BEFORE THEY WERE ROGUES

Chris Bennett

ROGUES BIO: GENE DuCHATEAU, 1979

HENRY McCULLY, 1978

Henry McCully (12) challenges Terry White of the California Surf in a game played August 2, 1978 at the Liberty Bowl.  The Rogues won 3-0 on a hat-trick by Jimmy Husband. Memphis goalkeeper Tony Burns got the shutout.

ROGUES 1 - COSMOS 0, MAY 24, 1978

TODAY IN ROGUES HISTORY...

May 24, 1978.  The biggest day in Memphis Rogues' history.  This was the day the mighty New York Cosmos, the original "Galacticos," came to town to play the Rogues.  Memphis was fresh off their first win and spirits were riding high.  The general feeling of the Cosmos was that this would be little more than a practice game for them.  Pele' was supposed to be the special guest but had to cancel due to his wife filing for divorce.  Franz Beckenbauer had a slight thigh strain so the Cosmos rested him.  Besides, they wouldn't need him against Memphis.  This was also Tony Field's first chance to play against his former team.  He was voted the Cosmos' MVP for the 1977 season.  A season that saw them win Soccer Bowl.  Field was then let go and signed by the Rogues.  The lowly Memphis Rogues beat the Cosmos 1-0 on a goal by...Tony Field.  David Stride picked up a ball at midfield, raced down the sideline, and sent a cross into a crowded goal mouth.  Cosmos goalie Erol Yasin batted the ball straight down to a waiting Tony Field who hammered his shot into the top of the net.  The place went crazy!  On the night, Carlos Alberto was shown a straight red card for a foul on Phil Holder, John Houska played fantastic in goal to get his first shutout, and John Faulkner marked Giorgio Chinaglia out of the game.  Things went so bad for Chinaglia that ,late on, Cosmos head coach Eddie Firmani substituted him.  Chinaglia was livid!  This directly led to Firmani being sacked.  You did NOT cross Chinaglia.  One of my favorite memories of the game was seeing Tony Field taunt the Cosmos bench by pointing to them and then pointing to the scoreboard.  A great night!

Rogues line-up:  J. Houska, B. Thomson, J. Faulkner, P. Beal, P. D'agostino, N. Smillie, T. Field, H. McCully, J. Husband, D. Stride, P. Holder.

Cosmos line-up:  E. Yasin, B. Smith, C. Alberto, N. Morais, S. Formoso, V. Bogicevic, G. Chinaglia, S. Hunt, W. Roth, D. Tueart, V. Dimitrijevic.  Subs used:  G. Etherington, R. Davis, F. Grgurev.

Attendance:  11,223

"BIG" BILL MARCUM and EDDIE McCREADIE, 1978

Rogues co-owner Bill Marcum (L) and head coach Eddie McCreadie have a celebratory cigarette in the locker room following the Rogues upset of the Dallas Tornado 3-1 on May 20, 1978.  It was the Rogues franchise's first win following nine straight losses.  There were only a little more than 8,000 fans at the Liberty Bowl but I remember that everyone was excited and hoping that this could be THE night.  After the first few minutes it was obvious that the Rogues were running all over Dallas.  Even the Tornado's late goal to spoil the shut-out did little to dampen everyone's excitement.  After the game the team did their first victory lap, applauding the fans, and hoisting head coach Eddie McCreadie up on their shoulders.  It was a great night but a better one was just a few days away!

TODAY IN ROGUES HISTORY...

May 20, 1978, the Rogues finally get the franchise's first win defeating the Dallas Tornado 3-1 in front of 8,102 home fans at the Liberty Bowl.  The Rogues' goals were scored by Neil Smillie, Tony Field, and Henry McCully.  John O'Hare scored the lone Tornado goal. This was John Houska's first start in goal for Memphis. Dallas was expected to humiliate the Rogues as they were one of the league's established teams and Memphis, an expansion team,  had lost their first nine games. One of the few who didn't sell the Rogues short was Dallas' Kyle Rote, Jr.  He commented that the Tornado needed to be careful because the Rogues had nothing to lose and that made them a serious threat to pull an upset.  They did.

  The Rogues' line-up: J. Houska, B. Thomson, J. Faulkner, P. Beal, P. D'Agostino, N. Smillie, T. Field, H. McCully, J. Husband, D. Stride, P. Holder.  Substitutes used: A. Birchenall.

BEFORE THEY WERE ROGUES

Phil Beal

ROGUES FAN CLUB NEWSPAPER, 1980

ROGUES vs DETROIT, 1978

Newspaper photo showing action from the Rogues vs Detroit Express played May 28, 1978 at the Pontiac Silverdome.  Roman Rosul came off the bench to score two goals for the Rogues but Detroit got the win 3-2 in overtime. The Rogues line-up was: Houska, Thomson, Faulkner, Beal, D'Agostino, Smillie, Field, McCully, Husband, Stride, Holder.  Substitutes used: Mohrmann, Birchenall, Rosul.  Attendance: 9,649.

BEFORE THEY WERE ROGUES

Bob Stetler

Thanks to Jim for the photo!

JORGE BERRIO vs MANCHESTER CITY, 1980

Man City played in Memphis on May 17, 1980.  The game ended in a 1-1 tie with Ossie Vazquez scoring the Rogues lone goal.  Man City won the shootout and the game 2-1.  The interesting side note to this game was that Malcolm Allison, the Rogues first coach, was the Manchester City manager.  Allison was fired about six weeks before the Rogues first game in 1978 for not having assembled a team.  The owners became impatient and sacked him. 

