Houston ThunderBears: Difference between revisions

Houston ThunderBears
Houston ThunderBears
	Established 1996; Folded 2001; Played in Compaq Center; in Houston, Texas
League/conference affiliations
	Arena Football League (1996–2001) National Conference (1996) Southern Division (1996); ; American Conference (1997–2001) Central Division (1997–2000); Western Division (2001); ;
	Current uniform
Team colors	Navy, orange, teal;
Personnel
Head coach	Steve Thonn
Team history
	Texas Terror (1996–1997); Houston ThunderBears (1998–2001);
Championships
	League championships (0);
	Conference championships (0); Prior to 2005, the AFL did not have conference championship games
	Division championships (1); 1998; Prior to 1992, the AFL did not have division
Playoff appearances (1)
	1998;
Home arena(s)
	Compaq Center (1996–2000); Traveling team in 2001;

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The Houston ThunderBears were a professional arena football team based in Houston, Texas. The team finished the 2001 season as a member of the Western Division of the American Conference of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team joined the AFL in 1996 as the expansion Texas Terror. After their first two years of existence, the franchise changed their name to the Houston ThunderBears. Plagued with attendance problems through the majority of their existence, the team folded in 2001. Home games were played at the Compaq Center.

The six seasons in which the team played coincided with the absence of the National Football League from the Houston market; the Houston Oilers had announced their departure from the city after the 1996 season, and the Houston Texans began play in 2002. Many of the same issues that led to the Oilers' departure, including poor attendance and a decline in the price of oil that drove Houston's economy, also affected the Thunderbears.

History

Texas Terror (1996–1997)

The Texas Terror was a franchise in the Arena Football League (AFL). The Terror played in the 1996 and 1997 Arena seasons. Their home games were played at the Summit also at that time home to the Houston Rockets of the NBA. The Terror's logo appeared to be a stylized representation of Frankenstein's monster holding a football.

The 1996 season was an unmitigated disaster, with the Terror notching only one win, coming against another first-year team, the ill-fated Minnesota Fighting Pike. The 1997 season was considerably better with a record of 6-8, but the attendance was abysmal, especially given the size of the Houston market. After the season, the decision was made to remake the franchise and scrap both the existing logo and team name, and the team was renamed the Houston ThunderBears.

Houston ThunderBears (1998–2001)

The Houston ThunderBears were a continuation of the Texas Terror franchise (1996–1997) of the AFL under a new name, logo, and color scheme. The team still played its home games at the Compaq Center. 1998, the first year as the ThunderBears, was the high-water mark in team history, in which they recorded their only winning season and sole playoff appearance (a loss to Arizona). The two subsequent seasons saw a decline in both on-field performance and attendance. For the 2001 season, then owner Leslie Alexander (owner of the NBA's Houston Rockets), sold the franchise back to the AFL. Although still called the Houston ThunderBears, the team played none of its home games in Houston. The league decided to use them as a showcase team to stimulate interest in new markets, playing in cities such as Bismarck, North Dakota, Madison, Wisconsin, and Charleston, West Virginia. Four AFL/af2 franchises (the Utah Blaze, Fresno Frenzy, Central Valley Coyotes, and Lubbock Renegades) emerged from some of the markets that the ThunderBears played in.^[1] The team was ultimately contracted along with three other AFL franchises in the 2001–2002 offseason.

Season-by-season

Season records
Season	W	L	T	Finish	Playoff results
Texas Terror
1996	1	13	0	4th NC Southern	--
1997	6	8	0	3rd AC Central	--
Houston Thunderbears
1998	8	6	0	1st AC Central	Lost 1st Round (Arizona 36-50)
1999	4	10	0	4th AC Central	--
2000	3	11	0	4th AC Central	--
2001	3	11	0	4th AC Western	--
Totals	25	60	0	(including playoffs)

Notable players

Arena Football Hall of Famers

No.	Name	Year Inducted	Position(s)	Years w/ ThunderBears
Houston ThunderBears Hall of Famers
13	Clint Dolezel^[2]	2012	QB	1997–1999

Individual awards

Season	Player	Position
Lineman of the Year
1997	Carlos Fowler	OL/DL

Season	Player	Position
Breakout Player of the Year
2000	Ben Bronson	OS

All-Arena players

The following ThunderBears players were named to All-Arena Teams:

WR/DB Rodney Blackshear (1)
OL/DL Carlos Fowler (1)

All-Ironman players

The following ThunderBears players were named to All-Ironman Teams:

WR/DB Rodney Blackshear (1), Sedrick Robinson (1)

All-Rookie players

The following ThunderBears players were named to All-Rookie Teams:

FB/LB Terrence Melton
WR/DB Sedrick Robinson

Notes

The Terror and ThunderBears both appeared on the game EA Sports Arena Football as hidden bonus teams.

