Origins and inaugural season Philadelphia had previously been represented in the
North American Soccer League (NASL) by the
Philadelphia Atoms starting in
1973 with the team winning the
NASL Final in its first year, but the team folded after the
1976 season concluded and a move to San Antonio did not come to fruition. In November 1977, Philadelphia was announced as the location of the NASL's twenty-second franchise for the upcoming
1978 season with
Rick Wakeman,
Peter Frampton,
Mick Jagger, and
Paul Simon announced as members of the ownership group. Bob Ehlinger, former NASL deputy commissioner and the former general manager of the
Atoms was appointed general manager and executive vice president of the new team. The following month, Rick Wakeman and former
Yes manager
Brian Lane led a press conference announcing the team would be known as the
Fury and that former
Newcastle United F.C. manager
Richard 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 owner
Thomas McCloskey and intended to settle approximately $90,000 remaining outstanding debts owed by the previous franchise. During the press conference, former
Chelsea and
Southampton striker
Peter Osgood was introduced as the team's first signing. In January 1978, the Fury signed Irish midfielder
Johnny Giles and a week before the season
Southampton Midfielder
Alan Ball and former
Chelsea F.C. center back
John Dempsey were brought into the club. 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. A few days later midfielder Alan Ball was named player-coach as his replacement. The team's penultimate game of the season ended in controversy with
Pierce O'Leary, on loan from Ireland's
Shamrock Rovers F.C., attempted to attack referee
George Courtney after
Toronto Metros-Croatia striker
Sead Sušić scored a goal in sudden death overtime. 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. and were shutout a record twelve times during the season.
Second season and playoffs On February 16, 1979, former
Yugoslavia national team coach
Marko Valok was announced as the team's new head coach. During the offseason, GM Ehlinger brought in goalkeeper
Keith Van Eron from the
Houston Hurricane, striker
Davie Robb from the
Tampa Bay Rowdies and four Yugoslav players, including
Niki Nikolic who came in a deal from the
Tulsa Roughnecks along with Englishmen
Jimmy Redfern. 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. 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. In May 1979, England's
First Division leading goal scorer
Frank Worthington was brought over on loan from the
Bolton Wanderers. On June 20, 1979, the Fury named Tom Fleck, youth coordinator for the
United States Soccer Federation, as general manager. Despite the roster and management changes, the Fury ended the
1979 season with a losing record of ten wins and twenty losses, having lost all fifteen away matches. 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 the
New 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. 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. The team was defeated in the Conference Semifinals by the
Tampa Bay Rowdies two games to none. A few weeks later, Marko Valok resigned his position as head coach to return to Yugoslavia. John Dempsey was named NASL Co-Defender of Year. In October 1979,
Eddie Firmani, former head coach of the
1975 NASL Champion Tampa Bay Rowdies and back-to-back
1977 and
1978 NASL champion
New York Cosmos, was announced as the new Fury head coach with a three-year deal.
Third season and move At the beginning of 1980,
George O'Neill head coach of the
Major Indoor Soccer League team the
Philadelphia Fever and member of the
NASL 1973 Championship winning
Philadelphia Atoms was hired as an assistant coach. The roster was revamped again, with less than half of the previous season's roster returning.
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 the
Vancouver Whitecaps. Notable additions to the squad brought in by Firmani included
Netherlands national team forward
Bobby Vosmaer,
Đorđe Koković, and
Andrew Parkinson. On May 17, 1980, it was reported that
Molson Brewery was negotiating to purchase the team and move it to
Montreal. Rumors of the move continued throughout the season. The Fury ended the
1980 season in last place of the with a record of ten wins and twenty-two losses. The team had reportedly lost more than $3.1 million in its three seasons. ==Year-by-year==