Tag: Sam Houston Coliseum

Houston Apollos Central Hockey League

Houston Apollos (1965-1969)

January 23, 2020

The original Houston Apollos hockey team was a minor league farm club of the Montreal Canadiens during the late 1960’s. The Apollos, who skated at the Sam Houston Coliseum, were members of the Central Hockey League, playing teams from across the deep south and the lower great plains states. Though the team lasted only four seasons, the Apollos helped to develop four future Hockey Hall of Famers: Tony Esposito, Pat Quinn, Serge Savard & Rogie Vachon. A re-booted version of the Apollos returned to the CHL from 1979 to 1981.

Read More »
Poul Popiel on the cover of a 1979 Houston Apollos program from the Central Hockey League

Houston Apollos (1979-1981)

December 5, 2018

The 1979-1981 Houston Apollos were a doomed minor league hockey entry in the Central Hockey League (CHL). The name was a tribute a previous CHL club named the Apollos that played from 1965 to 1969 as a Montreal Canadiens farm team. Both the versions of the Apollos played in the old Sam Houston Coliseum. The “new” Apollos folded in the middle of their second season in January 1981.

Read More »
Gordie Howe on the cover of a 1976 Houston Aeros program from the World Hockey Association

Houston Aeros (1972-1978)

January 25, 2015

The Houston Aeros were a powerhouse club in the World Hockey Association, a 1970’s-era rival to the NHL. The Aeros are best remembered for luring pro hockey’s all-time leading scorer, Gordie Howe, out of retirement in 1973 and signing him to play alongside his sons Mark and Marty Howe.  There was little rust on the 45-year old star.  Mr. Hockey won league MVP honors in 1974 as the Aeros won the first of two straight AVCO Cup championships that spring.

Read More »
1968-69 Houston Mavericks Media Guide from the American Basketball Association

Houston Mavericks

January 5, 2013

The Houston Mavericks were one of the original franchises in the iconic American Basketball Association, debuting in the autumn of 1967. The Mavs endured a hard-luck two-year existence playing to pitiful crowds at the Sam Houston Coliseum before moving to North Carolina in 1969.

Read More »
Houston E-Z Riders World Team Tennis

Houston E-Z Riders

February 18, 2012

The Houston E-Z Riders were a co-ed tennis promotion that competed in the first season of World Team Tennis in 1974.  The Riders’ top attraction was Aussie star John Newcombe, a 7-time Grand Slam champion. The team’s logo was an endearingly goofy ripoff of Yosemite Sam. The mustachioed outlaw toted a pair of smoking tennis racquets in his hip holsters.

Read More »