Houston Stars

{{about|the defunct NASL club|the WPSL club|Houston Stars (WPSL)}}

{{Infobox football club

| clubname = Houston Stars

| image = Houston Stars badge.png

| image_size = 120px

| caption =

| fullname = Houston Stars

| nickname =

| shortname =

| founded = 1967

| dissolved = 1968

| stadium = Astrodome

| capacity = 62,000

| owntitle = Owner

| owner = Roy Mark Hofheinz

| chrtitle =

| chairman =

| mgrtitle = Head coach

| manager = Martim Francisco (1967)
Geza Henni (1968){{Cite web|url=http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/a-soccer-history-of-houst|title = A Soccer History of Houston}}

| league = United Soccer Association (1967)
North American Soccer League (1968)

| season = 1968

| position = 2nd of Gulf Division

| website =

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| socks1 = Ff0000

| pattern_la2 =

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}}

The Houston Stars were an American professional soccer team based out of Houston, Texas. The Stars were a charter member of the United Soccer Association (USA) in 1967 and when the USA and rival National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) merged in 1968 to form the North American Soccer League (NASL), the team moved to the new league. The Stars played its home matches at the Astrodome. The team folded at the conclusion of the 1968 NASL season.

History

In 1966 several groups of entrepreneurs were exploring the idea of forming a professional soccer league in United States. One of these groups, United Soccer Association (USA) led by Jack Kent Cooke, selected 12 cities for team locations and Roy Hofheinz, former Houston mayor and owner of the Houston Astros, was awarded a franchise.{{cite news|title=Roy Hofheinz Dies; Planned Astrodome|publisher=Youngstown Vindicator|date=November 22, 1982|page=38|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2SFAAAAAIBAJ|access-date=December 10, 2021}} The USA originally planned to start play in the spring of 1968; however the rival National Professional Soccer League, which secured a TV contract from CBS, announced it was ready to launch in 1967. Not wanting to let the rival league gain an advantage, the USA decided to launch early. Not having secured any player contracts, the league imported teams from Europe, Brazil, and Uruguay to represent the franchise cities. Brazilian team Bangu Atlético Clube was brought in to play as the Stars.{{cite book |last=Seese|first= D.J.|date= 2015|title= The Rebirth of Professional Soccer in America: The Strange Days of the United Soccer Association|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w3wxBwAAQBAJ|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn= 9781442238954}}{{cite news| title=Summer of soccer: when Shamrock Rovers conquered America| url=https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/summer-of-soccer-when-shamrock-rovers-conquered-america-1.3102684| first=Dave| last=Hannigan| date=May 31, 2017| publisher=The Irish Times| access-date=December 9, 2021}}

The Stars opened the season at home against the Los Angeles Wolves in a 1–1 draw in front of crowd of 34,965.{{cite news| title=Cougars Open With Tie| publisher=The Owosso Argus-Press| date= May 27, 1967| page=13 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IVYlAAAAIBAJ| access-date=December 9, 2021}} In their inaugural season in 1967, the Houston Stars finished fourth place with a record of 4 wins, 4 ties and 4 loss while drawing an average home league attendance of 19,802 in six games, the highest of all soccer clubs in the United States that year.{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/usadave/nasl.html|title=North American Soccer League|website=RSSSF|access-date=December 10, 2021}}

With the merger of the United Soccer Association and the National Professional Soccer League it was announced that Houston would be one of the 20 teams in play in the North American Soccer League (NASL).{{cite news|title= Differences Settled, Soccer Leagues Merge. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tC1gAAAAIBAJ&dq=National+Professional+Soccer+League+United+Soccer+Association+merger&pg=PA19&article_id=5053,2329554|work=The Phoenix|date=December 14, 1967|access-date=December 10, 2021}}{{cite news|title=Gangway for Soccer|last=Smits|first=Ted|publisher=Reading Eagle|date=March 24, 1968|page=53|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=T6gkAAAAIBAJ|access-date=December 10, 2021}}{{efn|17 teams contested the 1968 NASL season with three teams folding before the season began}} The Stars finished the 1968 NASL season in second place of the Gulf Division Division with a record of 14 wins 12 ties and 6 loses and an average attendance of 3,246. The team folded at the conclusion of the 1968 season.{{cite book|last=Hewson|first=Anthony K|title=Houston Dynamo|publisher=Abdo Publishing|date=2020|isbn=9781098210472}}