References

^ Dave Shelles (April 13, 2001). "Lubbock to get taste of arena football". www.lobbockoneline.com. Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
^ "Arena Football League Hall of Fame". www.arenafootball.com. Arena Football League. Archived from the original on May 1, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2014.

External links

AFL official website

[1] Dave Shelles (April 13, 2001). "Lubbock to get taste of arena football". www.lobbockoneline.com. Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved August 6, 2014.

[hof-2] "Arena Football League Hall of Fame". www.arenafootball.com. Arena Football League. Archived from the original on May 1, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2014.

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{short description|Arena football team}}
 {{Infobox indoor American football team
 | name = Houston ThunderBears
-| logo = HoustonThunderbears.gif
+| logo = Houston Thunderbears.png
-| helmet =
+| helmet = Houston ThunderBears Helmet Logo.png
 | founded = 1996
 | folded = 2001
@@ Line 31: / Line 32: @@
 | no_playoff_appearances = 1
 | arena_years =
-* [[Compaq Center (Houston)|Compaq Center]] (1996–2001)
+* [[Compaq Center (Houston)|Compaq Center]] (1996–2000)
+* Traveling team in 2001
 }}
 The '''Houston ThunderBears''' were a professional [[arena football]] team based in [[Houston, Texas]]. The team finished the 2001 season as a member of the [[West Division (AFL)|Western Division]] of the American Conference of the [[Arena Football League]] (AFL). The team joined the AFL in 1996 as the [[expansion team|expansion]] '''Texas Terror'''. After their first two years of existence, the franchise changed their name to the '''Houston ThunderBears'''. Plagued with attendance problems through the majority of their existence, the team folded in 2001. Home games were played at the [[Compaq Center (Houston)|Compaq Center]].
+The six seasons in which the team played coincided with the absence of the [[National Football League]] from the Houston market; the [[Houston Oilers]] had announced their departure from the city after the 1996 season, and the [[Houston Texans]] began play in 2002. Many of the same issues that led to the Oilers' departure, including poor attendance and a decline in the [[price of oil]] that drove Houston's economy, also affected the Thunderbears.
 ==History==
 ===Texas Terror (1996–1997)===
-[[File:TexasTerror.png|left|Texas Terror logo]]
+<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:TexasTerror.png|left|Texas Terror logo]] -->
 The '''Texas Terror''' was a franchise in the [[Arena Football League]] (AFL). The Terror played in the [[1996 Arena Football League season|1996]] and [[1997 Arena Football League season|1997]] Arena seasons. Their home games were played at the [[Lakewood Church Central Campus|Summit]] also at that time home to the [[Houston Rockets]] of the [[National Basketball Association|NBA]]. The Terror's [[logo]] appeared to be a stylized representation of [[Frankenstein's monster]] holding a football.
@@ Line 46: / Line 50: @@
 ===Houston ThunderBears (1998–2001)===
-The '''Houston ThunderBears''' were a continuation of the Texas Terror franchise ([[1996 Arena Football League season|1996]]&ndash;[[1997 Arena Football League season|1997]]) of the AFL under a new name, [[logo]], and color scheme. The team still played its home games at the [[Houston Compaq Center|Compaq Center]]. [[1998 Arena Football League season|1998]], the first year as the ThunderBears, was the high-water mark in team history, in which they recorded their only winning season and sole playoff appearance (a loss to [[Arizona Rattlers|Arizona]]). The two subsequent seasons saw a decline in both on-field performance and attendance. For the [[2001 Arena Football League season|2001]] season, then owner [[Leslie Alexander (businessman)|Leslie Alexander]] (owner of the NBA's [[Houston Rockets]]), sold the franchise back to the AFL. Although still called the ''Houston ThunderBears'', the team played none of its home games in Houston. The league decided to use them as a showcase team to stimulate interest in new markets, playing in cities such as [[Bismarck, North Dakota]], [[Madison, Wisconsin]], and [[Charleston, West Virginia]]. Four AFL/af2 franchises (the [[Utah Blaze]], [[Fresno Frenzy]], [[Central Valley Coyotes]], and [[Lubbock Renegades]]) emerged from some of the markets that the ThunderBears played in.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lubbockonline.com/stories/041301/pro_0413010009.shtml |title=Lubbock to get taste of arena football |author=Dave Shelles |date=April 13, 2001 |publisher=Lubbock Avalanche-Journal |work=www.lobbockoneline.com |accessdate=August 6, 2014}}</ref> The team was ultimately contracted along with three other AFL franchises in the 2001–2002 offseason.
