The Houston Oilers were charter members of the American Football League (AFL) in 1960. The team won the league’s first two championships and joined the NFL, along with its fellow AFL clubs, in 1970. In 1995, the team announced it was moving to Nashville, Tennessee. At first they were known as the Tennessee Oilers before changing their name to the Tennessee Titans.
United Soccer Association (1967) North American Soccer League(1968) Born: 1967 – USA founding franchise Folded: Postseason 1968 First Game: May 27, 1967 (T 1-1 vs. Los Angeles
The Houston Hurricane languished in a nearly empty Astrodome for three summers before being euthanized in the autumn of 1980. Houston was the sixth and final new club added to the North American Soccer League during a euphoric expansion orgy during the winter of 1977-78. The addition of Houston brought the NASL membership to an all-time peak of 24 clubs. However, none of the six clubs added in 1978 would survive beyond 1980. The expansion misfires of 1978 would later be cited by NASL observers and insiders as a factor in the league downward spiral in the early 1980’s and eventual closure in 1985.
The Houston Texans were a blink-and-you-missed-’em franchise in the World Football League during the summer of 1974. The Texans played only five home games at the Astrodome before abruptly moving to Shreveport, Louisiana in mid-season. The Texans’ great notoriety came from briefly luring away the NFL’s #1 overall draft pick in 1973, Houston Oilers defensive end John Matuszak. The Tooz played just a handful of snaps for the Texans before sherrif’s deputies served him with a restraining order on the sideline, ending his WFL adventure after only one weird evening.
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