Houston Stars

United Soccer Association (1967)
North American Soccer League(1968)

FWIL FAVORITE

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Houston Stars Logo T-Shirt

Houston’s original “outdoor” soccer club, the Stars, made their home in the Astrodome in 1967 and 1968 and incorporated the “Eighth Wonder of the World” right into the center of their logo.

Rep the Stars and the Dome with this super soft vintage wash Tee from our partners at Streaker Sports.

 

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Background

The Houston Stars were a short-lived pro soccer outfit of the late 1960’s owned by the colorful Judge Roy Hofheinz, owner of Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros and driving force behind construction of the Astrodome.

The Stars were, in fact, two separate clubs. The Stars were founding members of the United Soccer Association in 1967. The USA imported European and South American clubs who played in the States under pseudonyms.  The 1967 Houston Stars were actually Bangu Atletico Club of Brazil.  The Stars finished 4-4-4, good for fourth place in the USA’s Western Division.

After the 1967 season, the USA merged with its competitor, the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American Soccer League.  The NASL dispensed with the USA’s practice of importing foreign teams.  The Stars hired Hungarian head coach Geza Henni, who assembled a multi-national squad that included Bermudans, Danes, Greeks, Hungarians, Mexicans and a large contingent of Yugoslavs. Jerry Mueller was the lone American-born player on the opening day roster.

The 1968 Stars posted a respectable 14-12-6 record, but it was not enough to advance in the NASL’s stingy playoff system. The Stars folded after the 1968 season.

NASL soccer returned to Houston and the Astrodome ten years later with the formation of the Houston Hurricane (1978-1980).

Houston Stars 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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THE STADIUM STORE

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Astrodome 1965 T-Shirt

Houston’s “Eighth Wonder of the World”, opened in 1965, will forever be most closely associated with its titular Major League Baseball tenant.

But for those people of impeccable taste who make up the Fun While It Lasted core readership, the Astrodome is just as likely to stir memories of the building’s offbeat tenants: soccer’s Stars and Hurricane, or the Oilers, Texans and Gamblers of the gridiron. Or maybe even Brewster McCloud!

This Dome throwback design is also available in long-sleeve or as a crewneck or hooded sweatshirt at Old School Shirts!

 

When you make a purchase through an affiliate link like this one, Fun While It Lasted earns a commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!

Links

United Soccer Association Media Guides

United Soccer Association Programs

North American Soccer League Media Guides

North American Soccer League Programs

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