, 1978). "Rowdies trounce Tulsa". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  6. ^ Lobaugh, Tom (March 6, 1978). "Tulsa Kicks Up A Victory". Tulsa World. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Scores & Crowds 1978–84". Archived from the original on January 27, 2011. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  8. ^ "Schedule". nasljerseys.com. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  9. ^ "NASL Friendlies-Tulsa Roughnecks".
  10. Tulsa, OK: Biggs Communications. Archived from the original
    on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
  11. ^ "The Evening Independent – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  12. ^ a b "The Evening Independent – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  13. ^ "Hall of Famers". indoorsoccerhall.com. September 1, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  14. ^ "Stat table". www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
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