ROGUES vs ROWDIES, 1979

Action from the May 30, 1979 game against Tampa Bay at Tampa Stadium.  The Rogues lost 2 -1 with the lone Rogues goal scored by Jimmy Husband.

TODAY IN ROGUES HISTORY...

On May 5, 1979, the Memphis Rogues played away at California, losing to the Surf 1-0.  The Rogues line-up: J. Houska, F. St. Lot, J. Faulkner, H. McCully, B. Thomson, C. Cooke, R. Astigarraga, J. Husband, T. Field, R. Rosul, M. Gonzalez.  California's Steve David scored the game's only goal.  Attendance was 8,662.

BEFORE THEY WERE ROGUES

Jimmy Husband

HUGH O'NEILL, 1978

MEMPHIS ROGUES vs CRYSTAL PALACE FC, 1979

Crystal Palace 3 - Rogues 1

ROGUES vs KICKS, 1980

BEFORE THEY WERE ROGUES

Rudy Ybarra (19), then with the L.A. Aztecs, battles Alec Lindsay of the Oakland Stompers during the 1978 Season.  Rudy came to the Rogues in 1979.
Photo courtesy of Dave at nasljerseys.com

ROGUES STAFF, 1980

I would like to ask that if any of these Rogues' staffers have photos or stories to share for the blog, please contact Andy at gorogues@gmail.com.  It will be very appreciated!

PRE-SEASON, 1979

I cut this out of the newspaper when I was a kid but didn't keep the article.  It is from a Rogues pre-season game prior to the 1979 season.  I think the opposing team in the photo is the Atlanta Chiefs   (the relocated Colorado Caribou).  Midfielder Miguel Napoli was not selected for the '79 season roster.

JOHN HOUSKA, 1978

John Houska frustrates Giorgio Chinaglia during the Rogues 1 - 0 win against the Cosmos on May 24,1978.

Very special thanks to John Houska for the autograph and the great memories.

BEFORE THEY WERE ROGUES

Bobby Thomson (4) tangles with Pele during the New York Cosmos vs Connecticut Bicentennials match played July 31, 1977 at Giants' Stadium.  The Cosmos won 3 - 1.  Bobby moved to the Rogues the following season.

FORMER MEMPHIS ROGUES OFFICE

This building, located at 2200 Union Avenue, served as the office for the Memphis Rogues from 1978 to 1980.  I can remember that the entrance was on the left side by the driveway.  Inside was a long counter, behind which the ticket sellers and secretaries were located.  At the back of the sales area was a hallway that led to all of the individual offices for the owners, coach, marketing, etc.  It wasn't uncommon to see players or even an owner helping out at the ticket counter.  I think we bought our season tickets from one of the owners who was working the front while the sales person was at lunch.  Can you imagine today's team owners doing that?  Oh and by the way, the Memphis Rogues phone number?  526-KICK.

ROGUES UNIFORM LETTERING, 1978

Thanks logoshak.com.

BUMPER STICKER, 1978

BEFORE THEY WERE ROGUES

Danny Vaughn

JAN BRATTON, "THE GOLDEN VOGUE," 1978

GOAL FAULKNER! 1980

The Rogues celebrate John Faulkner's goal against the Chicago Sting at the Liberty Bowl in 1980.  Final Score: Rogues 3, Sting 2.

MORE ROGUES FAN MEMORIES!

Rogues fan Bill sent me these great photos from the Rogues fan day on August 2, 1978, just prior to the home game against the California Surf.  Bill was seven years old (he's the one in the tank top) and attended the game with his brother, sister, and father.  The players pictured are:  Henry "Mad Dog" McCully (12), John Houska (20), Neil "Beep, Beep" Smillie (4), Tony Field (10), and Bobby "B.T. Express" Thomson (2).  Bill, thanks very much for sharing these great photos!  It is really appreciated!  If anyone else has any Rogues related photos, please e-mail them to me at gorogues@gmail.com.

BEFORE THEY WERE ROGUES

Paul Child

ROGUES vs MANCHESTER CITY FC, 1980

JORGE BERRIO and FAMILY, 1980

JUNIOR ROGUES CLUB APPLICATION, 1980

ROMAN ROSUL, 1978

Roman Rosul (18) clashes with Keith Furphy of the Detroit Express at Liberty Bowl Stadium on June 21, 1978.  The Rogues lost 4 -1.

BEFORE THEY WERE ROGUES

Tom Nevers (L) from his days with the Chicago Sting.

ROGUES FAN MEMORIES

I received an e-mail from Greg who sent along some great Rogues memories and pictures.  The photo of Greg (next to his sister), his brothers and sister with Jorge Berrio and Toni Carbogniani is from the 1980 fan day.  The back of the photo is autographed by Carbogniani.  Memphis played a friendly against Crystal Palace FC of England in 1979.  Greg sent along a scan of the ticket stub that he carries in his wallet! Thanks very much to Greg for sending these.  It is VERY appreciated!

ROGUES vs SOUNDERS, 1979

Ruben Astigarraga challenges Seattle's Frank Barton during the Rogues 3-1 loss at the Kingdome.

BEFORE THEY WERE ROGUES

Charlie Cooke

JOHN HOUSKA vs DALLAS TORNADO, 1980

John Houska (1) saves from Dallas' Njego Pesa.

BOBBY THOMSON vs TULSA, 1978

Bobby Thomson (L) heads away from the Roughnecks' Don O' Riordan and Charlie Mitchell (6).

CHARLIE COOKE vs SAN DIEGO, 1980

Charlie Cooke (R) challenges the Sockers' Rodney Bush as Dieter Suchanek (17) looks on.