Houston Hurricane
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| Full name | Houston Hurricane |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Hurricane |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Dissolved | 1980 |
| Stadium | Astrodome |
| Capacity | 45,000 |
| Chairman | Hans Von Mende |
| Manager |
Timo Liekoski Eckhard Krautzun |
| League | NASL |
The Houston Hurricane was a soccer team based out of Houston that played in the NASL. 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, who had been an assistant with the Dallas Tornado, 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 ten wins of thirty matches (there were no draws in the NASL) and drew a miserable average attendance of 5,806, with only the Chicago Sting and San Diego Sockers drawing less in the thirty-team league.
For 1979, the Hurricane did much better, winning the division with 22 wins in thirty matches, and Liekoski was awarded Coach of the Year honors. But the Hurricane could not do as well in the playoffs, losing to the Philadelphia Fury in two straight. Attendance was better at 6,211 a match but still was next to last in the league - the worst being Philadelphia. Considering that Kyle Rote, Jr. had joined the Hurricane that season, it must have been a disappointment. In any case, Rote left the Hurricane on a relief mission to Cambodia 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 the Edmonton Drillers. They won fourteen and lost eighteen in the expanded schedule, and attendance fell to 5,818 a match, with only the Atlanta 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) and the team folded in late 1980.
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