By: Elle Shi Grade 7
In 1972, professional hockey landed in Houston, a city better known for heat, oil, and NASA than ice. The Houston Aeros joined the World Hockey Association, a bold upstart rival to the NHL that challenged the established league’s monopoly on talent, markets, cities, and money. What followed was one of the most consequential six-year runs in hockey history.
On Houston
The Aeros were arguably the most successful professional sports franchise in Texas history at the time, making the playoffs every year of their existence and winning the WHA championship twice. Texas State Historical Association Their success on the ice with their two championship consecutive wins during the 1973-1974 and 1974-1975 season had real infrastructure consequences off it; Initially, the team played its home games in the Sam Houston Coliseum until 1975, but after the championship wins, they played in The Summit, which was built through the success of the Houston Aeros. The Summit was a modern arena that became the city’s premier sports venue for the next three decades and housed the Rockets’ back-to-back NBA championships. In fact, compared to the Rockets in the new Arena, the Houston Aeros consistently outdrew fan attendance. More generally, that initial WHA Houston Aeros franchise proved that Hockey could succeed, paving the way for the CHL Houston Apollos, IHL Aeros, and AHL Aeros that came to the city after.
On the WHA
The Aeros’ biggest move wasn’t a championship but a signing. Since the WHA was a rival league, the WHA disregarded the NHL’s rule against drafting junior-eligible players, selecting Mark and Marty Howe, which drew their father Gordie Howe out of retirement to play alongside them, making them the first father-son combination to play together in professional hockey. The Hockey Writers The NHL president personally called Gordie to stop it. It didn’t work. The signing gave the WHA national legitimacy overnight and forced the NHL to rethink its age eligibility rules in a way that continues to impact the league and the game today.
Beyond Houston
The WHA moved the game into the Sun Belt, and the Aeros were its proof of concept. A hockey team thriving in 100-degree Houston showed the sport could survive outside its northern strongholds. Dallas, Tampa, Nashville, and Vegas followed decades later. Ironically, Houston never got an NHL team, and still today, the city that proved it could work is still waiting.
