TELFORD, England, United Kingdom – Frank Worthington, who played for the Tampa Bay Rowdies in 1981 passed away this week following a lengthy illness.
It is commonly believed that Worthington was battling Alzheimer’s disease after his daughter released a statement in 2016 saying that he had it but that was denied by Worthington the following day.
The popular forward played 28 matches for the Rowdies, on loan from Birmingham City and scored 11 goals in just one season. That made him the Tampa Bay golden boot winner as the team finished fourth in the Southern Division and made the Quarter-Finals of the NASL Playoffs. It would be the last original-era NASL season the Rowdies managed to qualify for the Playoffs.
His arrival in Tampa was quite a sight, the paper had spelled out when he would be arriving at the airport encouraging fans to welcome their new signing. Worthington had evidently enjoyed the flight and tripped coming down the stairs, spilling a full bottle of scotch in the process. Thankfully for Rowdies fans he didn’t indulge before matches and his footwork was much better at Tampa Stadium.
The Rowdies snagged Worthington from under the nose of the Dallas Tornado, which had a significant change in the fortunes of both clubs. Without Worthington the Rowdies would have missed the playoffs but thanks to his effort qualified. Meanwhile Dallas claimed the wooden spoon in 1981 with just five wins.
Worthington was a hero to fans everywhere he played, he’s most known for his time at Leicester where he played 210 matches and scored 72 goals. He won the English Second Division (now Championship) twice, with Huddersfield Town in 1969-70 and Bolton in 1977-78, upon Bolton’s promotion to the First Division (now Premier League) he claimed the golden boot with 24 goals, keeping the team up with a 17th place finish.
Worthington managed to play eight matches for England and scored twice, all matches coming in 1974 but he did not go to the World Cup as England did not qualify for the tournament with qualification games coming before the former Rowdy played.
He is survived by his wife Carol whom he married in 1986 and children Frank and Kim (Now Malou).
Photo: NASL (Original)
Florida Soccer Report 