A defender who was captain of the New York Cosmos team that won the NASL championship in 1977.
Roth, who played for the Cosmos from 1972 to 1979, was one of the few Americans among the Cosmos galaxy of international stars, and also was a star of the U.S. national team in the mid-1970s.
Roth played for the Cosmos from 1972 to 1979, winning NASL championships in 1972, 1977 and 1978. He was captain of the Cosmos in the 1977 NASL title game against Seattle, and was chosen as a first-time NASL all-star in 1975.
Roth played a total of 142 NASL games, in which he scored two goals, one each in 1977 and 1978. Those two years may have been his best with the Cosmos, seasons in which he maintained his place in the Cosmos lineup despite the addition to the New York roster of many high-priced foreign players. He then retired due to an injury after playing only one game in 1979.
Roth played his first game in the U.S. national team in a World Cup qualifier against Mexico at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City in 1972, and his last three years later in the same stadium, against Costa Rica. He played 15 full internationals for the United States, and was the U.S. captain through much of 1973, 1974 and 1975.
Inducted in 1989.
