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 Nor ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team based in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. 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, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

, 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 is the conduit for ocean-going vessels between Houston-area terminals and the Gulf of Mexico, and it serves an incr ...

. 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. 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, and were active from 1947 to 1949. They were affiliated with the Buffa ...

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