The Houston Apollos were a minor professional ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 team based in Houston, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. They played in the Central Hockey League from 1965 to 1969, and then from 1979 to 1981.

From 1965 to 1969 they were a farm team of the NHL's

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...

. The Canadiens pulled out and moved the team back to Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

 where they became the Montreal Voyageurs of the American Hockey League

American Hockey League

The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...

. Aside from cutting back on travel costs, the Canadiens cited low attendance, poor choice of dates in the local arena, and lack of practice time.

The team was revived in 1979, after the Houston Aeros

Houston Aeros

The Houston Aeros are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. The team plays in Houston, Texas, at the Toyota Center. They are the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota Wild.- History :...

 of the World Hockey Association

World Hockey Association

The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...

 folded. The team only lasted one and a half seasons before folding on January 8, 1981.

The team played in the Sam Houston Coliseum

Sam Houston Coliseum

Sam Houston Coliseum was an indoor arena, located in Houston, Texas. It was located at 801 Bagby Street near downtown. The arena was opened in November 1937 and had a capacity of 9,200. It was built in conjunction with the Houston Music Hall, which was adjacent to the Coliseum...

.

Central Hockey League

Season Games Won Lost Tied Points GoalsFfor GoalsAagainst Standing Playoffs
1965-66 70 27 32 11 65 221 244 5th out of playoffs
1966-67 70 32 28 10 74 255 229 3rd Lost Semi Final
1967-68 70 28 31 11 67 220 216 4th South out of playoffs
1968-69 72 34 26 12 80 224 204 3rd South Lost Quarter Final
1979-80 80 32 38 10 74 300 319 6th Lost Quarter Final
1980-81 33 12 13 8 32 97 98 - Dropped out Jan. 8