Franchise History
The Aeros became one of the original franchises in the World Hockey Association when the Dayton Arrows franchise was moved to Houston in 1972 and renamed Aeros. The Dayton entry was doomed from the beginning because a lack of a proper arena and little interest from the local residents. Due to these problems, owner Paul Deneau moved the team to Houston, Texas. In Houston, the team would become one of the most successful franchises in the World Hockey Association.
The Aeros were the Western Division Champions from 1973–74 to 1976–77 seasons, as well as finishing second in the Western Division in 1972–73 and third in the league in 1977–78. They won the AVCO World Trophy in 1974 over the Chicago Cougars and in 1975 over the Quebec Nordiques, winning both series in a four-game sweep; and lost in the 1976 AVCO finals to the Winnipeg Jets, also in a sweep.
In 1977, merger discussions with the National Hockey League were first initiated. Houston, along with Cincinnati, Winnipeg, New England, Quebec, and Edmonton applied for entry into the NHL. After a lengthy debate, the NHL voted the proposal down.
Merger discussions resumed in 1978. However, the NHL was only open to taking four teams this time, and the WHA insisted that all three of its Canadian teams be included in the merger. During the final series of talks, Aeros owner Kenneth Schnitzer proposed to move the Aeros to the NHL as an expansion team independent of a merger, or be allowed to purchase an existing club and relocate it to Houston. Neither came to fruition, and the Aeros folded on July 9, 1978.
Bill Dineen was the Aeros head coach during their entire stay in the World Hockey Association.
Among the players for the Aeros were Gordie Howe and his two sons Mark and Marty, who became the first father/son combination to play together in professional hockey.
Read more about this topic: Houston Aeros (WHA)
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