The Denver Avalanche were an American soccer team based out of

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 states, 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 wes ...

that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1980 to 1982. Their home arena was

McNichols Sports Arena McNichols Sports Arena was an indoor arena located in Denver, Colorado. Located adjacent to Mile High Stadium and completed in 1975, at a cost of $16 million, it seated 16,061 for hockey games and 17,171 for basketball games. Sports use It was ...

History

In February 1980, the Major Indoor Soccer League awarded a franchise to Ron Maierhofer, to be named the Denver Avalanche. The team's first three players, all signed the same day were Tony Graham,

Chris Cattaneo Chris Cattaneo is a retired American soccer forward who played professionally in the North American Soccer League and the Major Indoor Soccer League. Cattaneo graduated from John F. Kennedy High School. Cattaneo attended Tennessee Wesleyan C ...

and

Adrian Brooks Adrian Brooks (born 2 October 1957) is a former professional footballer who spent two seasons in the North American Soccer League and at least one in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He was a 1977 and 1978 first team All American, coached at the ...

. The team's first draft pick

Erhardt Kapp Erhardt Kapp (born June 16, 1959 in Romania) is a retired Romanian-American soccer defender and current business owner and soccer coach. He was also a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic soccer team and U.S. national team. Career Kapp as a youth ...

passed on the Avalanche and signed with the

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 ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

instead. The team's first game, an exhibition match, took place on November 3, 1980, a 10–4 loss to the St. Louis Steamers. Coached by

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 ...

, the Avalanche finished the regular season out of playoff contention, but in 1982, they made the playoffs only to fall to the St. Louis Steamers in the first round. Clements was named the 1982 MISL Coach of the Year. The team entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1983. The Avalanche's assets were purchased by a group led by

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest p ...

and moved to form the Tacoma Stars.

Year-by-year

Honors

All Star Game MVP * 1980–1981:

Coach of the Year * 1981–1982:

Staff

*Coach:

*Assistant Coach: Peter Duerden *Director of Player Development: Mike Ditchfield

References

The Year in American Soccer – 1981No Money Down: How to Buy a Sports Franchise by Ron Maierhofer
{{Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States A Soccer clubs in Colorado Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) teams 1980 establishments in Colorado 1983 disestablishments in Colorado Association football clubs established in 1980 Association football clubs disestablished in 1983