Saturday night the Houston Sabercats opened their 7th season. Who, you ask? The Sabercats are a professional rugby team and one of the original members of MLR (Major League Rugby), the top professional rugby league in the U.S. In their previous 6 year history, the Sabercats have had just 2 winning seasons, both coming in each of the last 2 seasons. Those were also the only 2 times the Sabercats have made playoffs. In 2022 the Sabercats were 1 game away from the MLR championship game, losing to Seattle in the Conference Final. Last year they were bounced in the 1st round by the same Seattle squad.
The Sabercats were originally known as the Houston Strikers, a local semi-pro rugby club. They rebranded as the Sabercats when the MLR was formed. In their inaugural season they split playing their home games at Dyer Stadium, an HISD facility, and Constellation Field, home of the then Sugar Land Skeeters, now the Space Cowboys, the Astros Triple-A affiliate. In 2019 they moved in to their permanent home, originally called Aveva Stadium, changed to SaberCats Stadium in 2023, located near the intersection of Hwy 288 and Airport Blvd.
How big is the rugby scene in Houston? Right now not very big. Most reading this had no clue what the Sabercats were, and even their brand new stadium has a seating capacity of just 4,000. There are a several dozen high school football stadiums throughout the Houston area that more than double that capacity. We're all aware of the major professional franchises, the Houston Astros, the Houston Texans, and the Houston Rockets. The Astros of MLB (Major League Baseball) have been around since 1962, and are currently one of the best teams in baseball having been to 7 straight American League Championships Series, 4 World Series, and bringing home 2 World Series championships in the last 9 years. The Rockets franchise began in San Diego and moved to Houston in 1971. They brought the city their first major championships in 1994 and 1995. And the Texans, who started in 2002, are a part of the NFL, the most popular sport, by far, in the United States. So those are the big 3, in the top 3 American sports, that most everybody knows about, but there are plenty of professional sports teams in the city that don't get much recognition.
The Sabercats are, of course, one of those teams. Rugby is well down the list of popular sports in America. Their league doesn't have the big TV contracts, their players don't make multi-millions of dollars, and sportstalk shows never ever mention them. Most Americans don't even know the rules of the game. A sport that is popular though, in fact it's the most popular sport in the world, is soccer. Soccer, however, is still not that popular in the U.S. though, but they're trying. Major League Soccer (MLS) came onto the scene in America in 1996. Even after starting it's 29th season a week or so ago, soccer is still somewhat of an afterthought in the American sports scene. The major soccer leagues overseas are more popular amongst Americans than American soccer is, but that hasn't stopped the MLS from trying to keep hope alive.
Houston got in the game when the San Jose Earthquakes, a charter member of the MLS, moved to Houston in 2006. They were rebranded as the Houston 1836 in honor of the city's founding date, but the "woke" generation took offense to it because the Texas Revolution was that year as well, which somehow upset the Mexican-American community. Whatever. So they caved in to the crying and rebranded as the Houston Dynamo. In the Dynamo's 1st 2 seasons in Houston they won back-to-back championships. They were in back-to-back championship games in 2011 and 2012 but lost both of those. They've had just 2 winning seasons and 2 playoff appearances since then. The Dynamo play their home games at Shell Energy Stadium in EaDo (East Downtown), formerly BBVA Compass Stadium.
The Dynamo and MLS wasn't Houston's first experience with professional soccer. In fact, there's been several others. The Houston Stars were the city's 1st professional soccer team, playing in the United Soccer Association (USA) in 1967 and joining the NASL (North American Soccer League) in 1968. That was their only 2 seasons. The city got back into the NASL in 1978 with the Houston Hurricane. Their final season was 1980. There was a team called the Houston Summit that was an original member of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). They played from 1978-1980. The Houston Hotshots were another indoor soccer team that played in the CISL (Continental Indoor Soccer League) and the WISL (World Indoor Soccer League) from 1994-2000. The Hotshots made it to back-to-back championship games in '96 & '97 losing both.
