The Shreveport Steamer were a professional

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

team in the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 in sports, 1974 and most of its second in 1975 in sports, 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a w ...

. The franchise began the 1974 season in

Houston, Texas 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 ...

, 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, formerly and also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, was the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas, United States. It seated around 50,000 fans, with a record atte ...

. Toward the end of the season, the team relocated to

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

, 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 TV and radio host presenter, author, and former spokesman. He was a WMBM radio interviewer in the Miami area in the 1950s and 1960s and beginning in ...

, of future

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

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

ambidextrous Ambidexterity is the ability to use both the right and left hand equally well. When referring to objects, the term indicates that the object is equally suitable for right-handed and left-handed people. When referring to humans, it indicates that ...

quarterback and former

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

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, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

veterans: quarterbacks Mike Taliaferro and Don Trull, fullback

Jim Nance the Syracuse Orange 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 thei ...

, wide receivers

Don Maynard Donald Rogers Maynard (January 25, 1935 – January 10, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver known for playing for the New York Jets in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (N ...

and Rick Eber, tight end Willie Frazier, former Houston Oiler and All-AFL tackle Glen Ray Hines, linebacker Garland Boyette, defensive end Al Dotson, defensive backs

Daryl Johnson Daryl E. Johnson (August 11, 1946 – November 25, 2023) was an American professional football defensive back who played in the American Football League (AFL), the National Football League (NFL), and the World Football League (WFL). He was a m ...

, Richmond Flowers, Jr.,

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 B ...

, and Art McMahon, and rookie linebacker John Villapiano, brother of Oakland Raiders defender Phil Villapiano.

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. 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 in sports, 1974 and 1975 in sports, 1975. They played t ...

. 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 A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

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 Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

, who were in

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

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 (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, 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. The team was so named because Chicago was nicknamed "The Windy City." The Winds played at Soldier Field and the team was assigned to the WFL's West ...

, 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 legal 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, ...

s and

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

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 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