The Houston Hurricane was a soccer team based out of Houston

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

 that played in the NASL

North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...

. They played from 1978 to 1980. Their home field was the Astrodome. Their colors were orange, white and red.

The team was the last of six expansion teams granted for the season and had about three months to sign players and sell tickets. Though the coach, Timo Liekoski

Timo Liekoski

Timo Liekoski is a Finnish soccer coach who managed teams in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League, American Indoor Soccer Association and Major League Soccer...

, who had been an assistant with the Dallas Tornado

Dallas Tornado

Dallas Tornado were a soccer team based in Dallas that played in the NASL. They played from 1967 to 1981. Their home fields were Cotton Bowl , P.C. Cobb Stadium , Franklin Field , Texas Stadium and Ownby Stadium on the SMU campus...

, was capable, assembling a competitive team in so short a time would be daunting. In any case, the Hurricane placed last in its first season with 10 wins of 30 matches (there were no draws allowed in the NASL) and drew a miserable average attendance of 5,806, with only Chicago Sting

Chicago Sting

The Chicago Sting was an American professional soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League from in the 1982-83 season and again from 1984 to 1988...

 and San Diego Sockers drawing worse in the 30-team league.

For 1979, the Hurricane did much better, winning the division with 22 wins in 30 matches, and Liekoski was awarded Coach of the Year honors. But the Hurricane could not do as well in the playoffs, losing to Philadelphia Fury

Philadelphia Fury

The Philadelphia Fury was a soccer team based in Philadelphia that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1980. Among the club's investors were rock musicians Rick Wakeman, Peter Frampton and Paul Simon. The team played at Veterans Stadium....

 in two straight losses. Attendance was better at 6,211 a match but still was next to last in the league - the worst, ironically, was Philadelphia. Considering that Kyle Rote, Jr.

Kyle Rote, Jr.

Kyle Rote, Jr. is a retired American soccer forward who played seven seasons in the North American Soccer League and earned five caps with the United States men's national soccer team between 1973 and 1975. He led the NASL in scoring in 1973. He later coached the Memphis Americans of the Major...

 had joined the Hurricane that season, it would have to have to have been a disappointment. In any case, Rote left the Hurricane on a relief mission to Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

 and later retired.

The Hurricane didn't do as well in what turned out to be their final season, placing second in the division and again losing in the playoffs versus Edmonton Drillers. They won 14 and lost 18 in the expanded schedule (now 32 matches) and attendance fell to 5,818 a match, with only Atlanta Chiefs

Atlanta Chiefs

The Atlanta Chiefs were a soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia that played in the NPSL and NASL from 1967 to 1972. Their home fields were Atlanta Stadium and Tara Stadium . The club was the brainchild of Dick Cecil, then Vice President of the Atlanta Braves baseball franchise who were the Chiefs'...

 and again, Philadelphia being the only teams with worse gates. That was enough for the Hurricane's owners (who were actually based in Denver, Colorado

Denver, Colorado

The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

) and the team folded in late 1980.

Former Players and Staff

Paul Hammond (1978–80) http://home.att.net/~nasl/players.htm#H Stewart Jump

Stewart Jump

Stewart Jump was an English professional footballer in the 1970s. Chosen as the MVP of the 1975 Soccer Bowl-Career:...

 (1978–80) http://home.att.net/~nasl/players.htm#J Brian Kettle

Brian Kettle

Brian Kettle is an English former footballer who played as a left-back.Kettle began his career with Liverpool, signing professional forms in 1973. He was to remain at Anfield for seven years, but could never rise above reserve level...

 (1978–79) Mark Lindsay

Mark Lindsay (footballer)

Mark Lindsay is a retired English footballer who spent nine seasons in the North American Soccer League, three in the Major Indoor Soccer League and one in the American Indoor Soccer Association....

 (1978–79) http://home.att.net/~nasl/players.htm#L Larry Lloyd

Larry Lloyd

Laurence Valentine Lloyd was a footballer, a burly and tough central defender who won honours for both Bill Shankly's Liverpool and Brian Clough's all-conquering Nottingham Forest side of the late 1970s....

 (1978) http://home.att.net/~nasl/players.htm#L Ian Anderson

Ian Anderson (Scottish footballer)

Ian Anderson was a Scottish professional football defender who spent most of his career playing in the United States....

 (1978–79) Bobby Lennox

Bobby Lennox

Robert "Bobby" Lennox, MBE is a former Scottish professional footballer who played for Celtic Football Club and was a member of their 1967 European Cup winning team known as the Lisbon Lions. He also earned ten international caps for his national team Scotland...

 (1978–79)Matt O'Sullivan (1978–80)David Benner (1978–80) University of HoustonJack Rothell (1979–80) University of Houston equip Ray Nolan (1978) California State University, Chico State http://www.nasljerseys.com/images/Hurricane/Hurricane%2078%20Home%20Team.jpg

Year-by-year

Year	League	W	L	T	Pts	Reg. Season	Playoffs	Attendance
1978	NASL	10	20	—	96	4th, American Conference, Central Division	Did not qualify	7,750
1979	NASL	22	8	—	187	1st, American Conference, Central Division	Lost Conference Quarterfinal (Philadelphia Philadelphia Fury The Philadelphia Fury was a soccer team based in Philadelphia that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1980. Among the club's investors were rock musicians Rick Wakeman, Peter Frampton and Paul Simon. The team played at Veterans Stadium.... )	6,212
1979/80	NASL Indoor	Did not enter
1980	NASL	14	18	—	130	2nd, American Conference, Central Division	Lost 1st Round (Edmonton)	5,818