Memphis Rogues
 |
|
| Full name | Memphis Rogues |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Rogues |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Dissolved | 1980 |
| Stadium |
Liberty Bowl Mid-South Coliseum (indoor) |
| Capacity | 51,000 |
| Chairman |
Beau Rogers Avron Fogelman |
| Coach |
Malcolm Allison Eddie McCreadie Charlie Cooke |
| League | North American Soccer League |
The Memphis Rogues were a professional soccer team in the former North American Soccer League. They operated in the 1978, 1979, and 1980 seasons and played their home games in Memphis' Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. They also played indoor soccer at the Mid-South Coliseum during the 1979–80 season.
“We’re the Ramblin’ Rogues from Memphis, the biggest kick in town!” – Rogues fight song.
In the mid-1970s, two men, Harry T. Mangurian, Jr. and Beau Rogers, joined forces to establish a new North American Soccer League (NASL) franchise. Mangurian owned a horse racing track in Florida, and Rogers was part-owner and general manager of the Tampa Bay Rowdies. As the two men searched for a city to serve as home for their new team, they looked at several locations in the southern U.S. – including New Orleans, Houston, Nashville and Atlanta – before settling on Memphis, Tennessee. Next, they decided to name the team the "Rogues" in part as an allusion to the Rowdies, as well as for a desire to have an elephant mascot (a "Rogue" elephant).
The team made its first mistake when it hired Malcolm Allison as its first coach. Allison came from Turkish powerhouse Galatasaray but his time in Memphis would be very short. Allison had achieved much controversy during his time in England, and when he had failed to sign a sufficient number of players for the inaugural season, he was dismissed without having coached a match and replaced by ex-Chelsea star Eddie McCreadie. The club finished the 1978 season in third place in its division and did not make the playoffs. Attendance averaged 8,708 a match, 17th in the 24-team league.
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