I only moved here a year ago. Before that, I had never heard of the Roughnecks. I coach my son's U14 soccer team. The parents of these kids who have lived here long enough ALL know and talk about the Roughnecks. I had no idea they were that popular around here.
Tulsa really did love the Roughnecks. Even after the collapse of the league, many of the players continued to be local celebrities for years and years. I don't really think, at this point, Tulsa will get an MLS team (at least not in the next 4 years), but if they do, there should be great optimism that it will be well supported.
Even though I didn't live in Tulsa I was a big fan of the Roughnecks. I still have an autographed photos of Winston Dubose, Futcher and Caskey.
All I have is the stories of my parents and soccer coaches growing up. All whome very fonldy remember the Roughnecks. Go to soccer tournements or adult leagues, and your bound to here someone saying something about them. Definately too bad they haven't been ressurected properly.
Here is a list of the Roughnecks games I have on videotape. I am still looking for tapes of the great 1979 playoff series against the Cosmos. The Roughnecks won the first game 3-0, but then lost the second game and the mini-game in the Meadowlands. DaveBrett@msn.com May 27, 1978 Minnesota Kicks 2 at Roughnecks 3 June 24, 1978 Roughnecks 1 at Seattle Sounders 0 1978 Playoff: Roughnecks 1 at Minnesota Kicks 3 Mar 30, 1979 Roughnecks 4 at Seattle Sounders 3 April 14, 1979 Rochester Lancers 2 at Roughnecks 5 June 13, 1979 Cosmos 3 at Roughnecks 2 Mar 29, 1980 Roughnecks 1 at Houston Hurricane 0 April 26, 1980 Cosmos 1 at Roughnecks 2 May 31, 1980 Roughnecks 1 at T. Bay Rowdies 3 June 15, 1980 Roughnecks 3 at Edmonton Drillers 1 June 29, 1980 Roughnecks 1 at Lancers 2 (2nd half + OT) July 2, 1980 Seattle Sounders 1 at Roughnecks 0 July 9, 1980 Roughnecks at Kicks (1st half only) Aug 2, 1980 Chcago Sting 1 at Roughnecks 3 Aug 6, 1980 Roughnecks 1 at Sounders 4 1980 Playoff: Roughnecks 1 at Cosmos 8 - Giorgio Chinaglia 7 goals (This is an Italian rebroadcast with commentary by Giorgio in Italian.) June 6, 1981 New England Tea Men 3 at Roughnecks 2 April 3, 1982 Roughnecks at Rowdies (1st half only) June 5, 1982 T. Bay Rowdies 0 at Roughnecks 2 July 8, 1982 Ft. Lauderdale Strikers 1 at Roughnecks 3 July 17, 1982 Toronto Blizzard 1 at Roughnecks 5 Aug. 4, 1982 Vancouver Whitecaps 2 at Roughnecks 1 Aug 18, 1982 Tulsa Roughnecks 1 at Cosmos 3 1982 Playoffs: Cosmos 0 at Roughnecks 1 Aug 06, 1983 Roughnecks 1 at Earthquakes 2 Aug 21, 1983 Roughnecks 3 at Team America 2 1983 Playoffs: Roughnecks 4 at Strikers 2 1983 SOCCER BOWL: Roughnecks 2 vs Blizzard 0 May 25, 1984 Roughnecks 2 at Chicago Sting 3 June 17, 1984 Roughnecks 2 at Chicago Sting 3 June 24, 1984 Roughnecks 1 at NY Cosmos 3 July 08, 1984 Roughnecks 1 at Earthquakes 4 Aug 16, 1984 Chicago Sting 1 at Roughnecks 2 www.DaveBrett.com
Funny that the Roughnecks came to Tulsa right around the time I was playing on a U14 soccer team. The name came from a "name the team" contest in '77. There was really no reason back in the day to think NASL soccer would succeed in Tulsa-- no tradition, no history. And the Stars had just moved from St Louis to play as the California Surf (Anaheim). https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=384090 I think most of us Tulsans who remember the real Roughnecks from when we were kids now are in our mid-30s to mid-40s... I'll be tempted to post memories of some of those games from DaveBrett... used to buy my issues of Soccer Digest at the Albertson's on 31st and Garnett... I hear it's now outta business and up-for-sale... times change...
Imagine how a team would do now in a league that actually has a concerted business plan and some stability... Has anyone thought about trying to get the Cherokee or Creek Nations in on this? An SSS in Catoosa next to the Cherokee Casino/Golf resort? Sequoyah FC! (call them the Roughnecks as a nickname)
Creek/Cherokee Nations tend not to make high risk/low return investments. Why does this bad idea keep turning up?
Or something like this.... Jenks may lure Drillers By SUSAN HYLTON World Staff Writer 8/21/2007 Last Modified: 8/21/2007 9:41 AM The club has a nonbinding agreement with a group planning a riverside shopping development. http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=070821_1_A1_hThec72150 Too bad the Drillers AA ballclub appears to be a more valuable asset to Tulsa area real estate developers than the prospect of a new MLS team... I'm starting to believe that Tulsa's (and possibly OKC's) chances at MLS died about the time Uncle Lamar did...
As long as we're going down memory lane... this from Lamar Hunt in 2002... http://www.tulsaworld.com/sports/article.aspx?articleID=020818_Sp_b1sittler
http://kotv.com/news/local/story/?id=134394 Previous Plans To Move The Drillers Have All Failed KOTV - 8/21/2007 9:45 PM - Updated 8/22/2007 6:14 AM Wow. Some real selective memory there... no mention of the soccer stadium planned in Nov. 2005 for the "East End." And when the local CBS affiliate tries to claim the a downtown ballpark was part of the 1997 Tulsa Project (it wasn't), they show a picture of this.... The stadium above was Tulsa's proposed 5,000 seat soccer/track and field facility from 1997 that would be built in downtown expandable to MLS specs...
My Father, who grew up in Tulsa and went on to play for Edison and then OU in gridiron, always speaks highly of Tulsa and his time there. I recall going to one NASL match as a very young lad here in Houston. That of course was opening day in '80 when Tulsa Roughnecks visited my Houston HurricanE in the old Astrodome to start that 1980 NASL season. Kyle Rote Jr. was on our roster at that time as well. I don't know if you OK folks know of his story from gridiron to soccer but it is a cool one. He went to OK. St. on a gridiron scholarship and then dropped everything to play college soccer in Tennessee. He was the first U.S. pro soccer player to make the cover of SI. The Mathis of the 70's so to speak. The Roughnecks 2.0 that played in our old USL-Div2 was a quality franchise and should not be forgotten by any stretch. Houston also had the Houston Hurricanes FC this time around and I went to many of those matches in our old South Central Divison of the USL. That was circa 1999. Much like Houston and Dallas where gridiron is religion but soccer was planted and allowed to grow, Tulsa has indeed a very strong soccer culture there. I don't know if it is MLS strong as the expansion spots are filling up quickly in our 18 team league as Garber sees it....but best wishes to Tulsa soccer culture.
I was actually at the game when Colin Bolton pulled out the chair and sat down in front of goal. It was the first soccer game I had ever been to. I remember it was against Minnesota Kicks who were, as I remember it, one of Tulsa's most bitter rivals. I somehow got my granddad to drive me 2 hours from Stigler, OK to Tulsa to see the game. He didn't know ANYTHING about soccer, but he seemed to have a good time. I also remember that since it was SKELLY stadium there was a large foam Gas pump walking around the sidelines!