That wraps up Houston's history in the world's most popular sport, but what about America's most popular sport, football? Houston, of course, got in on the professional football scene in 1960 when the Houston Oilers were a charter member of the AFL (American Football League) an upstart league formed to compete with the NFL. The Oilers won the 1st 2 AFL championships. In 1970 the AFL merged with the NFL. The Oilers, of course, left for Tennessee in 1997, leaving Houston without professional football until the Texans started play in 2002.
In 1983 another upstart league formed to try and compete with the NFL, the United States Football League (USFL). H-Town got in on that in 1984 with the Houston Gamblers. Led by now Hall of Fame QB Jim Kelly, the Gamblers were the highest scoring team in USFL history. That league ran out of money trying to compete with the NFL and folded after the 1985 season.
In 2020 a 2nd version of the XFL (X-treme Football League) formed. The 1st version in 2001 lasted just 1 season. Unlike 2001, version 2.0 had a Houston entry called the Houston Roughnecks. They started the 2020 season 5-0 before Covid shut down the sports world. The league and the team didn't return to play until 2023. Meanwhile a 2nd version of the USFL started in 2022 with teams from cities that were in the original USFL in the '80's, including Houston, where they retained the name Gamblers. Unlike the Roughnecks who played their home games at TDECU Stadium on the University of Houston campus, the Gamblers 2.0 never played a game in Houston. The USFL, post-pandemic, decided to play all of their games in just a couple of cities. The Gamblers played all of their games in Birmingham, AL in 2022, and Memphis, TN in 2023.
These 2 leagues were not formed to compete with the NFL, they are more or less a minor league, similar to what they have in baseball, consisting of players not quite ready for NFL competition. After the 2023 season, the XFL and the USFL merged to form what is now the UFL (United Football League). In the merger, Houston loses the Roughnecks, but keeps the Gamblers, but because the Gamblers never played a game in Houston, and the Roughnecks did and had built a little bit of a following, the Gamblers have rebranded as the Roughnecks.
Of the big four sports in the U.S. (football, baseball, basketball and hockey), Houston only has professional teams in 3 of those. The one they are missing is hockey. Houston has had professional hockey before though. The top professional hockey league is the NHL (National Hockey League) formed in 1917. Houston has never had a team in the NHL. In 1972, however, the World Hockey Association (WHA) formed to compete with the NHL. The Dayton Arrows were one of the 12 original teams in that '72 inaugural season, but before that season even got under way the franchise moved to Houston to become the Houston Aeros.
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The Aeros made the playoffs every season they existed from 1972 to 1978, going to 3 championship finals in a row and winning back-to-back championships in '74 & '75. And to show that this league was seriously competing with the NHL, the Aeros had one of the greatest hockey players in history, the man known as Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe. This league also had who would turn out to be THE greatest hockey player of all time at the start of his career, Wayne Gretzky. The WHA was such a threat to the NHL that merger discussions took place starting in 1977. The Aeros were part of those discussions but were ultimately left out, which ended professional hockey in Houston. The Aeros existed in Houston again as a minor league team from 1994 to 2013, but big league hockey has avoided H-Town for 46 years and counting. Only recently has Rockets owner Tillman Fertitta initiated discussions of bringing an NHL team to Houston.
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Football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, and even rugby, though many may not be as familiar with some, at least have heard of those sports. Houston currently has a professional sports team in a sport that most have probably never even heard of. Frisbee football anyone? The AUDL (American Ultimate Disc League) formed in 2012 and will be starting their 13th season this spring under a new rebrand, the UFA (Ultimate Frisbee Association). What is this sport? Well, it's played on the same sized field as football, but with 20 yard end zones instead of 10. They play four 12 minute quarters and play as many 5 minute overtimes as it takes to determine a winner. Unlike football where they can run with the ball to gain yards, there is no running with the frisbee to advance in this sport. All advancing must be done completing frisbee throws. This season there will be 24 teams participating in this league. It wasn't until last season that Houston was awarded a franchise and they are known as the Houston Havoc. The Havoc were a dismal 2-10 last season. They play their home games at SaberCats Stadium. The regular season runs from late April to mid July.
