The Houston Skippers were a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

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

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

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 ...

. They were a member of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

, and played for only season, 1946. Houston was awarded a franchise from the USHL on May 12, 1946. The team name was chosen in honor of the " skippers" of the boats in the

Houston Ship Channel The Houston Ship Channel, in Houston, Texas, is part of the Port of Houston, one of the busiest seaports in the world. The channel (geography), channel is the conduit for ocean-going vessels between Houston-area terminals and the Gulf of Mexico, ...

. The Skippers played their first game on the road on October 26, 1946, and their first home game on November 14, 1946. Their home ice was at the

Sam Houston Coliseum Sam Houston Coliseum was an indoor arena located in Houston, Texas. Early years Located at 801 Bagby Street in Downtown Houston, the Coliseum and Music Hall complex replaced the Sam Houston Hall, which was a wooden structure that had been erected ...

. The Skippers finished in last place in the 1946 season. Before the start of the 1947 season, the Skippers changed their name to the

Houston Huskies The Houston Huskies were a minor league ice hockey team based in Houston, Texas. Formerly known as the Houston Skippers, they were a member of the United States Hockey League (1945-51), United States Hockey League, and were active from 1947 to 1 ...

References

External links

Hidden History of Houston Hockey
Ice hockey teams in Houston Defunct ice hockey teams in Texas 1946 establishments in Texas 1947 disestablishments in Texas Ice hockey clubs established in 1946 Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1947 {{Houston-stub