The Houston E-Z Riders were a charter franchise of

World Team Tennis World TeamTennis (WTT) is a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973. The league's season normally takes place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA take a ...

(WTT) founded by husband and wife E.Z. and Betty Jones. The E-Z Riders played only one season before suspending operations just before the start of the 1975 season, and later folding. The E-Z Riders had 25 wins and 19 losses and finished second in the Gulf Plains Section in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

. They lost to the

Minnesota Buckskins The Minnesota Buckskins were a charter franchise of World Team Tennis (WTT) founded by Lee Meade, Len Vannelli and John Finley. The Buckskins played only one season before folding after the 1974 season. The Buckskins had 27 wins and 17 losses and ...

in the Western Division Semifinals ending their season.

Team history

The E-Z Riders were founded as a charter member of WTT in 1973, by

oil industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The larges ...

executive E.Z. Jones, who named the team after himself, and his wife, Betty Jones. The team began play in WTT's inaugural 1974 season. The team played 18 of its 22 home matches at the

Sam Houston Coliseum Sam Houston Coliseum was an indoor arena located in Houston, Texas. Early years Located at 801 Bagby Street in Downtown Houston, the Coliseum and Music Hall complex replaced the Sam Houston Hall, which was a wooden structure that had been erected ...

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 ...

and the other four at the

HemisFair Arena HemisFair Arena (also known as the San Antonio Convention Center Arena) was an indoor arena located in San Antonio, Texas. It was home to the ABA/NBA's San Antonio Spurs from 1973 to 1993 and the San Antonio Force of the AFL during the 1992 seas ...

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, Texas. Prior to the WTT's inaugural draft, the E-Z Riders signed

John Newcombe John David Newcombe AO OBE (born 23 May 1944) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He is one of the few men to have attained a world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles. At the majors, he won seven singles titles, a fo ...

as a preferential choice which effectively made him their first-round draft pick. The first match in E-Z Riders' history was a 30–28 victory over the

at the

Metropolitan Sports Center The Met Center was an indoor arena that stood in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States, a suburb of Minneapolis. The arena, which was completed in 1967 by Minnesota Ice, just to the north of Metropolitan Stadium, seated 15,000. It was the home o ...

Bloomington, Minnesota Bloomington is a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, on the north bank of the Minnesota River, above its confluence with the Mississippi River, south of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 89,987, ma ...

on May 7, 1974, in front of 2,317 fans. The E-Z Riders won that match despite the absence of their biggest star, Newcombe, the world's number 1 player at the time. The E-Z Riders' home opener at Sam Houston Coliseum was also a victory against the Buckskins. Aside from Newcombe, other E-Z Rides players included player-coach

Bill Bowrey William Bowrey (born 25 December 1943) is a former Australian tennis player. Bowrey was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and is best remembered as the last amateur to win the Australian Championships in 1968 before the tournament o ...

and his wife Lesley,

Dick Stockton Richard Edward Stokvis (born November 22, 1942), known professionally as Dick Stockton, is an American retired sportscaster. Stockton began his career in Philadelphia, then moved to Pittsburgh, where he worked as the sports director for KDKA-TV ...

, Peter Doerner and his wife

Cynthia Cynthia is a feminine given name of Greek origin: , , "from Mount Cynthus" on Delos island. The name has been in use in the Anglosphere since the 1600s. There are various spellings for this name, and it can be abbreviated to Cindy, Cyndi, Cyndy, ...

Karen Krantzcke Karen Krantzcke (1 February 1946 – 11 April 1977) was an Australian tennis player. She achieved a world top ten singles ranking in 1970. In her short career, she made the quarterfinals or better at each of the four Grand Slam championships in ...

Helen Gourlay Helen Gourlay Cawley (''née'' Gourlay; born 23 December 1946) is a retired tennis player from Australia. Personal Helen Gourlay was born in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia. She married Richard Leon Cawley in January 1977, and married William ...

and

Emilie Burrer Emilie Burrer Foster (born 1947) is an American former professional tennis player and collegiate tennis coach. Born in 1947, Burrer is a native Texan and played collegiate tennis for Trinity University, where she won a team record four intercoll ...

. The E-Z Riders finished the regular season with 25 wins and 19 losses, second place in the Gulf Plains Section, 2 matches behind the Buckskins whom they met in the Western Division Semifinals. Newcombe and Stockton led WTT in game-winning percentage in men's doubles. WTT playoff series in 1974, were played over two legs, one match on the home court of each team. The team with the best aggregate score over the two matches was the winner. As the higher seed, the Buckskins had the choice to play either the first or the second match at home. After winning the opening match in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, 28–19, the E-Z Riders went home and lost the second match, 29–19, and narrowly lost the series, 48–47, to end their season. Only 851 fans showed up to cheer on the E-Z Riders in what would prove to be the last match they would ever play. While several of the original 16 WTT franchises from 1974, had financial difficulties resulting in six of them not returning for and four of them moving before the 1975 season, the E-Z Riders had made plans to go forward in Houston. The team was to play its 1975 home matches in the brand new

Astroarena The NRG Arena (formerly the Astroarena and Reliant Arena), is a 350,000 square feet (33,000 m²) sports center in NRG Park, in Houston, Texas, USA. Building format The main partition on the first floor is the "Arena Proper", a 24,000 gross squar ...

. However, just before the season started, on May 2, 1975, team president and vice-president E.Z. and Betty Jones announced that the E-Z Riders were suspending operation for the 1975 season. Players under contract with the team could be loaned to other WTT teams, and the E-Z Riders had the right to protect four players to return for the 1976 season. There were rumors that the E-Z Riders were behind on their financial obligations. However, E.Z. Jones said, "We are 100% current with our league obligations and our player salaries and have even made salary advances." In order to return to WTT in 1976, the E-Z Riders would need to meet certain league financial requirements and exercise an option by September 15, 1975. The suspension of operations was so sudden and unexpected that newspaper advertisements for E-Z Riders home matches continued to run after the announcement. The E-Z Riders did not exercise their option to return to the league in 1976, and the team folded on September 15, 1975.

Hall of Fame players

The following players who are enshrined in the

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indo ...

played for the Houston E-Z Riders: *

Lesley Turner Bowrey Lesley Rosemary Turner Bowrey, AM (née Turner; born 16 August 1942) is a retired professional tennis player from Australia. Her career spanned two decades from the late 1950s until the late 1970s. Turner Bowrey won the singles title at the Fr ...

1974 roster

The Houston E-Z Riders roster for the 1974 season was *

, Player-Coach *

Cynthia Doerner Cynthia Doerner (née Sieler) (born 11 February 1951) is an Australian former international tennis player. She competed in the Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, ...

* Peter Doerner *

References

External links

Official World TeamTennis Website
{{World TeamTennis Defunct World TeamTennis teams 1973 establishments in Texas Tennis in Texas Sports teams in Texas Sports clubs established in 1973 Defunct sports teams in Texas 1975 disestablishments in Texas Sports clubs disestablished in 1975

Team history

Hall of Fame players

1974 roster

See also

References

External links