Houston Stars

The Houston Stars were an American football - franchise from Houston , Texas , in 1967 the game operation of the United Soccer Association (USA) , and in 1968 the game operation of the North American Soccer League (NASL) participated. The stars belonged to Roy Hofheinz , owner of the local major league baseball team Astros, as well as the Astrodome , which became their home stadium. The name Stars , like the names of the Astros and the Astrodome, was based on Houston’s status as the center of the US space industry.

United States

In the first season of their existence, the stars, like all franchises in the USA, did not have their own squad, but instead imported a full foreign professional team for the 12-game season in the summer when the rest of the world of football was free. The stars received the winner of the International Soccer League of 1960 and champions of Rio de Janeiro of 1966, Bangu AC , from the USA management . although Houston did not have a large Brazilian community.

The core of the team were Mario Tito , Paulo Borges , Aladim Luciano and Carlos Cabralzinho . In addition to Tito and Borges, Jose Fidelis and Ary Clemente were also elected to the US All-Star Team. The team became a crowd puller; the opening home game against the Los Angeles Wolves , the tournament name of the Wolverhampton Wanderers , set the record for the USA with 34,965 spectators. Overall, the club achieved a home average of 19,802, with a league average of just under 8,000. In terms of sport, however, the season was mixed with four wins, four draws and four defeats and a missed qualification for the play-offs. The game against the Detroit Cougars , the imported team from Glentoran Belfast , caused a sporting low point when the spectators stormed the pitch and the game culminated in a mass brawl, in which the corner flags were used by players as weapons. David Wangerin: Soccer in a Football World: The Story of America's Forgotten Game . WSC Books Limited, London 2006, ISBN 0-9540134-7-6 , pp. 134 .

NASL

In the second year of its existence and after the merger of the USA with a rival league to the NASL, the management no longer imported a complete foreign professional team, but put together a new squad from the ground up, the core of the team were Yugoslav players, supplemented by numerous Hungarian compatriots of the new US-Hungarian trainer Geza A. Henni . In sporting terms, the play-offs were missed by eight points behind the Kansas City Spurs . On the other hand, the audience numbers collapsed; only an average of 3,246 viewers wanted to watch the home games. During the near-collapse of the NASL at the end of the 1968 season, the stars were also disbanded.

Season results

year	league	Victories	Defeats	draw	Points	Regular season	Play-offs
1967	United States	4th	4th	4th	12	4th, Western Division	No qualification
1968	NASL	14th	12	6th	150	2nd, Gulf Division	No qualification

Web links

Dave Morrison: Houston Stars . North American Soccer League Rosters (as of February 6, 2012)

Individual evidence

^ Edgar W. Ray: The Grand Huckster: Houston's Judge Roy Hofheinz. Memphis State University Press, 1980, ISBN 0-87870-195-8 , p. 360.
^ ^A ^b ^c Steve Holroyd: The Year in American Soccer - 1967 . The USA Soccer History Archives, ( as of August 15, 2008; accessed July 19, 2009 ).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e A Soccer History Of Houston. ( Memento of May 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) on the website of the Association of Current and Former US National Players, US National Soccer Team Players ( visited July 19, 2009 ).
^ David Wangerin: Soccer in a Football World: The Story of America's Forgotten Game . WSC Books Limited, London 2006, ISBN 0-9540134-7-6 , pp. 133 .
^ David Wangerin: Soccer in a Football World: The Story of America's Forgotten Game . WSC Books Limited, London 2006, ISBN 0-9540134-7-6 , pp. 139 .
↑ ^a ^b The NASL point system differed greatly from traditional ones; There were six points for a win, three for a draw and no point for a defeat, and every goal scored up to and including the third was awarded an extra point.
↑ ^a ^b Steve Holroyd: The Year in American Soccer - 1968 ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2 archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . The USA Soccer History Archives, ( as of June 15, 2008; accessed July 19, 2009 ).

[1] Edgar W. Ray: The Grand Huckster: Houston's Judge Roy Hofheinz. Memphis State University Press, 1980, ISBN 0-87870-195-8 , p. 360.

[Y1967-2] A ^b ^c Steve Holroyd: The Year in American Soccer - 1967 . The USA Soccer History Archives, ( as of August 15, 2008; accessed July 19, 2009 ).

[usnstp-3] A Soccer History Of Houston. ( Memento of May 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) on the website of the Association of Current and Former US National Players, US National Soccer Team Players ( visited July 19, 2009 ).

[4] David Wangerin: Soccer in a Football World: The Story of America's Forgotten Game . WSC Books Limited, London 2006, ISBN 0-9540134-7-6 , pp. 133 .

[5] David Wangerin: Soccer in a Football World: The Story of America's Forgotten Game . WSC Books Limited, London 2006, ISBN 0-9540134-7-6 , pp. 139 .

[NASL-6] The NASL point system differed greatly from traditional ones; There were six points for a win, three for a draw and no point for a defeat, and every goal scored up to and including the third was awarded an extra point.

[Y1968-7] Steve Holroyd: The Year in American Soccer - 1968 ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2 archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . The USA Soccer History Archives, ( as of June 15, 2008; accessed July 19, 2009 ).