Back circa 2008 or so, the then owners of the newly revived Tampa Bay Rowdies (later FC Tampa Bay, and later, thankfully, Tampa Bay Rowdies again) were talking about building a Soccer Specific Stadium (SSS) at the Tomato Patch site on Benjamin Road in Tampa (currently home field/central campus for the Tampa Bay United Rowdies Soccer Club).
As part of this SSS, they wanted to build a Rowdies Museum. This would have included, I assume, all of the Tampa Bay Rowdies trophies and silverware as well as items of historical note and interest related to the Rowdies. As we know, the Tomato Patch stadium never happened, and thus, no Rowdies Museum, and no Rowdies Trophy Room, alas.
Presumably, if/when the Rowdies join MLS and get their expanded Al Lang Stadium built, they will have a Rowdies Museum, Hall of Fame, and Trophy Room on site. So, I have to ask, where are the trophies now?
We know that the 1975 Soccer Bowl trophy has been used for years now as a trophy for an annual soccer competition between the University of Tampa and the University of South Florida, named the Rowdies Cup. We should be able to retrieve the original 1975 Soccer Bowl trophy for our new Rowdies Museum, and give UT/USF a new trophy for them to compete for in soccer.
While researching this post, I have found images of a new Rowdies Cup trophy currently in use for the annual competition between UT and USF, so perhaps this has already been done, and the new era Tampa Bay Rowdies now possess both the 1975 and the 2012 Soccer Bowl trophies?
What about the other trophies? Presumably the other Rowdies trophies and Rowdies memorabilia are still in the care of the Corbetts? Or have they already been passed on to the new era Tampa Bay Rowdies ownership? If so, we shall have an impressive trophy case.
If anyone reading this knows about the current status of all of the historical Tampa Bay Rowdies trophies and other significant memorabilia, let me and the other Fannies know about it. We are curious!
Below are the Rowdies (and Mutiny) achievements over the years; in bold I have put items for which I know there is an actual physical trophy, i.e., silverware. I'm unsure about a lot of these, but obviously league championships had a trophy. Also, the Soccer Bowl runner-up had a trophy; there's the famous picture of Rodney Marsh after his last game holding up the 1979 NASL Soccer Bowl runner-up trophy. It looks just like the Soccer Bowl champions trophy, just slightly smaller.
If/when the Rowdies get to MLS, I'd like MLS to recognize the Mutiny as an official incarnation of the Rowdies, which would make the 1996 MLS Supporters' Shield ours as well. There is a physical trophy for this, but I am uncertain at this time whether a new trophy is given out each year, or if there is a single trophy that is passed around. If the Mutiny had their own trophy to keep, I am uncertain as to where it is or who has possession of it. Presumably if MLS recognizes the Rowdies and Mutiny as being one entity, a replica could be made of the trophy if we cannot locate the original.
Why would MLS recognize the Rowdies and the Mutiny as being one entity? Well, first of all, it was obvious back in the day that the Mutiny name was chosen to be a bit like, but not really, the Rowdies name. MLS back then was just too scared to embrace the NASL legacy (even though they put a team in the Tampa Bay Area, despite having no owner, precisely because of the Tampa Bay Rowdies NASL legacy). That's changed now thanks to the San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers, Vancouver Whitecaps, etc.
Also, if the San Jose Clash could become the San Jose Earthquakes, and then have the team moved to Houston and become the Houston Dynamo, and then a new expansion team become the San Jose Earthquakes again, and the Clash/Earthquakes, old and new, still be considered one MLS entity, it isn't much of a stretch to see the Rowdies in MLS as a continuation of the Mutiny.
And of course, to conclude, I also assume that the 2012 NASL Soccer Bowl trophy is in the possession of the current Tampa Bay Rowdies ownership, i.e., Bill Edwards. So it should be safe, at least.
I saw the Rowdies trophies once in person, I think it was circa 1981 or thereabouts; my family had moved to California in August 1980 but I came back to visit Tampa (I am uncertain exactly when, but around 1981 or so) and happened to visit the Rowdies offices. They had a display case with the trophies.
I do know that all of the NASL outdoor and indoor championships had trophies; I have seen pictures of Eddie Firmani being carried by Rowdies players, holding the 1976 indoor trophy. And of course I have seen pictures of the NASL Soccer Bowl runner-up trophy as well.
Other trophies are more obscure; I do not know if, for example, the NASL gave out trophies for winners of divisions or winners of conferences or regular season winners, premierships, team with the most regular season points, etc.
I have no idea what the Copa de Puerto Rico was, apart from what the wiki says, and I don't know if the Mutiny received an actual trophy for winning it or not. I won't put this one in bold, but if we have possession of it, if it exists, we can add it to the trophy case.
I have seen pictures of the Coastal Cup. It ain't much. I believe it was just a single cup that was passed around from winner to winner; rather cheap looking; not sure who has it now. I'm not bothering to put that one in bold, either, as it was a "rivalry cup" and not an actual league trophy. If we have possession of this cup we can add it to the trophy case, too, I guess.
I can't find the old Wikipedia entry for the Ponce De Leon Cup; there used to be one but the link is dead and all I can find are Big Soccer threads about it, circa 2010-15 and a reddit thread from 2015 and something called a "Wikiwand". There is also some debate apparently whether there was an actual physical trophy for this; apparently there was one but it was destroyed in a warehouse fire? It was another rivalry cup and not a league trophy. So no bold.
Likewise I am not putting the NASL Fair Play award in bold either; no idea if there was a physical trophy for this or not.
