Texas Terror

Arena Football League (1996-1997)

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Texas Terror
Logo T-Shirt

The Terror joined the Arena Football League in 1996 and played their home games at the Compaq Center (formerly the Houston Summit). In 1998, the team changed its name to the Houston ThunderBears. The Terror/’Bears had Houston’s pro football market to itself for much of the six years it was in existence, following the departure of the NFL Oilers in 1997. But the arena squad never scared up much support and folded in 2001 just before the arrival of the NFL Texans in 2002.

 

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Background

The Arena Football League awarded a Texas expansion franchise to NBA Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander in October 1995. Alexander, a former Wall Street stock trader who purchased the Rockets in 1993, named the team the Texas Terror and placed them in the Houston Summit, as part of his burgeoning local pro sports empire. Alexander would add a founding franchise in the WNBA – the Houston Comets – to his stable in 1997.

The Terror debuted at The Summit on April 27th, 1996.  An announced crowd of 11,501 watched the Terror drop a low-scoring (by Arena Football standards) 36-24 decision to another expansion club, the Minnesota Fighting Pike.  The Terror were non-competitive under Head Coach John Paul Young, losing their first 11 games, en route to a 1-13 record, second worst in the 15-team league in 1996.  The club lost all seven of its home games that season.

Dave Ewart replaced Young as Head Coach prior to the 1997 campaign. On opening night of the season, starting quarterback Marty Lowe went out with a knee injury. Ewart turned to a seldom-used third-year back-up Clint Dolezel to replace Lowe. Over the next twelve seasons Dolezel established himself as one of the greatest indoor quarterbacks of all time, chucking 931 touchdown passes and winning three Arena Bowl championships. None of those titles, however, would come with the lowly Houston franchise.

Under Ewart, the Terror improved noticeably on the field to 6-8, but at the box office the season was a disaster.  Only 3,624 turned out for the Terror’s second season debut against Kurt Warner and the Iowa Barnstormers on May 2, 1997. Announced attendance for seven home dates plunged more than 50% down to 4,275 on average, second worst in the league in 1997.

Re-Branding

In December 1997, Alexander and his executives scrapped the Texas Terror brand concept.  The team was not resonating. You choose the reason: the losing, a statewide identity that didn’t speak to the Houston community, or perhaps a cartoonish aesthetic that seemed about as intimidating as a box of Franken-Berry children’s cereal.  The franchise continued under Alexander’s ownership and was re-branded the Houston ThunderBears for the 1998 season.

Aftermath

The ThunderBears folded following the 2001 Arena Football League season.

Clint Dolezel earned induction to the Arena Football Hall of Fame in 2012. The same year, the AFL released a 25th anniversary ranking of the Top 25 players in league history. Dolezel ranked #8.

Texas Terror Shop

Texas Terror Video

Texas Terror at Albany Firebirds, June 28th, 1997. 10:00 high quality clip.

Links

Arena Football League Media Guides

Arena Football League Programs

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