Caribous of Colorado

North American Soccer League (1978)

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Caribous of Colorado
NASL Logo T-Shirt

Unremarkable in competition though they were, the Caribous of Colorado were fashion icons on the pitch. The club was infamous for its leather fringe uniform tops. Less remarked upon was the Caribous’ gargantuan logo which has to be one of the largest and unwieldiest in the annals of American soccer. And yet … still cool. 

This Caribous design is available in sizes Small through 4XL today at Old School Shirts!

 

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Background

The Caribous of Colorado were a One-Year Wonder in the North American Soccer League during the summer of 1978.  The expansion Caribous were the NASL’s second effort at gaining a foothold in the Mile High City. The two-year run of the Denver Dynamos (1974-1975) ended with that club’s relocation to Minneapolis in 1976.  Like the Dynamos, the Caribous played out of Mile High Stadium, home of the NFL’s Denver Broncos.

If the Caribous are remembered for anything by American soccer fans, it is for their garish and much maligned uniforms, which – in a nod to country & western culture – featured a horizontal strip of tan leather fringe across the lower rib cage.  Check out this link at NASLJerseys.com for a full color money shot of the Caribous kits in all their demented glory.

Colorful Ownership…

Owners Booth Gardner and James Guercio plunked down $1 million for the expansion rights in late 1977 according to Sports Illustrated.  It’s worth spending a moment on Jim Guercio. I suspect he may have been the inspiration for Dos Equis’ Most Interesting Man In The World advertising campaign.

The Caribous took their name from Guercio’s Caribou Ranch recording studio in the Rocky Mountains, near the ghost town of Caribou.  Guercio produced the early albums of the bands Chicago and Blood Sweat & Tears and won an Album of the Year grammy award with the latter group.  Artists from Elton John to Billy Joel to Rod Stewart recorded at Caribou Ranch and the classic rock standards “Rocky Mountain Way” (Joe Walsh) and “Rock n’ Roll Hootchie Koo” (Rick Derringer) were recorded at Guercio’s studio.

In 1973, Guercio tried his hand at film and directed the cult classic motorcycle cop movie “Electra Glide In Blue” starring Robert Blake.  After a fire destroyed his studio in 1985, Guercio moved on from the music industry and became a successful rancher and oil & gas developer in Colorado.  Guercio also owned, and later sold, the Country Music Television cable channel.

…Drab Soccer

As far as the soccer itself went, the Caribous were not good.  The club fired player-coach Dave Clements in June with the club mired in last place.  The club finished in the same position under Clements’ replacement Dan Wood.  The Caribous’ 8-22 record was tied for worst in the 24-team NASL.  Attendance was hardly better, ranked at 18th in the NASL with 7,418 per game in 74,000-seat Mile High Stadium.

One player of note was 21-year old rookie fullback Matt Bahr.  Bahr was an All-American placekicker for Joe Paterno’s Nittany Lions (American) football team at Penn State in 1978.  After two years of pro soccer, Bahr joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1979 and enjoyed a 17-year career in the NFL.  As a member of the New York Giants in 1991, he kicked what proved to be the decisive field goal in the team’s 20-19 Super Bowl XXV victory over the Buffalo Bills.

Demise

Owners Booth Gardner and Jim Guercio lost interest in their last place team even before the Caribous’ debut season ended. They sold the club to Atlanta interests in August 1978.  The franchise became the Atlanta Chiefs in 1979 and played three seasons in the deep South before folding in September 1981.

Trivia

The Caribous possessed the #1 overall pick in the 1978 NASL college draft and used it on Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville defender Greg Makowski.

Colorado Caribous Shop

Editor's Pick

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Rock n' Roll Soccer

The Short Life and Fast Times of the North American Soccer League

by Ian Plenderleith

The North American Soccer League – at its peak in the late 1970s – presented soccer as performance, played by men with a bent for flair, hair and glamour. More than just Pelé and the New York Cosmos, it lured the biggest names of the world game like Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, Eusebio, Gerd Müller and George Best to play the sport as it was meant to be played-without inhibition, to please the fans.

The first complete look at the ambitious, star-studded NASL, Rock ‘n’ Roll Soccer reveals how this precursor to modern soccer laid the foundations for the sport’s tremendous popularity in America today. 

 

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Caribous Video

The Caribous host the New York Cosmos at Mile High. May 14, 1978.

Links

North American Soccer League Media Guides

North American Soccer League Programs

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