Houston Thunderbears

Houston ThunderBears
Established 1996
Folded 2001
Played in Compaq Center
in Houston, Texas
HelmetLogo
League/conference affiliations

Arena Football League (1996–2001)

Team colors Navy, orange, teal
              
Personnel
Head coach Steve Thonn
Team history
  • Texas Terror (1996–1997)
  • Houston ThunderBears (1998–2001)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Prior to 2005, the AFL did not have conference championship games

Division championships (1)

Prior to 1992, the AFL did not have division
Playoff appearances (1)
Home arena(s)

The Houston ThunderBears were a professional arena football team based in Houston, Texas. The team finished the 2001 season as a member of the Western Division of the American Conference of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team joined the AFL in 1996 as the expansion Texas Terror. After their first two years of existence, the franchise changed their name to the Houston ThunderBears. Plagued with attendance problems through the majority of their existence, the team folded in 2001. Home games were played at the Compaq Center.

History

Texas Terror (1996–1997)

The Texas Terror was a franchise in the Arena Football League (AFL). The Terror played in the 1996 and 1997 Arena seasons. Their home games were played at the Summit also at that time home to the Houston Rockets of the NBA. The Terror's logo appeared to be a stylized representation of Frankenstein's monster holding a football.

The 1996 season was an unmitigated disaster, with the Terror notching only one win, coming against another first-year team, the ill-fated Minnesota Fighting Pike. The 1997 season was considerably better with a record of 6-8, but the attendance was abysmal, especially given the size of the Houston market. After the season, the decision was made to remake the franchise and scrap both the existing logo and team name, and the team was renamed the Houston ThunderBears.

Houston ThunderBears (1998–2001)

The Houston ThunderBears were a continuation of the Texas Terror franchise (1996–1997) of the AFL under a new name, logo, and color scheme. The team still played its home games at the Compaq Center. 1998, the first year as the ThunderBears, was the high-water mark in team history, in which they recorded their only winning season and sole playoff appearance (a loss to Arizona). The two subsequent seasons saw a decline in both on-field performance and attendance. For the 2001 season, then owner Leslie Alexander (owner of the NBA's Houston Rockets), sold the franchise back to the AFL. Although still called the Houston ThunderBears, the team played none of its home games in Houston. The league decided to use them as a showcase team to stimulate interest in new markets, playing in cities such as Bismarck, North Dakota, Madison, Wisconsin, and Charleston, West Virginia. Four AFL/af2 franchises (the Utah Blaze, Fresno Frenzy, Central Valley Coyotes, and Lubbock Renegades) emerged from some of the markets that the ThunderBears played in.[1] The team was ultimately contracted along with three other AFL franchises in the 2001–2002 offseason.

Season-by-season

SeasonWLTFinishPlayoff results
Texas Terror
199611304th NC Southern--
19976803rd AC Central--
Houston Thunderbears
19988601st AC CentralLost 1st Round (Arizona 36-50)
199941004th AC Central--
200031104th AC Central--
200131104th AC Western--
Totals25600 (including playoffs)

Notable players

Arena Football Hall of Famers

Houston ThunderBears Hall of Famers
No. Name Year Inducted Position(s) Years w/ ThunderBears
13Clint Dolezel[2]2012QB1997–1999

Individual awards

All-Arena players

The following ThunderBears players were named to All-Arena Teams:

All-Ironman players

The following ThunderBears players were named to All-Ironman Teams:

All-Rookie players

The following ThunderBears players were named to All-Rookie Teams:

Notes

References

  1. ↑ Dave Shelles (April 13, 2001). "Lubbock to get taste of arena football". www.lobbockoneline.com. Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Arena Football League Hall of Fame". www.arenafootball.com. Arena Football League. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
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