Here's hoping that all of this silverware is one day (soon!) gathered together and on display at Al Lang Stadium, in our very own Trophy Room, with our own Hall of Fame and Museum!
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Tampa Bay Rowdies 1975-1993:
1975 Indoor Region 3
1975 NASL Indoor Runner-Up
1975 NASL Eastern Division
1975 NASL Regular Season Runner-Up
1975 NASL Soccer Bowl Champions
1976 NASL Indoor East Region
1976 NASL Indoor Champions
1976 NASL Eastern Division, Atlantic Conference
1976 NASL Regular Season Premiership
1978 NASL Eastern Division, American Conference
1978 NASL American Conference
1978 NASL Soccer Bowl Runner-Up
1979 NASL Indoor Runner-Up
1979 NASL Eastern Division, American Conference
1979 NASL American Conference
1979 NASL Soccer Bowl Runner-Up
1979-80 NASL Indoor Champions
1980 NASL Eastern Division, American Conference
1981–82 NASL Indoor Atlantic Conference
1981-82 NASL Indoor Runner-Up
1983 NASL Indoor Champions
1989 ASL Southern Division
1992 ASPL Runner-Up
1992 Professional Cup Runner-Up
Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–93) Honors:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampa_Bay_Rowdies_%281975%E2%80%9393%29#Honors
Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–93) Honors – post-NASL:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampa_Bay_Rowdies_%281975%E2%80%9393%29#Honors.C2.A0.E2.80.93_post-NASL
Professional Cup Final:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Cup#Professional_Cup_Final
Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–93) Rowdies Cup:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampa_Bay_Rowdies_%281975%E2%80%9393%29#Rowdies_Cup
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Tampa Bay Mutiny 1996-2001:
1996 MLS Eastern Conference Regular Season Winners
1996 MLS Supporters' Shield
2000 Copa de Puerto Rico Winners
Tampa Bay Mutiny Honors:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampa_Bay_Mutiny#Honors
Torneo de Copa de Puerto Rico:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torneo_de_Copa_de_Puerto_Rico
MLS Supporters' Shield:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supporters%27_Shield
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Tampa Bay Rowdies 2010-present:
2010 Coastal Cup
2010 Ponce De Leon Cup
2011 Coastal Cup
2012 Ponce De Leon Cup
2011 NASL Fair Play Award
2012 Coastal Cup
2012 NASL Fair Play Award
2012 NASL Soccer Bowl Champions
2013 Coastal Cup
2014 NASL Fair Play Award
2016 Coastal Cup
Tampa Bay Rowdies Achievements:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampa_Bay_Rowdies#Achievements
NASL Soccer Bowl:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soccer_Bowl#NASL_Championship_.2F_Soccer_Bowl_.282011-present.29
North American Soccer League Other Awards - Fair Play Award
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Soccer_League_Other_Awards#Fair_Play_Award
Coastal Cup:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_Cup
Ponce De Leon Cup:
Big Soccer:
http://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/the-official-ponce-de-leon-cup-2010-thread.1313292/
http://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/the-official-2011-ponce-deleon-cup-thread.1715002/
http://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/ponce-de-le%C3%B3n-cup-revival-discussion.2021043/
reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/3ev89f/wait_what_is_the_ponce_de_leon_cup/
Defunct Wikipedia link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponce_De_Leon_Cup
Wikiwand:
http://www.wikiwand.com/en/2012_Tampa_Bay_Rowdies_season#/Ponce_De_Leon_Cup
"The trophy itself was purported to have been destroyed in 2010 in a warehouse fire."
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NASL Soccer Bowl Trophy, 1975:
https://i.imgur.com/qzHrJhp.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/kt5dheO.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/5Jf7tiQ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/0724y6s.jpg
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NASL Indoor Championship Trophy, 1976:
https://i.imgur.com/cWm6VYh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/MBJynZ3.jpg
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NASL Soccer Bowl Runner-Up Trophy, 1979:
https://i.imgur.com/Mc5fa25.jpg
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NASL Soccer Bowl Trophy, 2012:
https://i.imgur.com/KY6hxiQ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/NkDWJ7P.jpg
Coastal Cup:
https://i.imgur.com/OkOtgxn.jpg
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Rings are personal rather than team trophies, but thought I'd post these here too.
1975 NASL Soccer Bowl Championship Ring:
https://i.imgur.com/ewu1PAo.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/NPIlvvX.jpg
Apparently the NASL had rings for division champions? I had no idea this existed:
https://i.imgur.com/efct8mk.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/RLTuR4U.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/UHJe7LN.jpg
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2012 NASL Soccer Bowl Championship Ring:
https://i.imgur.com/KqkxwGX.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/jKSU7FE.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/xCsqtXH.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ehiFgaw.jpg
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While doing research for this post, I noticed images of this trophy; so apparently they are not using the original 1975 Soccer Bowl trophy any more for the Rowdies Cup (annual soccer competition between the University of South Florida and the University of Tampa). Does this mean that the current owners of the new era Tampa Bay Rowdies now have possession of the original 1975 Soccer Bowl trophy?
https://i.imgur.com/E1VtVeD.jpg
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Adding this post to my letter writing campaign page:
http://supportyourlocalfootballclub.blogspot.com/2016/11/updated-letter-writing-campaign-so-far.html
Here's to many more trophies and silverware in the Tampa Bay Rowdies future!
https://i.imgur.com/opLPKyR.jpg
#MLS2StPete #MLS2TampaBay #Rowdies2MLS #COYR
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