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Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984)

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Tulsa Roughnecks
Full nameTulsa Roughnecks
Nickname(s)Roughnecks
Necks
FoundedNovember 15, 1977[1]
DissolvedJuly 17, 1985; 39 years ago (July 17, 1985)
Stadiumoutdoor:
Skelly Stadium (40,000)
indoor:
Tulsa Assembly Center[2] (8,900)
Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion (5,883)
LeagueNASL

The Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984) were a North American Soccer League (NASL) team from Tulsa, Oklahoma. It played its home games at 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

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The Roughnecks first match was a 6–5 indoor loss on February 11, 1978, at the Bayfront Center versus the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Three nights later in their home debut, the same two teams faced off in front of the first 3,250 Roughnecks fans at the Tulsa Assembly Center.[4][5] A few weeks later they would capture the Skelly Indoor Invitational which they hosted.[6] Over the years Tulsa regularly appeared in the NASL playoffs. They won the NASL title in Soccer Bowl '83, defeating the Toronto Blizzard at BC Place Stadium (Vancouver) by a score of 2–0 before a paid attendance of 60,051.[7] The team's all-time win–loss record was 104–106. The Roughnecks' home games consistently drew better-than-league-average attendance with the annual record occurring during the 1980 season when the team averaged 19,787 spectators over 16 games for a total attendance that year of 316,593 (placing the Roughnecks at No. 5 between the Seattle Sounders and the Washington Diplomats). The largest home game attendance for Tulsa occurred on April 26, 1980, when 30,822 fans watched the Roughnecks' 2–1 victory over the 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

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When, in August 1984, the Major Indoor Soccer League rejected the Roughnecks' application to join several other NASL teams in participating in the MISL's 1984-85 season (citing the town's small market status and subpar arena), team owners decided to throw in the towel on the financially struggling franchise and fold as of the end of the NASL season in September. Former general manager Noel Lemon was not ready to give up on soccer in Tulsa, and he was granted permission in January of 1985 to revive the name and put together a team to play outdoors that summer. Before this club could take the field, though, the NASL completed its long, slow collapse and cancelled the upcoming 1985 season in March. Lemon's new Roughnecks, which featured several holdover players from the previous iteration of the team, carried on as an independent club and pieced together a 20-game exhibition schedule against teams from the MISL, WACS, Europe and South America, as well as former NASL and USL sides that had not folded.[8][9] Excluding several cancelations along the way, the team compiled a record of 8–2–1, before suspending operations on July 17, 1985.[10]

Famous Roughnecks players include Iraj Danaeifard, Alex Skotarek, Charlie Mitchell, Billy Caskey, Victor Moreland,[11] Barry Wallace, Alan Woodward, Zeljko Bilecki, Carmelo D'Anzi, Winston DuBose, Njego Pesa, Laurie Abrahams, Chance Fry, Terry Moore and David McCreery.

Year-by-year

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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[12] 6,340
1979 NASL 14 16 0 139 3rd, National Conference, Central Division Won Conference Quarterfinal (Minnesota)
Lost Conference Semifinal (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 (Tampa Bay)
Won 3rd place match (Ft. Lauderdale) 		3,293
1983 NASL 17 13 0 145 1st, Southern Division Won 1st Round (Ft. Lauderdale)
Won Semifinals (Montreal)
Won Soccer Bowl '83 (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

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Ownership & Staff

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  • 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

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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

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[9]

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Chase, Al (November 16, 1977). "Pro Soccer in Island Gone with Wind". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  2. ^ "St. Petersburg Times – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  3. ^ "Breaking up is hard to do". Chicago Tribune. July 18, 1985. p. 2, Sec 3. Archived from the original on July 4, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  4. ^ Tierney, Mike (February 11, 1978). "Rowdies expected to rough up Roughnecks". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. Archived from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  5. ^ Tierney, Mike (February 15, 1978). "Rowdies trounce Tulsa". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. Archived from the original on May 16, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  6. ^ Lobaugh, Tom (March 6, 1978). "Tulsa Kicks Up A Victory". Tulsa World. Archived from the original on June 25, 2012. 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. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  9. ^ Crossley, Drew (December 29, 2015). "Tulsa Roughnecks (1978-1985)". Fun While It Lasted. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  10. ^ "NASL Friendlies-Tulsa Roughnecks". Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  11. ^ Brucculeri, Jeff (January 30, 2014). "Soccer great Victor Moreland liked what he discovered in Tulsa in 1978". Tulsa Beacon. Tulsa, OK: Biggs Communications. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
  12. ^ "The Evening Independent – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  13. ^ a b "The Evening Independent – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Archived from the original on April 27, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  14. ^ "Hall of Famers". indoorsoccerhall.com. September 1, 2020. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  15. ^ "Stat table". www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
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