| Full name | Philadelphia Fury | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Fury | ||
| Founded | 1978 | ||
| Dissolved | 1980 | ||
| Stadium | Veterans Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 60,000 | ||
| League | North American Soccer League | ||
ThePhiladelphia Fury was an Americansoccer team that competed in theNorth American Soccer League (NASL) from1978 to1980. The team was based inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania and played their home games atVeterans Stadium. The team's ownership group included rock musiciansRick Wakeman,Peter Frampton,Mick Jagger, andPaul Simon. During the team's three years of play in Philadelphia it never had a winning record, but qualified for, and advanced to the second round, of the1979 playoffs. After the 1980 NASL season, the team was sold and moved to Montreal, rebranding as theMontreal Manic.
Philadelphia had previously been represented in theNorth American Soccer League (NASL) by thePhiladelphia Atoms starting in1973 with the team winning theNASL Final in its first year,[1] but the team folded after the1976 season concluded and a move to San Antonio did not come to fruition.[2] In November 1977, Philadelphia was announced as the location of the NASL's twenty-second franchise for the upcoming1978 season withRick Wakeman,Peter Frampton,Mick Jagger, andPaul Simon announced as members of the ownership group.[3] Bob Ehlinger, former NASL deputy commissioner and the former general manager of theAtoms was appointed general manager and executive vice president of the new team.[4] The following month, Rick Wakeman and formerYes managerBrian Lane led a press conference announcing the team would be known as theFury and that formerNewcastle United F.C. managerRichard Dinnis had been hired to be the team's head coach. The organization also announced that it had reached a financial settlement with original Atoms ownerThomas McCloskey and intended to settle approximately $90,000 remaining outstanding debts owed by the previous franchise. During the press conference, formerChelsea andSouthampton strikerPeter Osgood was introduced as the team's first signing.[5] In January 1978, the Fury signed Irish midfielderJohnny Giles[6] and a week before the seasonSouthampton MidfielderAlan Ball and formerChelsea F.C. center backJohn Dempsey were brought into the club.[7] In June 1978 and the team in last place with a record of six wins and ten losses, Dinnis resigned his position as head coach.[8] A few days later midfielder Alan Ball was named player-coach as his replacement.[9] The team's penultimate game of the season ended in controversy withPierce O'Leary, on loan from Ireland'sShamrock Rovers F.C., attempted to attack refereeGeorge Courtney afterToronto Metros-Croatia strikerSead Sušić scored a goal in sudden death overtime.[10] The Fury finished the season in last place of the Eastern Division of the American Conference with a record of twelve wins and eighteen losses.[1] The team set a league record of 527-plus minutes without scoring a goal[11] and were shutout a record twelve times during the season.[12]
On February 16, 1979, formerYugoslavia national team coachMarko Valok was announced as the team's new head coach.[13] During the offseason, GM Ehlinger brought in goalkeeperKeith Van Eron from theHouston Hurricane, strikerDavie Robb from theTampa Bay Rowdies and four Yugoslav players, includingNiki Nikolic who came in a deal from theTulsa Roughnecks along with EnglishmenJimmy Redfern.[14] As of the team's home opener on March 31, 1979, only four players from the previous seasons' roster were still on the team, including John Dempsey.[12] Alan Ball agreed to return after Southampton was defeated byNottingham Forest in the1978–79 Football League Cup, but only play eight games for the team before his loan deal was sold to theVancouver Whitecaps.[15][16][17] On April 16, 1979, General Manager Bob Ehlinger resigned his position due to disagreements with the ownership group, Sam L'Hommedieu, a theater manager and concert promoter, was named as his interim replacement.[18] In May 1979, England'sFirst Division leading goal scorerFrank Worthington was brought over on loan from theBolton Wanderers.[19] On June 20, 1979, the Fury named Tom Fleck, youth coordinator for theUnited States Soccer Federation, as general manager.[20] Despite the roster and management changes, the Fury ended the1979 season with a losing record of ten wins and twenty losses, having lost all fifteen away matches.[21] However, with the NASL standings based awarding teams six points for a win and one point for each regulation goal scored up to three per game, the Fury earned third place of the American Conference Eastern Division, finishing one point over theNew England Tea Men who had won twelve games but only scored forty one goals, fourteen less, than the Fury for the season, and qualifying for the playoffs.[1] The Fury defeated theHouston Hurricane at home 2-1[22] in the first leg of Conference Quarterfinals and beat the Hurricanes in Houston by the same score, the team's first road victory in fifteen attempts.[23] The team was defeated in the Conference Semifinals by theTampa Bay Rowdies two games to none.[24] A few weeks later, Marko Valok resigned his position as head coach to return to Yugoslavia.[25] John Dempsey was named NASL Co-Defender of Year.[26] In October 1979,Eddie Firmani, former head coach of the1975 NASL ChampionTampa Bay Rowdies and back-to-back1977 and1978 NASL championNew York Cosmos, was announced as the new Fury head coach with a three-year deal.[27]
At the beginning of 1980,George O'Neill head coach of theMajor Indoor Soccer League team thePhiladelphia Fever and member of theNASL 1973 Championship winningPhiladelphia Atoms was hired as an assistant coach.[28] The roster was revamped again, with less than half of the previous season's roster returning.[29]Davie Robb who had led the team in scoring the previous season as well as acting as team captain and voted team MVP was traded to theVancouver Whitecaps.[30] Notable additions to the squad brought in by Firmani includedNetherlands national team forwardBobby Vosmaer,Đorđe Koković, andAndrew Parkinson.[21] After training for two weeks in theMiami area, the Fury played two games against thePuerto Rico national team in Puerto Rico, winning both before opening the season against theTampa Bay Rowdies.[31] On May 17, 1980, it was reported thatMolson Brewery was negotiating to purchase the team and move it toMontreal.[32] Rumors of the move continued throughout the season.[33][34] The Fury ended the1980 season in last place of the with a record of ten wins and twenty-two losses.[1] Managing directorLarry Levine announced that if a local buyer could be found, the team would be sold to Molson. On October 6, 1980, NASL CommissionerPhil Woosnam announced the team ownership rights had been transferred to Molson and Montreal.[35] The team had reportedly lost more than $3.1 million in its three seasons.[36]
| Year | Record | Regular season finish | Playoffs | Avg. Attend. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 12–18 | 4th, Eastern Division, American Conference | First Round | 8,280 |
| 1979 | 10–20 | 3rd, Eastern Division, American Conference | American Conference Semifinals | 5,626 |
| 1980 | 10–22 | 4th, Eastern Division, American Conference | Did not qualify | 4,465 |
NASL championships
Division titles
All-star selections
Defender of the year
U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame members
Richard Dinnis 1978Alan Ball, Jr. 1978
Marko Valok 1979
Eddie Firmani 1980In February 2014 it was announced[38] that thePhiladelphia Fury would compete in the inaugural season of the newAmerican Soccer League (ASL) after being purchased by former MLS Assistant Coach and ASL CEO, Matt Driver. The new Fury carry the colors of the original team but played home games atWashington Township High School in New Jersey.
