The Connecticut Bicentennials were an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

to 1977. Originally founded as the Hartford Bicentennials, the team relocated to

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

after the 1976 NASL season. At the end of 1977 season, the team was sold and relocated to California becoming the

Oakland Stompers The Oakland Stompers were a soccer team based out of Oakland, California that played the 1978 season in the North American Soccer League (NASL). The Stompers played in the Western Division of the American Conference and finished the year with a ...

History

Founded in 1975, and owned by local businessman Bob Darling, the team's name was a reference to the upcoming bicentennial anniversary of the United States founding in 1976. The team began play during the 1975 NASL Indoor tournament, finishing second in Region 2 and missing the final four on

goal difference Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches a ...

. Prior to the 1975 outdoor season, the Bicentennials signed fourteen players from the

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

American Soccer League (ASL) champions Rhode Island Oceaneers, including goalkeeper Arnie Mausser,

Charlie McCully Charles Findlay McCully (April 30, 1947 – October 23, 2007) was a soccer player who played as a forward. He spent two seasons in the American Soccer League, one in the German American Soccer League and five in the North American Soccer Leagu ...

, and

Mohammad Attiah Mohammad "Baby Jet" Attiah is a retired Ghanaian professional football (soccer) forward. He played two seasons in the North American Soccer League. In 1966, Attiah began his professional career in Ghana as a sixteen-year-old. He left Ghana in 1 ...

, as well as hiring the Oceaneers' head coach

Manny Schellscheidt Manfred "Manny" Schellscheidt (born January 17, 1941) is a German-American soccer coach and former player. Born in Solingen in the Prussian Rhine Province, he emigrated to the United States in the 1970s. He spent three seasons in the North America ...

and General Manager Michael Bosson. The Bicentennials finished their inaugural season in last place of the Northern Division with a record of six wins and sixteen loses and an average attendance of 3,720 playing their home games at the

Dillon Stadium Trinity Health Stadium (formerly Dillon Stadium) is a multipurpose facility in Hartford, Connecticut. It has been host to concerts and sporting events. It was formerly the home of the New England Nightmare of the Women's Football Alliance (W ...

which they shared with the Connecticut Yankees of the ASL. After the season, Bosson was replaced by the GM of the Connecticut Yankees Rudi Schiffer and, along with the signing of three european players, the contract of goalkeeper Arnie Mausser, who had allowed a record 50 goals during the season, was sold to the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

. Schellscheidt was replaced by Bobby Thompson after a 2-3 start to the 1976 outdoor season. The team ended the 1976 season with a record of twelve wins and twelve losses and averaging 3,420 fans per game. The team relocated to

and rebranded as the Connecticut Bicentennials before the 1977 season. Playing their home games at the

Yale Bowl The Yale Bowl Stadium is a college football stadium in the northeast United States, located in New Haven, Connecticut, on the border of West Haven, about 1½ miles (2½ km) west of the main campus of Yale University. The home of the American f ...

, the team finished the 1977 season in last place of the Atlantic Conference Northern Division with a record of seven wins and nineteen losses. The Bicentennials drew their biggest crowd ever, with 17,302 fans in attendance, for their 1977 home opener against the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...

featuring Brazilian star

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA ...

, but averaged only 3,848 fans for the season. Citing low gate revenues and the cost to adequately light the Yale Bowl for night games, Darling sold the team to Milan Mandarić who relocated the team to

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the ...

for the 1978 season, where they became known as the

Year-by-year

References

{{North American Soccer League (1966–85) Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States Defunct soccer clubs in Connecticut Soccer clubs in Connecticut North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams 1975 establishments in Connecticut 1977 disestablishments in Connecticut Association football clubs established in 1975 Association football clubs disestablished in 1977