TOM NEVERS, 1979

Tom Nevers (L) blocks Minnesota's Willie Morgan in the Rogues 2-0 home loss to the Kicks, June 26, 1979.

BEFORE THEY WERE ROGUES

Paul Child

ROGUES vs STING, 1980

Charlie Cooke (8) is held back by the referee and Chicago's Dick Advocaat during a hostile match played June 3, 1980.  From what I remember Cooke was upset at an obvious foul by the Sting that was not called.  Charlie was heading for the guilty party (Jorgen Kristensen) when he was intercepted.  All turned out well, the Rogues got the win 3-2 in front of 10,321 at the Liberty Bowl.  The Rogues and Sting had a history of bad blood.  At one point the league even assigned a special English referee specifically for one of their matches.  It didn't help.  Memphis fans hated the Sting and threw beer, insults, and a variety of concessions at Sting players whenever the opportunity arose.

BEFORE THEY WERE ROGUES

Alan Birchenall
Thanks www.sporting-heroes.net

ROGUES vs STRIKERS, 1980

Official program from the match played July 4, 1980 at Ft. Lauderdale.

Rogues Line-up:

B. Stetler, C. Cooke, J. Berrio, B. Thomson, P. Cannell, P. Child, D. Vaughn, D. Stride, J. Faulkner, O. Vazquez, J. Steele

Subs used: 

M. Stankovic, P. D'Agostino, J. Husband
Strikers Line-up:
J. Van Beveren, A. Auguste, J. Pott, T. Gemeri, S. Ralbovsky, G. Mueller, R. Hudson, K. Fogarty, C. Fowles, T. Cubillas, A.Schoenmaker
Subs used:
J. Cacciatore, K. Waslander

Final Score: Strikers 2 (Cacciatore, Hudson) - Rogues 1 (Cooke)

Attendance: 16,392

ROGUES vs STRIKERS, 1980

Ossie Vazquez challenges the Strikers' Tibor Gemeri in action from July 4, 1980.  The Rogues lost 2-1 at Ft. Lauderdale's Lockhart Stadium with Charlie Cooke getting the lone Memphis goal. 

BEFORE THEY WERE ROGUES

Team photo of the 1976 Hartford Bicentennials featuring future Rogues Bobby Thomson, Henry McCully, Hugh O'Neill, and Gene DuChateau.

WALKER & ASSOCIATES, 1978

BEFORE THEY WERE ROGUES

Jado Hasanbegovic

ROGUES NOVELTY COUPON, 1980

ROGUES vs MANCHESTER CITY, 1980

The Rogues warm up before the match against Manchester City in 1980.  I took this pic with my brother's fully manual 35mm camera and had no clue how to use it.  Man City won 2-1 in a shoot-out.

BEFORE THEY WERE ROGUES

Bob McAlinden

PHIL BEAL and JOHN FAULKNER, 1978

BEFORE THEY WERE ROGUES

Antonio "Toni" Carbognani

THE "VOGUES'" FAN DAY, 1978

Rogues' fan Bill sent along another great photo from the Rogues' 1978 fan day.  This one is of his dad surrounded by members of the Rogues cheerleaders, the"Vogues."  Thanks Bill, this photo is fantastic!

FRANZ St. LOT, 1979

Franz pictured in action against Tulsa during the 1979-80 NASL indoor season.

Thanks nasljerseys.com

BEFORE THEY WERE ROGUES

Eddie Kelly.  Ok, so Eddie Kelly never played for the Rogues.  He WAS to be be signed but got hurt and the transfer fell through.  Still, he did appear in some of the initial media information after the franchise was announced.  For this reason, I consider him part of the Rogues history.

MYSTERY SOLVED!

