Vancouver 86ers 2000 Toronto Lynx Program

Vancouver 86ers 2000 Toronto Lynx Program

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The story of the Vancouver 86ers

After the beloved Whitecaps and the NASL had folded, the 86ers stepped in and carried the torch for Vancouver soccer fans.

The demise of the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1984 resulted in the formation of a new league, the Canadian Soccer League (CSL), in 1986. And with that, Vancouver returned to the professional soccer scene with the birth of the 86ers.

Like the Whitecaps before them, the team needed an identity, one that was both fitting of its origins and emblematic of the great city in which it represented. Former Soccer Bowl winning Whitecaps head coach Tony Waiters was among the group that started the new team.

“We were initially going to call the team Vancouver United, but we felt that it was too British,” Waiters told whitecapsfc.com in 2010.

They eventually settled on a name that held a great deal of meaning: Vancouver 86ers. The group, which also included Whitecaps FC president Bob Lenarduzzi, realized the impact that Expo ‘86 had on the city and the importance of Canada’s World Cup qualification that same year. They were also aware of the year the city was founded (1886), and the year the club was launched (1986).

However, one of the main reasons the name 86ers was chosen derived from the humble beginnings of the organization, who were driven by the love of the game.

“There were 86 of us, who initially invested our money to start up the club because we wanted to get professional soccer back in Vancouver,” Waiters said.

“They were just a bunch of average guys like me, who put up $500 for the seed money,” Lenarduzzi added in a story on MLSsoccer.com. “But I can remember even my own wife, and other people whose opinions I value saying, ‘What are you doing? And what are the rest of the people doing? It’s done, it’s finished, it’s over.”