Houston Aeros 1972-73 to 1977-78

Owners

Paul Deneau

Jim Smith

George Bolin

Harrison Vickers

Rinks

Sam Houston Coliseum 1972-73 to 1974-75

The Summit 1975-76 to 1977-78

Seasons & Leaders

1972-73 Record 39-35-4, 82 pts Coach Bill Dineen Goals 36, Gord Labossiere 34, Ted Taylor Assists 60, Gord Labossiere 48, Poul Popiel Points 96, Gord Labossiere 76, Ted Taylor Penalty Min. 239, John Schella 158, Poul Popiel Wins 20, Wayne Rutledge Goals Against 3.05, Wayne Rutledge Shutouts 1, Don McLeod

1973-74 Record 48-25-5, 101 pts League Champions Coach Bill Dineen Goals 42, Frank Hughes 38, Mark Howe Assists 69, Gordie Howe 56, Andre Hinse Points 100, Gordie Howe 86, Larry Lund Penalty Min. 170, John Schella 143, Ted Taylor Wins 33, Don McLeod Goals Against 2.56, Don McLeod Shutouts 3, Don McLeod

1974-75 Record 53-25-0, 106 pts League Champions Coach Bill Dineen Goals 48, Frank Hughes 39, Andre Hinse Assists 75, Larry Lund 65, Gordie Howe Points 108, Larry Lund 99, Gordie Howe Penalty Min. 176, John Schella 153, Glen Irwin Wins 33, Ron Grahame Goals Against 3.03, Ron Grahame Shutouts 4, Ron Grahame

1975-76 Record 53-27-0, 106 pts Coach Bill Dineen Goals 39, Mark Howe 35, Andre Hinse Assists 70, Gordie Howe 49, Larry Lund Points 102, Gordie Howe 76, Mark Howe Penalty Min. 116, Glen Irwin 106, John Schella Wins 39, Ron Grahame Goals Against 3.17, Wayne Rutledge Shutouts 3, Ron Grahame

1976-77 Record 50-24-6, 106 pts Coach Bill Dineen Goals 38, Rich Preston 35, Cam Connor Assists 60, Terry Ruskowski 56, Poul Popiel Points 84, Terry Ruskowski 79, Rich Preston Penalty Min. 224, Cam Connor 168, Glen Irwin Wins 27, Ron Grahame Goals Against 2.74, Ron Grahame Shutouts 4, Ron Grahame

1977-78 Record 42-34-4, 88 pts Coach Bill Dineen Goals 40, Morris Lukowich 36, Andre Lacroix Assists 77, Andre Lacroix 57, Terry Ruskowski Points 113, Andre Lacroix 72, Terry Ruskowski Penalty Min. 217, Cam Connor 170, Terry Ruskowski Wins 28, Ernie Wakely Goals Against 3.24, Ernie Wakely Shutouts 2, Ernie Wakely

Complete Roster & Regular Season Scoring Totals

Player (G: Goaltender)	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	Penalty Min.
Lund, Larry	459	149	277	426	419
Howe, Gordie	291	121	248	369	263
Popiel, Poul	468	62	265	327	517
Howe, Mark	279	136	170	306	134
Hughes, Frank	337	149	151	300	153
Taylor, Ted	420	123	164	287	590
Labossiere, Gord	300	102	162	264	144
Ruskowski, Terry	294	63	188	251	547
Hinse, Andre	240	100	144	244	65
Preston, Rich	308	105	120	225	149
Hall, Murray	312	96	125	221	155
Schella, John	385	39	143	182	844
Larway, Don	298	87	82	169	279
Tonelli, John	224	64	86	150	278
Howe, Marty	308	48	92	140	333
Lukowich, Morris	148	67	53	120	198
Lacroix, Andre	78	36	77	113	57
Hale, Larry	413	11	97	108	212
Sherrit, Jim	153	52	53	105	43
Connor, Cam	144	56	48	104	441
Gray, John	124	56	43	99	105
Grierson, Don	143	33	40	73	128
McLeod, Al	131	9	43	52	74
Harris, Duke	75	30	12	42	14
Hoekstra, Ed	97	13	28	41	12
McDonald, Brian	71	20	20	40	78
Campbell, Scott	75	8	29	37	116
West, Steve	74	11	21	32	25
Mortson, Keke	75	13	17	30	102
Kannegiesser, Gord	123	0	30	30	58
Irwin, Glen	189	7	23	30	437
McCallum, Dunc	69	9	20	29	112
Hansis, Ron	100	17	12	29	57
Hughes, John	79	3	25	28	130
Stanfield, Jack	112	9	15	24	10
Szura, Joe	42	8	7	15	4
Smith, Brian	48	7	6	13	19
Popiel, Jan	67	4	7	11	59
Larose, Ray	68	1	10	11	25
Williamson, Gary	9	2	6	8	0
Prentice, Bill	75	1	6	7	54
Butters, Bill	14	0	4	4	18
Rutledge, Wayne (G)	185	0	4	4	96
Pentland, Dwayne	29	1	2	3	6
McLeod, Don (G)	90	0	3	3	12
Grahame, Ron (G)	143	0	1	1	2
Terbenche, Paul (Playoffs only)	0	0	0	0	0
Mazur, John	1	0	0	0	0
Liddington, Bob	2	0	0	0	2
Hughes, Bill (G)	3	0	0	0	2
Fedorko, Mike	4	0	0	0	0
Donaldson, Gary	5	0	0	0	6
Stevens, Mike	6	0	0	0	2
Zimmerman, Lynn (G)	20	0	0	0	0
Wakely, Ernie (G)	51	0	0	0	0

