The Detroit Rockers were an indoor soccer team in the National Professional Soccer League from 1990 to 2001. They played in

Joe Louis Arena Joe Louis Arena was an arena in Downtown Detroit. Completed in 1979 at a cost of US$57 million as a replacement for Olympia Stadium, it sat adjacent to Cobo Center on the bank of the Detroit River and was accessible by the Joe Louis Arena ...

and

Cobo Arena Huntington Place (formerly known as Cobo Hall, Cobo Center, and briefly TCF Center) is a convention center in Downtown Detroit, owned by the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) and operated by ASM Global. Located at 1 Washi ...

in downtown

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, Michigan, as well as

The Palace of Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills, commonly known as the Palace, was a multi-purpose arena located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Opened in 1988, it was the home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Detroit Shock of the ...

and Compuware Sports Arena in the suburbs. For a time, they were led by star player-coach

Andy Chapman Andrew Chapman (born 18 September 1959) is an English-American retired soccer player who saw his greatest success as an indoor player in the United States. He spent six seasons in the American Soccer League, ten in the Major Indoor Soccer Lea ...

until he was lured away by the more deep-pocketed Detroit Neon in 1994. The big stars of the Rockers included Drago Dumbovic and goalie Bryan "Goose" Finnerty. The Rockers won the 1991–1992 NPSL Championship. The Rockers outlasted the home-town rival Neon only because the Neon folded with their league the CISL.The Rockers themselves finally folded in 2001 when the NPSL ceased operations. Until the Rockers folded, they were owned by businessmen from Walled Lake.

Year-by-year

Ownership & Staff

* David Woodrow – Co-Owner / General Manager * Gary Miller – Co-Owner / General Manager

Coaches

* Brian Tinnion 1990–1994 * Pato Margetic 1994–1999 * Drago 1999–2000 * Brian Tinnion 2000–2001

Honors

MVP *

: 1991 * Dan O'Keefe: 1992 Leading scorer *

: 1991 * Dan O'Keefe: 1992 Defender of the Year * Sean Bowers: 1994, 1995 Rookie of the Year * Goose Finnerty: 1991 * Sean Bowers: 1992 * Jason Willen: 1996 *

Travis Roy Travis Matthew Roy (April 17, 1975 – October 29, 2020) was an American college ice hockey player, author and philanthropist. In 1995, he was injured in his first shift as a college hockey player for Boston University and was paralyzed from th ...

: 1998 Coach of the Year * Brian Tinnion: 1991 First Team All Star * 1991:

* 1992: Dan O'Keefe * 1993: Sean Bowers * 1994: Sean Bowers,

* 1995: Sean Bowers * 1997: Dennis Brose

Media coverage

In Detroit, the Rockers could be seen on Barden

Cablevision Cablevision Systems Corporation was an American cable television company with systems serving areas surrounding New York City. It was the fifth-largest cable provider and ninth-largest television provider in the United States. Throughout its ex ...

and

Pro-Am Sports System The Pro-Am Sports System (better known as PASS Sports or simply PASS) was an American regional sports network that operated from 1984 to 1997. It also served as an affiliate of the Prime Network from 1988 to 1996. Based in Detroit, the channel b ...

with Ian Parratt, Brian Tinnion, and ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

'' columnist Bill Roose among the commentators.

References

Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) teams R Soccer clubs in Michigan Sports in Auburn Hills, Michigan Sports in Oakland County, Michigan 1990 establishments in Michigan 2001 disestablishments in Michigan Sports in Plymouth Township, Michigan Association football clubs established in 1990 Association football clubs disestablished in 2001 {{Detroit-sport-stub