The Colorado Caribous was a professional soccer team based in Denver, Colorado, that played in the North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...

. Their primary owners were future Washington state

Washington State

Washington State may refer to:* Washington , often referred to as "Washington state" to differentiate it from Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States* Washington State University, a land-grant college in that state- See also :...

 governor Booth Gardner

Booth Gardner

Booth Gardner , an heir to the Weyerhaeuser fortune, was the 19th Governor of the U.S state of Washington between 1985 and 1993. He also served as the ambassador of the GATT. He is a Democrat. Before serving as governor, Gardner was Pierce County Executive...

 and Jim Guercio, owner of the Caribou Ranch

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...

.

They played one season in 1978 under head coaches Dave Clements

Dave Clements

Dave Clements in Larne in County Antrim, was a 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 throughout a career which lasted from 1964 to 1976 in which time he played for Coventry City,...

, who was also a player on the team, and Dan Wood

Dan Wood

Daniel Phillip Wood is a former collegiate and professional soccer coach. He was also a professional golfer who was the top money winner on the 1996 Senior Series.-Youth:...

. Their home field was Mile High Stadium

Mile High Stadium

Mile High Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, that stood in Denver, Colorado, from 1948 until 2001.It hosted the Denver Broncos, of the AFL and the NFL, from 1960-2000, the Colorado Rockies, of the National League, of the MLB, from 1993-1994, the Colorado Rapids, of MLS, from 1996-2001, the...

. The arrival of the Caribous marked the return of professional first division soccer to Denver after a two-year absence caused by the departure of the Denver Dynamos

Denver Dynamos

The Denver Dynamos were a soccer team based out of 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.-Year-by-year:...

 to Minneapolis in 1976. During their only season in the Mile High City, the new team compiled the worst record in the league (8-22) and finished in last place in the Central Division of the National Conference. After the season, the club moved to Atlanta to become the Atlanta Chiefs

Atlanta Chiefs

The Atlanta Chiefs were a soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia that played in the NPSL and NASL from 1967 to 1972. Their home fields were Atlanta Stadium and Tara Stadium . The club was the brainchild of Dick Cecil, then Vice President of the Atlanta Braves baseball franchise who were the Chiefs'...

.

The lasting legacy of the Caribous is one of the most unusual, infamous uniforms in soccer history. Going with a western-style motif, the players wore brown and tan jerseys that included a strip of leather fringe across the chest.

Players on the team included Superstars

Superstars

Superstars is an all-around sports competition that pits elite athletes from different sports against one another in a series of athletic events resembling a decathlon....

 champion Brian Budd

Brian Budd

Brian Budd was a Canadian professional soccer player best known for winning the World Superstars competition three years in a row from 1978 to 1980. He was also a soccer sportscaster.-Early years:...

 and NFL placekicker Matt Bahr

Matt Bahr

Matthew David Bahr is a former professional American football placekicker in the National Football League. He attended Neshaminy High School in Langhorne, Pennsylvania where he excelled in both football and soccer...

.

1978 Roster

Dave Clements

Dave Clements

Dave Clements in Larne in County Antrim, was a 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 throughout a career which lasted from 1964 to 1976 in which time he played for Coventry City,...

 Pat McMahon

Pat McMahon (footballer)

Pat McMahon in Croy, Glasgow is a former Scottish footballer who is best known for the time he spent with Aston Villa and Celtic. McMahon began his football career at local Scottish team Kilsyth Rangers....

 Brian Tinnion

Brian Tinnion (footballer)

Brian Tinnion is a retired English Association football forward who played eleven seasons in the lower English divisions, four in the North American Soccer League, three in the American Soccer League and one in the Major Indoor Soccer League...

 Fred Pereira

Fred Pereira

Fred “Fredy” Pereira is a former Portuguese-American soccer forward who spent three seasons in the North American Soccer League and earned six caps with the U.S. national team in 1977.-High school and college:...

Year-by-year

Year	League	W	L	T	Pts	Regular Season	Playoffs
1978	NASL	8	22	—	81	4th, National Conference, Central Division	Did not qualify