Complete Playoff Scoring Totals

Player (G: Goaltender)	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	Penalty Min.
Howe, Mark	55	29	42	71	24
Lund, Larry	59	20	45	65	116
Howe, Gordie	54	20	37	57	96
Popiel, Poul	71	7	47	54	118
Labossiere, Gord	50	16	28	44	46
Ruskowski, Terry	44	17	26	43	151
Hughes, Frank	54	24	16	40	33
Taylor, Ted	63	18	21	39	147
Hall, Murray	54	21	17	38	32
Hinse, Andre	42	15	16	31	28
Schella, John	66	4	25	29	143
Tonelli, John	34	11	14	25	28
Preston, Rich	41	8	17	25	24
Larway, Don	38	12	8	20	33
Howe, Marty	52	8	12	20	64
Hale, Larry	65	4	15	19	22
Sherrit, Jim	27	8	10	18	8
Lukowich, Morris	17	7	6	13	36
Connor, Cam	13	4	4	8	69
Grierson, Don	17	1	5	6	29
McCallum, Dunc	10	2	3	5	6
McLeod, Al	16	2	3	5	11
Lacroix, Andre	6	2	2	4	0
Gray, John	12	0	4	4	18
Mortson, Keke	12	0	4	4	16
Hansis, Ron	14	2	2	4	8
Hoekstra, Ed	9	1	2	3	0
McDonald, Brian	10	3	0	3	16
Kannegiesser, Gord	12	0	3	3	13
Butters, Bill	17	0	3	3	51
Campbell, Scott	6	1	1	2	8
Hughes, John	6	1	1	2	6
Terbenche, Paul	6	1	1	2	0
Popiel, Jan	8	1	1	2	4
Harris, Duke	10	1	1	2	4
Smith, Brian	10	0	2	2	0
Irwin, Glen	18	0	2	2	17
West, Steve	19	1	1	2	0
Grahame, Ron (G)	36	0	2	2	0
Stanfield, Jack	16	1	0	1	2
Pentland, Dwayne	2	0	0	0	0
Zimmerman, Lynn (G)	4	0	0	0	6
Larose, Ray	8	0	0	0	2
Szura, Joe	10	0	0	0	0
Prentice, Bill	10	0	0	0	5
Williamson, Gary	12	0	0	0	0
McLeod, Don (G)	17	0	0	0	0
Rutledge, Wayne (G)	20	0	0	0	2

Complete Regular Season Goaltending

Goaltender	Games	Minutes	Goals	Shutouts	Record	Average
Grahame, Ron	143	8528	425	12	102-37-3	2.99
Rutledge, Wayne	175	10372	563	6	93-72-7	3.26
McLeod, Don	90	5381	272	4	52-33-4	3.03
Wakely, Ernie	51	3070	166	2	28-18-4	3.24
Zimmerman, Lynn	20	1166	84	0	10-9-0	4.32
Hughes, Bill	3	170	11	0	0-1-1	3.88

Complete Playoff Goaltending

Goaltender	Games	Minutes	Goals	Shutouts	Record	Average
Grahame, Ron	36	2158	116	4	22-14	3.23
McLeod, Don	17	1020	43	0	12-5	2.53
Rutledge, Wayne	16	873	42	0	9-6	2.89
Zimmerman, Lynn	4	239	21	0	1-2	5.27

