The Fort Worth Texans were a professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team based in

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. The Texans started playing in 1967 as the Fort Worth Wings, a minor league affiliate for the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. The team were part of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

and played their home games at

Will Rogers Coliseum The Will Rogers Memorial Center (WRMC) is a American public entertainment, sports and livestock complex located in Fort Worth, Texas. It is named for American humorist and writer Will Rogers. It is a popular location for the hosting of special ...

. Eventually, the Texans won their only Adams Cup Championship in 1978, by defeating their rival Dallas Black Hawks 5–4 in overtime of game seven of the finals.

History

Beginning play in 1967, the Fort Worth Wings were known to be a "powerhouse." The new Wings were led by Rick McCann who scored 71 points and helped propel the Wings into the playoffs. They eventually lost in the finals. They continued to remain competitive in the following seasons, only missing the playoffs once between 1968 and 1974. In 1972, the Wings shared roster spots on the team with the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

due to money constraints and finally disbanded the following season. However, a new club bought the rights to the team and from 1973 to 1978 they were a farm team of the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

(with some players held for

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

). They won the Adams cup in 1978 with the help of Richie Hansen and future NHLer Gary Smith. The team was again sold to the late Dick Andersen in 1979 to 1982, becoming a farm team of the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

. After the 1981–82 season, the Texans, along with the

Dallas Black Hawks The Dallas Black Hawks were a minor-league professional ice hockey team in Dallas, in the U.S. state of Texas. It was a member of the Central Hockey League and played home games at State Fair Coliseum. Origins and relocation to Dallas The Blac ...

and

Oklahoma City Stars The Oklahoma City Stars are the athletic teams that represent Oklahoma City University, located in Oklahoma City, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA ...

, left the Central Hockey League. Seeing as these were the most popular teams, the move greatly affected overall attendance and the league folded after the 1983–84 season. The Texans were the only professional team to beat the 1980 USA Hockey "

Miracle on Ice The "Miracle on Ice" was an ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. It was played between the hosting United States and the Soviet Union on February 22, 1980, during the medal round of the men's ice hockey t ...

" Olympic team twice during the Pre-Olympic tour, winning on Jan 16, 1980, 4–3 at a sold-out Will Rogers Coliseum and then 5–3 nine days later at the Met Center in Bloomington,

. All the CHL teams played a round-robin with the Olympic team that season, with one game at home and one game in Bloomington. The games against the USA hockey team were very important to the CHL teams as they counted in the standings. The USA Olympic team finished 14–3–1 against the CHL teams. The Texans surprisingly finished 37–34–3 and reached the finals of the 1979–80 Adams Cup, losing in seven games to the Salt Lake City Golden Eagles.

In popular culture

The "Rock and Roll" song (the actual name of the song is "Rock and Roll Part 2"), also known as "The Hey Song", a song performed by British glam rocker

Gary Glitter Paul Francis Gadd (born 8 May 1944), better known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer who achieved fame and success during the 1970s and 1980s. His career ended after he was convicted of downloading child pornography i ...

that was released in 1972 as a single and on the album ''

Glitter Glitter is an assortment of flat, small, reflective particles that are precision cut and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Glitter particles resemble confetti, sparkles and sequins, but somewhat smaller. Since prehistoric times ...

'', was played in the late 1970s when the Texans came onto the ice at the start of every period. It was also used by the

and became their theme song, before it later spread around the country. One game featured, as part of their intermission entertainment, a short exhibition hockey game between girls from the Dallas

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

club and airmen stationed at

Carswell Air Force Base Carswell Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) base, located northwest of Fort Worth, Texas. For most of its operational lifetime, the base's mission was to train and support heavy strategic bombing groups and wings. Carswe ...

in Fort Worth. The Airmen shared the ice with the Texans for a practice in the week leading up to the game. A team of local college players helped the girls. They advertised in the local papers with the slogan "War on Ice".

Head coaches

The head coaches of the franchise include

Fern Flaman Ferdinand Charles Carl "Fernie" Flaman (January 25, 1927 – June 22, 2012) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League. He was known as a physical defen ...

Doug Barkley Norman Douglas Barkley (born January 6, 1937) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Black Hawks and Detroit Red Wings between 1957 and 1966. After his playing career, he ...

Bob Lemieux Robert Lemieux (December 16, 1944 – May 9, 2025) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and coach. He played 19 games for the Oakland Seals of the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1967–68. He was a First Team All-Star and was name ...

Johnny Choyce Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Variant ...

Ed Chadwick Edwin Walter Chadwick (May 8, 1933 – April 23, 2024) was a Canadian ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins between 1955 and 1962. The rest of his career, which laste ...

, Terry Gray,

Billy MacMillan William Stewart MacMillan (March 7, 1943 – July 14, 2023) was a Canadian hockey coach and player. MacMillan played and later coached in the National Hockey League (NHL). After several years with the Canada national team, including playing at ...

, Ron Ullyot, and Andy Laing.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Fort Worth Wings (1967-68) on Hockey Database.com

Fort Worth Wings (1968-74) on Hockey Database.com

Fort Worth Texans on Hockey Database.com
Ice hockey clubs established in 1967 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1982 Defunct Central Hockey League teams Ice hockey teams in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Defunct ice hockey teams in Texas Central Professional Hockey League teams 1967 establishments in Texas 1982 disestablishments in Texas Detroit Red Wings minor league affiliates St. Louis Blues minor league affiliates New York Islanders minor league affiliates Los Angeles Kings minor league affiliates Minnesota North Stars minor league affiliates Colorado Rockies (NHL) minor league affiliates