+The '''Houston ThunderBears''' were a continuation of the Texas Terror franchise ([[1996 Arena Football League season|1996]]&ndash;[[1997 Arena Football League season|1997]]) of the AFL under a new name, [[logo]], and color scheme. The team still played its home games at the [[Houston Compaq Center|Compaq Center]]. [[1998 Arena Football League season|1998]], the first year as the ThunderBears, was the high-water mark in team history, in which they recorded their only winning season and sole playoff appearance (a loss to [[Arizona Rattlers|Arizona]]). The two subsequent seasons saw a decline in both on-field performance and attendance. For the [[2001 Arena Football League season|2001]] season, then owner [[Leslie Alexander (businessman)|Leslie Alexander]] (owner of the NBA's [[Houston Rockets]]), sold the franchise back to the AFL. Although still called the ''Houston ThunderBears'', the team played none of its home games in Houston. The league decided to use them as a showcase team to stimulate interest in new markets, playing in cities such as [[Bismarck, North Dakota]], [[Madison, Wisconsin]], and [[Charleston, West Virginia]]. Four AFL/af2 franchises (the [[Utah Blaze]], [[Fresno Frenzy]], [[Central Valley Coyotes]], and [[Lubbock Renegades]]) emerged from some of the markets that the ThunderBears played in.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lubbockonline.com/stories/041301/pro_0413010009.shtml |title=Lubbock to get taste of arena football |author=Dave Shelles |date=April 13, 2001 |publisher=Lubbock Avalanche-Journal |work=www.lobbockoneline.com |access-date=August 6, 2014}}</ref> The team was ultimately contracted along with three other AFL franchises in the 2001–2002 offseason.
 ==Season-by-season==
 {{Start NFL SBS}}
 |-
-| colspan="6" align="center" bgcolor="#32127A" | <span style="color:turquoise;">'''Texas Terror'''
+| colspan="6" align="center" bgcolor="#32127A" | <span style="color:turquoise;">'''Texas Terror'''</span>
 |-
 |1996 || 1 || 13 || 0 || 4th NC Southern || --
@@ Line 57: / Line 61: @@
 |1997 || 6 || 8 || 0 || 3rd AC Central || --
 |-
-| colspan="6" align="center" bgcolor="#191970" | <span style="color:#FF7F00;">'''Houston Thunderbears'''
+| colspan="6" align="center" bgcolor="#191970" | <span style="color:#FF7F00;">'''Houston Thunderbears'''</span>
 |-
 |1998 || 8 || 6 || 0 || 1st AC Central || '''Lost''' 1st Round ([[Arizona Rattlers|Arizona]] 36-50)
@@ Line 83: / Line 87: @@
 !style="background: white; color: #00A693" |Years w/ ThunderBears
 |-
-| style="text-align:center;"| 13 || style="text-align:center;"|[[Clint Dolezel]]<ref name="hof">{{cite web |url=http://www.arenafootball.com/hallfame/ |title=Arena Football League Hall of Fame |publisher=Arena Football League |work=www.arenafootball.com |accessdate=August 6, 2014}}</ref> || style="text-align:center;"| 2012 || style="text-align:center;"|[[Quarterback|QB]] || style="text-align:center;"| 1997–1999
+| style="text-align:center;"| 13 || style="text-align:center;"|[[Clint Dolezel]]<ref name="hof">{{cite web |url=http://www.arenafootball.com/hallfame/ |title=Arena Football League Hall of Fame |publisher=Arena Football League |work=www.arenafootball.com |access-date=August 6, 2014 |archive-date=May 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160501030107/http://www.arenafootball.com/hallfame/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> || style="text-align:center;"| 2012 || style="text-align:center;"|[[Quarterback|QB]] || style="text-align:center;"| 1997–1999
 |}
@@ Line 98: / Line 102: @@
 !  style="width:100px; background:white; color:#00A693;"| Position
 |-
-|{{AFL Year|1997}}||[[Carlos Fowler]]||[[Offensive Lineman|OL]]/[[Defensive Lineman|DL]]
+|{{AFL Year|1997}}||[[Carlos Fowler]]||[[Offensive lineman|OL]]/[[Defensive lineman|DL]]
-|-
-|{{AFL Year|1998}}||[[Anthony Stortz]]||[[Tight End|TE]]/[[Linebacker|LB]]
 |}
@@ Line 113: / Line 115: @@
 !  style="width:100px; background:white; color:#00A693;"| Position
 |-
-|{{AFL Year|2000}}||[[Ben Bronson]]||[[Offensive Specialist|OS]]
+|{{AFL Year|2000}}||[[Ben Bronson]]||[[Offensive specialist|OS]]
 |}
@@ Line 145: / Line 147: @@
 {{Defunct Arena Football League franchises}}
-[[Category:Houston Thunderbears]]
+[[Category:Houston Thunderbears| ]]
+[[Category:Defunct American football teams in Texas]]
+[[Category:1996 establishments in Texas]]