History

Paul Deneau, a real-estate developer based on Dayton, Ohio, secured the rights to a World Hockey Association franchise in November 1971. Dayton did not yet have an arena large enough to accommodate a major-league team, and the team's future banked on whether one could be built in the very near future. However, within months, Deneau had lost his bid to receive municipal help in building a new stadium in Dayton, and the team relocated to Houston, Texas, in April of 1972. Jim Smith and Robert Tate joined with Deneau to fund the club after its move to Texas. The Houston Aeros would play at the old Sam Houston Coliseum for a couple seasons, until the newer Summit Arena was completed in 1975. Deneau hired Bill Dineen to coach, and under Dineen, the team assembled a squad composed mostly of second- and third-line players with NHL experience or from the high minors. With this approach, the first-year Aeros were a tight unit that played effective hockey, winning more than they lost. Lacking star players, the Aeros got by with capable veterans like Ted Taylor (34 goals), Duke Harris (30 goals) and Murray Hall (28 goals). Gord Labossiere led all scorers with 36 goals and 96 points, while long-time Western Leaguer Larry Lund proved he belonged in the big time with a 66-point campaign. The Aeros finished second in the Western Division, but lost the 1973 divisional finals to the Winnipeg Jets. Seeking the extra edge needed to contend for the league championship, the Aeros signed 45-year old Gordie Howe to a contract over the summer of 1973. Howe had been retired from active status since 1971, but was unhappy as a figurehead executive for the Detroit Red Wings. When the Aeros drafted his sons, 18-year old Mark and 19-year old Marty in the 1973 Professional Draft (these selections also a source of controversy: the sons were members of the Ontario League's Toronto Marlboros but because they received a weekly stipend, were perceived as professionals, at least for the purposes of the draft), Gordie jumped at the chance to play alongside his sons. Despite his two-year layoff and his advanced age, he had stayed in shape and quickly dispelled any concerns that he was not ready to rejoin the fray on the ice. The Howes meshed perfectly with an already sound team, and the 1973-74 Aeros captured the league's best record at 48-25-5. Gordie scored 31 goals and 100 points to capture the league's Most Valuable Player award. Mark Howe scored 38 goals, while second-year men Larry Lund (33-53-86) and Frank Hughes (42-42-84) contributed well. The Aeros sailed through the playoffs to capture the 1974 AVCO World Trophy, beating a tired but inspired Chicago team in four straight for the crown. The 1974-75 club remained unchanged from the previous year, the principal new addition being goaltender Ron Grahame, who replaced the departed Don McLeod. The Aeros enjoyed an injury free year (no skater played in less than 70 games, except for rookie Bill Prentice) and finished atop the heap again with a sparkling 53-25-0 record. The offense scored 369 goals, with 15 of the 17 regulars scoring goals in the double digits, led by Frank Hughes' 48. Houston easily defended its crown, losing only once in 13 postseason games, and remaining undefeated during the final 10 contests. The 1975-76 club moved its home contests to the newly-completed Summit, and finished with a near-identical 53-27-0 mark from the previous season and another first-place berth. Gordie Howe surpassed the 100-point mark for the second time in three years, and was one of five 30-goal scorers on the club. However, the Aeros were no longer the clear favorites to win the World Trophy. The much-improved Winnipeg Jets were up to the challenge and Houston lost in four straight in the final round. The Aeros finished the following year with another outstanding record of 50-24-6. Youngsters Terry Ruskowski, Rich Preston, John Tonelli and Morris Lukowich replaced some of the old guard and played extremely competent hockey. Sophomore Preston led the club with 38-41-79 numbers. Houston was eliminated in the playoff semifinals by Winnipeg. This was also the end of the Howe era in Houston, as the three Howes signed with the New England Whalers over the summer of 1977. To pick up some of the slack, the Aeros signed Andre Lacroix from the recently-defunct San Diego Mariners, and the 1977-78 club finished a respectable 42-34-4 and third place overall. Coach Bill Dineen was awarded his second Coach of the Year Award for guiding a club that many felt would not contend after the departure of the Howes. The Aeros were clearly one of the classiest teams of the WHA, but attendance at the Summit was consistently below average, and the Aeros suffered financially. Ownership changed hands three times after 1974, and none of the three subsequent owners was wealthy (or willing) enough to overcome the losses the team incurred each year. The Aeros placed their bid to be included in the 1977 merger, but when that plan failed, Aeros owner Kenneth Schnitzer (1977) won the right from the league to negotiate his own agreement for NHL admittance. The 1977-78 season was a make or break year for Schnitzer, for the Aeros were near collapse the entire season, almost folding near Christmas of 1977. Schnitzer campaigned hard, and his plan was broad: Either his Aeros would be admitted to the NHL as an expansion team independent of any WHA-NHL merger, or an existing NHL team would relocate to Houston under Schnitzer's ownership. Regardless, Houston's involvement in the WHA would be finished after the 1977-78 season. Schnitzer almost succeeded in bringing the NHL's Colorado Rockies to the Summit, but the plan failed and the Rockies stayed put in Denver. The rebuff by Colorado effectively dashed the hopes of Schnitzer and his plan for major league hockey in Houston. The Aeros made their demise official when thirteen Aero players' contracts were purchased by the Winnipeg Jets in early July 1978. The remaining players were released, and the Aeros ceased existence. Hockey in Houston languished after the Aeros' fold. The Houston Apollos played for two seasons as a member of the Central Hockey League before folding midway through the 1980-81 season. For the next thirteen years, Houston was without a team. In 1994, the Houston Aeros were reborn as members of the International Hockey League, and Terry Ruskowski was hired as the coach the new team. The Aeros continue to play, now as members of the American Hockey League.

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• Article: Color of Hockey: Alton White (The Hockey News), by William Douglas — March 8, 2020
• Review: US Sports History, by Rick Macales — Feb 6, 2021
• Podcast: Good Seats Still Available, by Tim Hanlon — Feb 28, 2021
• Podcast: Digital to Dice (Youtube), by Dave Gardner — July 3, 2022

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