Sports in The Tampa Bay Area - Historical Teams and Venues - Defunct Teams - Tampa Bay Rowdies

The Tampa Bay Rowdies were the first major professional sports team in the area. As such, they were also the first pro franchise to make Tampa Stadium its home field and the first to use use "Tampa Bay" in their name. They began play in 1975 as an expansion franchise of the original North American Soccer League (NASL). The Rowdies won the inaugural Soccer Bowl in 1975, bringing Tampa Bay its first professional sports championship, and were successful for most of their existence. The NASL folded in 1984, but the Rowdies continued play in other outdoor and indoor soccer leagues (in Tampa Stadium and St. Petersburg's Bayfront Center, respectively) before finally folding in 1993.

A new incarnation of the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the new North American Soccer League took the field in 2010. While a licensing dispute forced the franchise to call itself "FC Tampa Bay" for its initial two seasons, the new club used the old club's green and gold color scheme and include a star for the Rowdies' 1975 championship in their team shield The team officially began using the "Rowdies" name for the 2012 season.