“Without the Vancouver 86ers, there probably wouldn’t have been a Vancouver Whitecaps.”
Those are the words Carl Valentine used to describe how important the Vancouver 86ers were back in the ‘90s.
Valentine himself played and coached for the 86ers from 1987 to 1999, along with goalkeeper Paul Dolan and midfielder Nick Dasovic.
“Our team was stacked,” said Dasovic. “The amount of players that were groomed here and played for the 86ers was incredible.”
Throughout the ‘90s, the 86ers played in bold red, black and white jerseys. On Tuesday the club launched an honorary collection remembering that era, in conjunction with MLS’ Since ’96 collaboration.