Brian Smith, Ray Larose, Don McLeod, Keke Mortson, Brian McDonald and Jack Stanfield all selected during 1972 general player draft and signed to contracts,
summer 1972 (exact dates not available)
Splits versus opposing teams, home and away, and by month
Here's To Houston Fans... • By Bill Asnes • The Hockey Spectator • May 18, 1973
The buzzer sounded and they just stood there.
Below them the players congratulated their goaltenders and then stood in line to shake hands with their opponents. It's a ritual as old as hockey itself.
But back in the stands they were still just standing and applauding.
I was wondering what would happen were the Aeros to lose this game tonight and thus closeout the season. Would the loyal Houston fans treat this as just another loss and parade out the exits of the Sam Houston Coliseum? Or would they wait a few precious minutes and salute those men and coaches who performed so admirably since October 12?
They did not let me down, oh, a few scattered folks here and there made their way to the parking lots, but for the most part, Aero fans stood and cheered their team.
It was indeed a gratifying season of Major League ice hockey in Space City — Houston's first. After the Dayton WHA franchise packed its bags and moved down here, everyone wondered how a sport foreign to most native Texans would go over. After all, even Major League football, supposedly king of the southwest, was suffering due to the dismal performances of the NFL Oilers. How could a hockey team succeed?
Success is not guaranteed but the owners and coaches hired those veterans whom they thought could bring Houston a valuable winner in its first season and they succeeded.
At times it was frustrating. Injuries took their toll. Others popped up to steal away fans.
But the Houston Aeros were not ordinary team. They fought hard. They hustled and battled each opponent as if their careers were on the line. Each time they appeared on the ice new fans were born.
In the beginning Houston was wary. The crowd average ran between 2,500 and 4,500. This was not bad considering the crowds, or lack thereof, the minor league Houston apollos had drawn in the same rank a few years back. It would take time.
During the season, Houston continued to be out drawn by most other World Hockey cities, but one aspect of Houston fans would set them above the rest of the league: noise.
Winnipeg public relations director Ron Lyon commented while here for the playoffs that the Aero rooters were indeed the loudest he has heard. Others went away saying the same thing. Why not? When the Aeros scored on, or denied, a power play, the Coliseum would be filled with a relentless boom of solid noise, the foghorns, the organ, the screams.
If this enthusiasm could be generated in a supposedly hockey-ignorant city the very first season, imagine what the future holds. The hockey world knows the Aeros had a successful first season on paper and ice. They had the 4th winningest record in the WHA, and they battled their way to the division finals.
But here's a tribute to Aero fans, who, like their skating heroes, also enjoyed a most successful first season in the WHA.
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• Article: Color of Hockey: Alton White (The Hockey News), by William Douglas — March 8, 2020
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Alberta 5-3-0 31-28 3-1-0 16-13 2-2-0 15-15
Chicago 7-1-0 34-19 4-0-0 18-11 3-1-0 16-8
Cleveland 3-3-0 15-17 1-2-0 6-11 2-1-0 9-6
Los Angeles 3-6-1 28-43 1-3-1 18-25 2-3-0 10-18
Minnesota 5-2-1 31-20 3-1-0 19-9 2-1-1 12-11
New England 3-2-1 26-21 1-2-0 12-14 2-0-1 14-7
New York 2-4-0 21-22 1-2-0 11-12 1-2-0 10-10
Ottawa 4-1-1 36-19 3-0-0 23-8 1-1-1 13-11
Philadelphia 4-2-0 26-20 2-1-0 15-11 2-1-0 11-9
Quebec 1-5-0 15-24 1-2-0 10-11 0-3-0 5-13
Winnipeg 2-6-0 21-36 2-2-0 14-14 0-4-0 7-22
October 5-5-0 32-33 3-2-0 17-15 2-3-0 15-18
November 5-6-1 36-42 2-2-0 16-17 3-4-1 20-25
December 6-6-2 56-52 3-2-1 30-25 3-4-1 26-27
January 10-2-1 66-41 6-2-0 40-29 4-0-1 26-12
February 7-7-0 46-47 6-3-0 36-25 1-4-0 10-22
March 5-9-0 42-51 2-5-0 23-28 3-4-0 19-23
April 1-0-0 6-3 0-0-0 0-0 1-0-0 6-3
• 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
WHA Fact Book, 2nd ed
Complete WHA, 11th ed