Winston DuBose - Men's Soccer (1973-76) - Class of 2000
Winston DuBose is the first athlete from men's soccer to be selected to the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame. He was an All-American three times during his standout career as UCF's top goalkeeper from 1973-76. He led UCF, then FTU, to a 15-1-1 record in 1976 and set the school record for career shutouts (25), season shutouts (eight), career goals against average (.91) and season goals against average (.49).
One of the most successful American goalies in the NASL, Winston led the Rowdies to Soccer Bowl 1978 vs. the Cosmos. He manned the goal in every game for Tulsa in 1983, when they won the Soccer Bowl. He had extensive international and national team experience. Winston returned to Tampa Bay to play from 1988-1991 for the new Tampa bay rowdies of the ASL & APSL. He also had a brief stint in the Major Indoor Soccer League with the Wichita Wings in 1989-1990.
Following his graduation from UCF, DuBose was drafted in 1977 by the Tampa Bay Rowdies. After six successful seasons, he furthered his professional soccer career by joining the Tulsa Roughnecks, which in 1983 captured the National Association Soccer League (NASL) Championship. Concurrently, a member of the US National Team from 1979 - 1985 and participated in the US World Cup qualifying games.
In 1984, he returned to the Roughnecks for a final year of the NASL. He continued to play with the Roughnecks, but they now played in the ASL III. His last year with the team, 1988, he led the league with a 0.75 goals against average. At the end of the season, he moved to England to play with Second Division, now Championship, Oldham Athletics.
His first National team cap came as a second half substitute against Bermuda on October 7, 1979. He gained his first start for his country against Ireland three weeks later. His first shutout came against Luxembourg, in 1980. He cites playing against national arch-rivals Mexico in front of over 100,000 people at the Azteca as his greatest footballing memory, though the USA lost the match, 5-1. He played his final, and 14th, game for the national team in 1985.
DuBose first went to Europe in 1977. He spent six months during the winter of 1977-1978 playing with the Southampton F.C. reserves. In 1979, he spent three months at Ipswich. He was unable to get a work permit again until 1988, when he moved to Oldham Athletics. When DuBose was trying his hand at European soccer in 1989, he was one of only a handful of American pioneers then playing professionally on the continent: only Chris Sullivan (Le Touquet AC), Frank Klopas (AEK Athens), Paul Caligiuri (Meppen), Bruce Murray (FC Lucerne), and Peter Vermes (Raba Eto) were also eking out a living there at the time.
In 1990, he returned to the U.S. where he finished playing with the Rowdies, the team with which he began his career. During his years in the ASL, he was he was an All-Star of that low-key league in both 1988 and 1989. He retired from professional soccer in 1992.