The Shreveport Steamer were a professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

team in the World Football League. The franchise began the 1974 season in Houston, Texas, as the Houston Texans (no connection to the current NFL team of the same name), playing their home games at the Houston

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Housto ...

. Toward the end of the season, the team relocated to Shreveport, Louisiana, and became the Shreveport Steamer. They played at the 30,000-seat State Fair Stadium, now named Independence Stadium.

Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys, an Emmy and 10 Cable ACE Awards. Over his career, he hosted over 50,000 interviews. ...

, of future CNN fame, was one of their broadcasters. The Steamer showcased a number of veterans and a few rookies. Among them were ambidextrous quarterback and former

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

star D. C. Nobles and several

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

veterans: quarterbacks

Mike Taliaferro Myron Eugene Taliaferro (pronounced "tollifur", born July 26, 1941) is a former collegiate and professional American football quarterback. He is best known for leading third-ranked Illinois to a 1964 Rose Bowl victory over Washington by the sc ...

and

Don Trull Donald Dean Trull (born October 20, 1941) is a former American football quarterback in the American Football League. Trull played football collegiately at Baylor University, where he was an All-American and twice won the Sammy Baugh Trophy as ...

, fullback

Jim Nance James Solomon "Big Jim" Nance (December 30, 1942 – June 17, 1992) was an American professional American football, football player who was a Fullback (American football), fullback with the Boston Patriots during their days in the American Foot ...

, wide receivers

Don Maynard Donald Rogers Maynard (January 25, 1935 – January 10, 2022) was an American professional football wide receiver known for playing for the New York Jets in the National Football League (NFL). He also played with the New York Giants and St. ...

and

Rick Eber Richard Lee Eber (born April 17, 1945) is a former gridiron football wide receiver who played for the Atlanta Falcons and San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He also played for (CFL) Saskatchewan Roughriders, (WFL) Houston ...

, tight end

Willie Frazier Willie C. Frazier (June 19, 1942 – September 5, 2013) was an American collegiate and professional American football tight end. He spent three stints with the Houston Oilers over a 10-year career in the AFL and NFL and was one of the 4,000- ...

, former Houston Oiler and All-AFL tackle

Glen Ray Hines Glen Ray Hines (October 26, 1943 – February 1, 2019) was an All-Pro (AFL) and NCAA All-American football player. Early life Hines was born on October 26, 1943, in El Dorado, Arkansas. He showed athletic prowess at a young age and was a two-s ...

, linebacker Garland Boyette, defensive end Al Dotson, defensive backs

Daryl Johnson Daryl E. Johnson (born August 11, 1946) is a former American football defensive back who played in the American Football League, the National Football League, and the World Football League. He was a member of the Boston Patriots and was a membe ...

Richmond Flowers, Jr. Richmond McDavid Flowers Jr. (born June 13, 1947) is a former American football safety in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. He played college football at the University of Tennessee and was drafted ...

John Mallory Sir John Mallorie (1610 – 23 January 1655) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1642. He fought on the Royalist side in the English Civil War. Mallory was the son of William Mallory and his wife Dorothy Be ...

, and

Art McMahon Arthur John McMahon (born February 24, 1946) is a former American football defensive back who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Boston Patriots in the 15th round of the 1968 NFL ...

, and rookie linebacker

John Villapiano John A. Villapiano (born November 17, 1951) is an American former professional football player who played in the World Football League and a Democratic Party politician who served on the Monmouth County, New Jersey Board of Chosen Freeholders and ...

, brother of Oakland Raiders defender

Phil Villapiano Philip James Villapiano (born February 26, 1949) is a former American football linebacker who played 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Early life Villapiano played high school football at both Asbury Park High School and Ocean T ...

History

1974 season

The Texans played in Houston for 11 games, going 3-7-1. The team relocated to Shreveport on September 18, 1974. On September 23, 1974, they were rechristened the Shreveport Steamer. The franchise, according to the WFL, was operated on a "play now, pay later" basis. The team was coached by Marshall Taylor, a former star player at

Tennessee Tech Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixi ...

. The Steamer made their home debut on September 25 against the

Memphis Southmen The Memphis Southmen, also known as the Memphis Grizzlies, were an American football team based in Memphis, Tennessee. They played in the World Football League (WFL), which operated in 1974 and 1975. They played their home games at Liberty Bowl ...

. They played in front of just over 21,000 fans, and lost 17-3. They had a 4-5 record after the move, finishing 7-12-1 overall in 1974. In 1974, under federal court order, Sheriff James M. Goslin seized equipment of the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

, who were in

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

playing at Independence Stadium for the WFL against the Shreveport Steamer. Goslin was complying with a suit seeking more than $26,000 in accumulated debts that had been filed against the Hornets by

plaintiff A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the ...

s in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, where the team had been domiciled during the first half of 1974. However, Goslin allowed the Hornets to play the Steamer before the impounding of the equipment.

1975 season

The Steamer returned for the

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

WFL season with a different coaching staff. Right from the start, both the "Boats" and the resurrected league struggled. (The second Chicago franchise, the

Chicago Winds The Chicago Winds was the World Football League's ill-fated 1975 successor to the Chicago Fire (WFL), Chicago Fire. The team was so named because Chicago was nicknamed "The Windy City." The Winds played at Soldier Field and the team was assigned ...

, unrelated except by venue to the previous year's Chicago team, the Chicago Fire, ceased operations on September 2, after five games.) After a mediocre 5-7 record and with the franchise almost out of money, the Steamer and the WFL sank permanently on October 22, 1975. The second WFL ceased operations little more than halfway through the planned 1975 season. An unrelated "Shreveport Steamer", also known as the plural "Steamers", played in the American Football Association from 1979 to 1981. (All

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

s and

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from oth ...

s for the WFL's teams were allowed to lapse after the league's shutdown.) This team renamed itself the "Steamers-Americans" after merging with the Orlando Americans in 1982.

Billy Kilmer William Orland Kilmer Jr. (born September 5, 1939) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, and Washington Redskins. He w ...

served as the team's coach in its first season.

Schedule and results

1974 regular season

:† first game after announcing move to Shreveport :‡ first home game in Shreveport

1975 regular season

Sources

*Houston Texans 1974 WFL Media Guide *Shreveport Steamer 1975 WFL Media Guide

References

{{WFL Defunct American football teams 1974 establishments in Texas 1975 disestablishments in Louisiana American football teams in Louisiana