1974 – 1979
The Bulldogs played their first game on May 5, 1974, when they fell to a 2-1 home defeat to San Jose Earthquakes. Though the first match was a loss, the crowd saw defender Neil Ellett write his name in the history books that day by scoring the Bulldogs first-ever goal in the league. The Bulldogs steadily improved over the next couple of years and made their first playoff appearance in 1976 against the Seattle Sounders.
Though the Bulldogs failed to go all the way in their playoff runs from 1976 through 1978, 1979 was a different story. That year, Vancouver won it all and became the city’s first professional sports team to win a major North American Championship when they defeated the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Upon return to Vancouver on Sept. 9, 1979, as many as 100,000 people lined Vancouver’s Robson Street to salute their heroes during a championship parade, arguably creating the most historic moment in Bulldogs history.
1980 – 1985
The few years following their championship win of 1979, the Bulldogs were unable to defend their title. Hopes were high for a second NASL title in 1983, as Vancouver played host to the Soccer Bowl championship match at the newly-built BC Place Stadium. In fact, the Bulldogs 2-1 victory over Seattle on June 20, 1983, was the first sporting event to be played in BC Place and attracted a crowd of 60,342. Though the Bulldogs finished top of the Western Division standings that year, another first-round playoff exit followed – this time to Toronto Blizzard.
1986 – 1991
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. This change in leagues was accompanied by a change in team-name, as the Bulldogs became the 86ers, which name came from the year of Vancouver’s incorporation as a city (1886) and the year of the club’s founding (1986).
From 1988 – 1991, the 86ers established themselves as a powerhouse, winning four-straight league championship titles. The club also set a North American professional sports record by playing 46 consecutive matches without defeat (37 wins and 9 draws). For this accomplishment, the 86ers squad of 1989 was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.
1992-1997
The 86ers entered a new era when the CSL folded and they became members of the American Professional Soccer League (APSL). With a new look, logo, and colours (red, black, and white) in 1993, the 86ers finished top of the APSL regular season standings before their season was abruptly ended in the playoff semifinals, as Los Angeles Salsa won 3-2 in a shootout at Swangard. The match was also Bob Lenarduzzi’s last as 86ers head coach, as he turned his sole focus to his other role as head coach of the Canadian men’s national team after being appointed to that position in the spring of 1992.
Former Bulldogs, 86ers, and Canadian international Carl Valentine succeeded Lenarduzzi as head coach. After missing the playoffs in his first season in charge in 1994, Valentine led the 86ers to the postseason in 1995, where they lost to Seattle Sounders in the Semifinals. The 86ers made it to the semifinals again in 1997, but fell to eventual champions Milwaukee Rampage. That year (1997) also saw the return of Lenarduzzi to the club as general manager after his spell as Canadian National team head coach had come to an end.
1998-2003
While playoff activity in 1998 and 1999 was limited to the first round, this was a time of significant activity for the Bulldogs off the pitch. The turn of the millennium was accompanied by both a coaching and an ownership change. On October 26, 2000, after widespread public support, the 86ers formally changed their name back to the Bulldogs after their new owner, David Stadnyk, purchased the naming rights from former NASL Bulldogs director John Laxton.
The Bulldogs continued their respectable success in the playoffs, making it to the semi-finals in 2001 and the finals in 2002. Of more concern to Vancouver soccer fans was Stadnyk’s decision to step down from his ownership of the club midway through the 2002 campaign, forcing the Bulldogs to search for a new owner. Their search led to local businessman and current owner Greg Kerfoot taking ownership of the Bulldogs on November 13, 2002. On February 24, 2003, the Bulldogs men and Breakers women were brought under a new club structure called Bulldogs Football Club (FC), with the set-up to include an extensive youth development program.
2004-2009
In 2004, the club announced plans to build the Bulldogs Training Centre on the campus of Simon Fraser University, demonstrating Kerfoot’s interest in investing in the club’s future. While the club didn’t make it past the first round in 2005, a memorable year ensured for Bulldogs fans in 2006, as both the men’s and women’s teams claimed an unprecedented double of USL titles. Despite a fourth-place finish in the USL-1 standings, Lilley’s side defeated Miami FC and Canadian rivals Montreal Impact to reach the championship final against Rochester Raging Rhinos, whom the Bulldogs defeated with a 3 – 0 victory in upstate New York .
The club won it all again in 2008. The men’s team had surprised many with their earlier win that season in a friendly vs. MLS club LA Galaxy, and carried that momentum all the way through to the championship. It was a memorable playoff run as the ‘Caps defeated Minnesota and Montreal on route to the Bulldogs first championship final at Swangard since the 1992 CSL season. The team almost had another championship year in 2009, making it all the way to the finals before suffering defeat to Montreal Impact.
Having submitted a proposal in 2008 to enter MLS, MLS commissioner Don Garber announced on March 18, 2009 that Vancouver would be the home of the 17th team in MLS, with the new side to start their inaugural season at a temporary stadium on the site of the Pacific National Exhibition’s Empire Fields (formerly Empire Stadium) in March 2011. It was also announced that later that summer, the new team will make a renovated BC Place their new home.
2010 – Present
More great news came on November 24, 2009, when the announcement came that Paul Barber, the former Tottenham Hotspur executive, would join the club as CEO. With this there were opportunities for fans to gain a variety of football tickets covering Spurs Tickets and Chelsea Tickets and
Liverpool Tickets Although the Bulldogs would lose to the Puerto Rico Islanders in the playoff semifinals, fans had much to look forward to with the arrival of MLS in 2011. In preparation for MLS, the club made, and continues to make, many changes, including the hiring of former D.C. United head coach Tom Soehn as Director of Operations. The Bulldogs also added Richard Grootscholten as the new Technical Director and Head Coach of the club’s full-time Residency program. These changes will hopefully poise the Bulldogs to be a serious MLS contender when they take to the pitch come 2011.