
Philadelphia Fury
The 'Philadelphia Fury' was a
soccer team based in
Philadelphia that played in the
North American Soccer League from
1978 to
1980. Among the club's investors were rock musicians
Rick Wakeman,
Peter Frampton and
Paul Simon. The team played at
Veterans Stadium.
The Fury returned NASL soccer to Philadelphia for the first time since the
Philadelphia Atoms folded in 1976. Although never posting a winning season, they did make the playoffs in two of their three seasons. But attendance declined with each season and after a poor year on the pitch and at the gate in 1980, the club was sold and moved to become the
Montreal Manic.
Notable Philadelphia Fury players included
Johnny Giles,
Alan Ball and
Peter Osgood, all of whom starred in England before joining the club; although Osgood was a major disappointment (1 goal in 23 matches), Giles was a solid perfomer, and Ball was a star (and served as player-coach in 1978 after the dismissal of manager Richard Dinnis).
Other star performers for the Fury included all-league defender John Dempsey, Pat Fidelia,
David Robb,
Frank Worthington and
Bob Rigby.
Year-by-year
| Year | Record | Regular Season Finish | Playoffs |
|---|
| 1978 | 12-18 | 4th, Eastern Division, American Conference | First Round |
| 1979 | 10-20 | 3rd, Eastern Division, American Conference | American Conference Semifinals |
| 1980 | 10-22 | 4th, Eastern Division, American Conference | ''Did Not Qualify'' |
Honors
'NASL championships'
★ none
'Division titles'
★ none
'All-star second team selections'
★ 1978
Alan Ball, Jr.
Head coaches
★
Richard Dinnis 1978
★
Alan Ball, Jr. 1978
★
Marko Valok 1979
★
Eddie Firmani 1980
Yearly average attendance
★ 1978 - 8,280
★ 1979 - 5,626
★ 1980 - 4,465
External link
★
Brief history of the Fury by American soccer historian Steve Holroyd