Wegerle’s fortuitous arrival occurred on the remarkable day it snowed in Tampa — Jan. 19, 1977 — but what followed was an avalanche of great times with the Tampa Bay Rowdies during a powerful era in the North American Soccer League.

Wegerle was the youngest player (15 years old) ever offered a professional contract with Arcadia FC in his native South Africa. But his father insisted that Wegerle continue as an amateur player until school graduation at age 18. Wegerle first played in Europe, then received his life-changing opportunity with the Rowdies.

In his 10th NASL appearance with the Rowdies, before an ABC-TV national audience, Wegerle scored two goals in a 4-2 win against the New York Cosmos before 45,288 fans at Tampa Stadium, earning Man of the Match honors.

With jet-like speed and uncommon agility that served him well as a winger, Wegerle played five seasons with the NASL Rowdies (1977-81) before matriculating to the Cosmos and Fort Lauderdale Strikers. Wegerle finished as the league’s 27th-best career scorer (152 points in 196 games), while ranking fourth in career assists (88).

Wegerle played for more iterations of the Rowdies — even serving as head coach for one season — then became a youth coach and skills trainer for 27 years while making Tampa his lifetime home.

His teams won multiple Florida Youth Soccer Association State Cup titles across several age groups. In 1988, his Carrollwood Lightning U14 team won a national title in Oregon and the Lightning qualified for the U14 World Cup, ultimately finishing fourth in the world. The event was appropriately held in South Africa, Wegerle’s birthplace.