The Caribous of Colorado were an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) during the 1978 season. The team was based in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

and played their home games at

Mile High Stadium Mile High Stadium (originally Bears Stadium until 1968) was an outdoor multi-purpose stadium located in Denver, Colorado from 1948 to 2001. The stadium was built in 1948 to accommodate the Denver Bears baseball team, which was a member of the ...

. After the season, the club was sold and moved to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

to become the Atlanta Chiefs.

History

At the conclusion of the 1975 North American Soccer League season, the

Denver Dynamos The Denver Dynamos were a soccer team based in Denver that played in the NASL from 1974 to 1975. Their home field was Mile High Stadium. After the 1975 season, they moved to Minnesota and became the Minnesota Kicks. History Between the 1973 and ...

, playing only their second season, moved to

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and became the

Minnesota Kicks The Minnesota Kicks were a professional soccer team that played at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota, from 1976 to 1981. The team was a member of the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL). Initia ...

, leaving the city without a professional soccer team. During the NASL league annual meetings in December 1976,

Booth Gardner William Booth Gardner (August 21, 1936 – March 15, 2013) was an American politician who served as the 19th governor of Washington from 1985 to 1993. He also served as the ambassador of the GATT. A member of the Democratic Party, Gardner previ ...

and James Guercio were awarded a NASL franchise for Denver for the 1978 season. Gardner, former owner of the defunct

Tacoma Tides The Tacoma Tides was an American soccer club based in Tacoma, Washington that was a member of the American Soccer League. It began play in 1976, but the league folded the following year. It was owned by businessman and future governor Booth Gard ...

of the American Soccer League (and future governor of

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

), partnered with music producer Guercio (owner of the

Caribou Ranch Caribou Ranch was a recording studio built by producer James William Guercio in 1972 in a converted barn on ranch property in the Rocky Mountains near Nederland, Colorado, on the road that leads to the ghost town of Caribou. The studio was in op ...

recording studio), paying a cool million dollars for the franchise. The team name of Caribous of Colorado was announced on 31 May 1977.

Dave Clements David Clements (born 15 September 1945 in Larne, County Antrim) is a former football player and manager from Northern Ireland. He started his career as a left winger but also played as a defensive midfielder and left full back. During a career ...

, who played for the 1977 Soccer Bowl champion

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...

, was hired as a player/coach. In April 1978, Dan Wood, previously coach of the Tacoma Tides and Cornell University men's soccer team, was named General Manager. The Caribous opened the 1978 North American Soccer League season on the road, losing 3–0 to the

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

at the Kingdome on 1 April 1978. After 20 games and a 6-14 record, Clements was fired as head coach and replaced by Dan Woods; things did not improve, as the club lost eight of their last ten matches to finish with a 8-22 mark and a league-worst 81 points. Colorado's offense was bad with only 34 goals, also last in the NASL (Clements' Cosmos teammate

Jomo Sono Ephraim Matsilele Sono OIS (born Madoda Walletjies Mkulwana, 17 July 1955), better known as Jomo Sono, is a South African football club owner, coach and former professional footballer. He has been variously nicknamed the "Black Prince of South ...

led the Caribous with eight) and so was attendance (7,418 per match, with only one crowd in five figures all year). After the season, the club was purchased and moved to

to become the (new) Atlanta Chiefs.

Uniforms

The lasting legacy of the Caribous is one of the most unusual, infamous

uniforms A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, ...

in soccer history. Going with a western-style motif, the players wore brown and tan jerseys that included a strip of leather

fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts * Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe" * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * The Fringe, the ...

across the chest. In 2009, the uniforms were voted the "worst soccer uniform in history" by the readers of the Uni Watch sports design site. On April 1, 2014, the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

announced the club would wear Caribou "throwback" jerseys for an upcoming home game. It was quickly revealed as an

April Fools April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may b ...

joke, but not before the team was swamped with calls and e-mails from fans wondering where they could buy replicas of the infamous duds.

Year-by-year

Coaches

* Dan Wood

External links

* Colorado Caribous roster at NASLJerseys.co

References

{{North American Soccer League (1966–85) Atlanta Chiefs, North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams Soccer clubs in Denver 1978 establishments in Colorado 1978 disestablishments in Colorado

Defunct soccer clubs in Colorado Association football clubs established in 1978 Association football clubs disestablished in 1978