A few weeks back I posted this ad for "the Flaming Hearth" restaurant from 1978.  It features Hugh O'Neill, John Houska, and Fran Lemons.  The guy sitting behind the soccer ball was the mystery.  He was not listed on the Rogues player roster and I had no clue to his identity.  Thanks to former Houston Hurricane (NASL) and Memphis Americans (MISL) player Matt O'Sullivan the mystery is solved.  I received an e-mail from Matt and he told me that the person in question is Ray Nolan.  Ray played college soccer at Chico State in California.  He spent a short time with the Rogues before moving to the Houston Hurricane where he made several appearances for the Hurricane's reserve team.  Very special thanks go out to Matt O'Sullivan for providing the answer to this question.

ROGUES BIO: RUBEN ASTIGARRAGA, '79

BEFORE THEY WERE ROGUES

Cleveland Lewis (kneeling) pictured with his Brandeis University coach Mike Coven in 1976.  

DAVID STRIDE, 1979

David Stride in action at the Mid-South Coliseum during the 1979-80 NASL Indoor Season.

ON HOLIDAY, BACK NEXT WEEK!

BEFORE THEY WERE ROGUES

John Faulkner (second row, first on left).

ROGUES BIO: DAVE GRIMALDI, '78-'79

BEFORE THEY WERE ROGUES

Roman Rosul (21), then with the Connecticut Bicentennials, fights for the ball with Rochester's Messias Timula at the Yale Bowl on June 26, 1977.  Final score, Connecticut 2 - Rochester 1.

LOCAL AD FEATURING ROGUES PLAYERS, 1978

This ad for "The Flaming Hearth" featured, from left to right, ?, Fran Lemons, John Houska, and Hugh O'Neill.  It was a bar/ restaurant that would run shuttle buses from the restaurant to the games.  It closed down a while back but the building is still there and is currently unoccupied.  I do not know the identity of the guy on the far left behind the soccer ball.  He is not pictured in any media guide or team photo.  If anyone knows who he is please let me know!  You can contact me at gorogues@gmail.com.

TODAY IN ROGUES HISTORY...

On June 10, 1980, the Rogues beat the Tampa Bay Rowdies 2-0.  This was the first (and only) outdoor win the Rogues had against the Rowdies.  There was quite a bit of local hype for this game because the Rowdies had beaten the Rogues for the NASL Indoor Championship the previous winter.  Goals by Jado Hasanbegovic and Paul Child plus a Bob Stetler shutout gave the Rogues a memorable home victory.

Rogues line-up:  B. Stetler, M. Stankovic, J. Berrio, J. Hasanbegovic, B. Thomson, A. Carbognani, P. Cannell, P. Child, D. Stride, M. Stojsavljevic, J. Faulkner.

Subs used:  P. D'Agostino, T. Field, J. Husband.

Attendance:  14,315

ROGUES BIO: CLEVELAND LEWIS, 1978

BEFORE THEY WERE ROGUES

Henry "Mad Dog" McCully (16) playing for the Connecticut Bicentennials in a game against the Chicago Sting in the 1977 NASL season.

ROGUES 1 - DIPLOMATS 2, JULY 19,1980

Sports article from the Washington, D.C. paper reporting the details of the Diplomats 2-1 win against the Rogues at the Liberty Bowl.  I remember getting to the Stadium about 3 hours before the game to wait on the Washington team.   I wanted to meet Johan Cruyff.  Eventually the team arrived and I met Cruyff as he was coming off the bus.  I had seen films of him from the 1974 World Cup and read alot about him so he was a hero of mine.  He was very nice and signed an autograph for me.  I still have it.
Special thanks for the article to Jim at the Washington Diplomats blog

TODAY IN ROGUES HISTORY...

On June 3, 1978 the Memphis Rogues returned to the Liberty Bowl to play another expansion team, the Colorado Caribou.  Memphis came out on top 2-0 on goals from Tony Field and Henry McCully.  Goalie John Houska recorded his second shutout.

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

Attendance:  6,890

COMPLIMENTARY TICKETS, 1980

Complimentary tickets for the April 12, 1980 home game against the San Diego Sockers.  It was "First Tennessee Bank Night."  Final score: Sockers 2 - Rogues 1.

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