Skip to main content

Fort Worth Texans (1974-75, CHL)

Quite a few programs from the CHL, eh?


1974-75 Regular Season--Opponent Unknown
      The Fort Worth Texans were members of the Central Hockey League from 1967-82. The Texans were the third pro hockey franchise in Fort Worth since 1941. The franchise arrived in town after a three-year stay in Memphis, Tennessee. The Texans played their home games at the Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum, which seats 6500.
     For the first seven years of it's existence, the Texans were called "Fort Worth Wings" and were a farm team of the Detroit Red Wings. In 1974, the Wings became Texans and were affiliated with the up-and-coming New York Islanders, hence the logo. This program is from the team's first season as the Texans.
     Head Coach Ed Chadwick's Texans struggled through a rough 1974-75 campaign, bringing up the rear in the CHL. Their 26-40-12 record gave them a paltry 68 points. They tied Tulsa for fewest points, but earned dead last by having the fewest points. They finished five points behind the next worst team in the league (Seattle Totems) and 24 points behind division champion Dallas.
     On offense, the Texans were fifth in the league, scoring just 264 goals. They were led by Jim Webster, who had 75 points on 22 goals. Ron Kennedy led the team in goals with 34. Five other players scored at least 20 on the year.
     On defense, Fort Worth struggled, allowing a league-worst 322 goals. They went through four different goaltenders that season. Bill Hughes took the brunt of the abuse in the Texans' net, playing 57 games, going 17-26-10 with a 4.09 GAA and 1 shutout. Don Cutts played the second-most games, going 2-10-0 with a 4.50 GAA in 15 appearances. Ron Marlow and Steve Miskiewicz also saw playing time.
    Finishing dead-last in the league meant no playoffs for the Texans that year. Chadwick would be replaced with Terry Gray for the 1975-76 season.
     Nice-looking program, it has 32 pages with lots of pictures and stats. Local advertisements include The Keg Steak and Lobster, Kip's Big Boy and Washer Bros. Suits (featuring the Johnny Carson line, no less!). Some nice in-game action pictures of a Dallas-Fort Worth game. Those two teams had a serious blood feud, often leading to bench-clearing brawls. Old-time hockey!

Aftermath: The Texans would win their only Adams Cup championship in 1977-78, knocking off arch-rival Dallas in a thrilling seven game series. By 1979, the Texans became the primary farm team of the Colorado Rockies. The franchise would continue playing until 1982, when declining attendance brought on by the recession of the time forced the franchise to fold. The CHL itself would last just two more seasons before going under.

Sources:
Central Hockey League Statistics: 1974-75 (from hockeydb.com)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Port Huron Hockey: Flags/Wings (1962-81)

Now, on to Port Huron.      Port Huron has had a long, yet checkered, history of pro hockey. The most successful franchise, by far, was the Port Huron Flags (also called Wings for a few years) of the IHL. The Flags were, for the most part, a competitve team on the ice, making the Turner Cup Finals seven times and winning the Cup on three occasions. For three years, (1971-74), the franchise was a farm team of the Detroit Red Wings, and sent numerous players on to the NHL in it's existence. However, the team had problems drawing big enough crowds. While the Flags lasted for nearly 20 years, former GM Morris Snider later admitted that the franchise could have folded three years before it actually did, due to declining attendance. I've found some Flags/Wings programs online over the years, and here's what I have. 1963-64 Regular Season--Flags vs. Windsor       1963-64 was the second year of existence for the Flags. After missing the...

Indianapolis Checkers (IHL, 1985-86)

1985-86 Regular Season Checkers vs. Flint Spirits      The Indianapolis Checkers were back for their second season in the IHL after five seasons in the defunct Central Hockey League. The Checkers remained a secondary affiliate of both the New York Islanders and Minnesota North Stars. Larry Woods purchased the Checkers after the 1984-85 season and moved the team to the 15,900-seat Market Square Arena, home of the NBA's Indiana Pacers. The team kept their Islanders-styled uniforms, but changed the logo.      Former Port Huron Flags coach Ron Ullyot was named Coach/GM of the Checkers, and his team greatly improved on their first IHL season. Indy finished with a 41-35-6 mark. They finished last in the very competitive West Division, which had all the teams win at least 40 games. The Checkers' 88 points would have easily taken fourth place in the East.     Indy scored just 296 goals that year, better than only Flint and Toledo. Longtime minor lea...

Muskegon Mohawks (IHL, 1965-84)

I know, I said earlier I was going to look at Detroit's minor league teams. That would mean the Vipers would be next, but I decided to cover them later when I had time (I have a TON of programs from that team). Instead, I'm going to look briefly at Muskegon.  Muskegon has had a long, colorful past in professional hockey. It all started in 1960 with the expansion Muskegon Zephyrs of the IHL. Five seasons later, 1965-66, the Zephyrs became the Mohawks, and remain so until 1984-85, when they became the Lumberjacks. The Lumberjacks would remain in town through the 1992-93 season. After that season, the franchise would relocate to Cleveland, Ohio. Here are the Mohawks programs I have, along with a couple bonus scans.        The Mohawks existed from 1965-84, about 20 seasons, and had two vastly different eras of success. From 1965-76, the Mohawks finished above .500 10 times, winning the Huber Trophy (Regular Season Championship) six times and the ...