Houston has women's professional sports as well. The only 2 that are currently active are the Houston Dash of the NWSL (National Women's Soccer League), and the Houston Energy of the WFA (Women's Football Alliance). The Dash are owned by the same group that owns the Dynamo. They have the same color scheme and play their home games in the same stadium as the Dynamo. The Dash started in 2014 and have had 1 winning regular season (2022), which resulted in their only playoff berth, knocked out in the qualifying round. They did win the NWSL Challenge Cup, which is this league's championship, in 2020, but that season did not have a regular season due to Covid. That season, when play resumed, just had all 8 teams participate in a post season tournament, and the Dash came out on top. Most famous Dash player was Kealia Ohai, now known as Kealia Watt, wife of former Texans superstar J.J. Watt.
The Houston Energy play real tackle football. They've been around longer than the Texans have, starting in 2000 in what was called the Women's Professional Football League (WPFL). The Energy were dominant in those early years winning 3 championships their 1st 3 seasons, including rolling off back-to-back perfect 12-0 seasons in 2001 and 2002. The Energy left the WPFL after not playing in 2008 and joined the IWFL (Independent Women's Football League), winning the championship in 2018, their final season in that league, before joining the WFA in 2019 where they currently reside. The Energy currently play their home games at Clear Brook High School Stadium in Freindswood.
One of the more known about women's teams in the city were the Houston Comets of the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association). The Comets were one of the original members of this league, which started in 1997. The Comets won the 1st 4 WNBA titles, led by head coach Van Chancellor with stud players Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson. Cooper was the 1st WNBA player ever elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The Comets were originally owned by Rockets owner Les Alexander. He sold the team to local furniture magnate Hilton Koch in 2006. 2 years later Koch put the team up for sale and had no buyers and the franchise folded after the 2008 season.
Those are not the only professional sports teams that have called Houston home. The Houston Thunderbears (originally Texas Terror) were an Arena Football League team from 1996-2001. In 1974 there was a professional football team know as the Houston Texans who played in the World Football League. They moved to Shreveport the following season and the league folded. The Houston Mavericks were a charter member of the ABA (American Basketball Association), a league formed to compete with the NBA. They played 4 seasons in Houston before moving to Carolina and then St. Louis to become the Spirit of St. Louis. The ABA folded in 1976 with 4 of the teams joining the NBA. Tennis had a professional league called World Team Tennis. Originally formed in 1974, the Houston E-Z Riders were one of the charter members playing only that '74 season. The Houston Astro-Knots (1982-1983), and the Houston Wranglers who played from 2005-2007, were the other Houston franchises that played in this league. The Houston Push were a basketball team owned by former Rocket Steve Francis. Houston has had 2 entries in NPF (National Pro Fastpitch), a women's professional softball league, the Texas Thunder (2004-2006) and the Scrap Yard Dawgs (2016-2017), based in Conroe.
Others;
Houston Marshals - Spring Football League (2001)
Houston Stallions - Lone Star Football League (2011)
H-Town Texas Cyclones (2008-2010), Houston Power (2010-2022) - women's football
Texas Arrow Heads - pro cricket (2004)
Houston Angels (1978-79), Houston Shamrocks (1984) - women's basketball
Houston Eagles (1949-50) - Negro league baseball
Texas Copperheads (2006-08) - indoor football
And finally we have the Houston Outlaws (2017-2023), a professional Overwatch eSports team. A what? Yes, this was a professional league that had teams competing in playing the Overwatch video game. This league folded in January 2024.
Not included in this article are all of the minor league teams that have called Houston home, for which players are paid, so technically they'd be professional. The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a minor league affiliate of the Houston Astros, and the players on that team are paid by the Astros. The Houston Aeros of the 90's and 2000's were at one point a minor league affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota Wild. Those players were also paid to play so technically they were professionals. With that in mind, Houston has had professional sports teams dating back to the 1800's, specifically in baseball. The Houston Buffaloes, also known as the Buffs, were a long time minor league team and a long time affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Buffaloes started play in 1888 as the Houston Babies. This is the first known professional team to call the city of Houston, TX home.
So that's the rundown of professional sports in Houston, TX. Most of these teams, even a sports nut like me has never heard of before.
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