Follow @SBTSportBetting [Get Exclusive Tips on our Patreon, Ad-Free]
Who were the San Antonio Texans?
The San Antonio Texans were a team that played in the Canadian Football League during the 1995 season. The team was based at the Almodome in San Antonio, Texas and wore a strip containing teal, black, gold and white colors. The Texans were the southernmost team in the history of the CFL and the only CFL team to relocate from another city.
How did the San Antonio Texans Start up?
The city of San Antonio was one of several American cities to be awarded a CFL franchise during the ill-fated CFL expansion into the US in the early and mid-1990s. The franchise that became the Texans had started 4 years before as the Sacramento Surge, then playing in the WLAF. In 1993, the CFL granted CFL expansion teams to the cities of Sacramento and San Antonio. The San Antonio Riders changed their name to San Antonio Texans while the Surge became the Gold Miners.
The Texans franchise would however fold without playing a single competitive match after owner Larry Benson ran out of funds. In Sacramento, the Gold Miners played the 1993 and 1994 seasons at the Hornet Stadium, but it was way below required CFL standards. After efforts to lobby, the city to build them a new stadium fell through, and the nearest team, the Las Vegas Posse folded, Gold Miners owner Fred Anderson decided to move the team to San Antonio, reviving the dormant Texans Franchise.
The San Antonio Texans in Competition
The Texans’ lone season in San Antonio was a fairly successful one. They began their season with a 47-24 win over the Shreveport Pirates, but then fell to two consecutive defeats to the Baltimore Stallions. The first half of the season was inconsistent at best but recovered halfway through the season, winning all but one of their final nine games.
They finished the season with a 12-6 record which put them in second place in the South Division. In the playoffs, the Texans met the Birmingham Barracudas, who they thrashed 52-9. In the Southern Final, they met the formidable Baltimore Stallions and they were eliminated by a score of 21-11. That turned out to be the last game that the Texans would ever play and also the last competitive CFL game played in the United States.
San Antonio Texans Notable Moments
Despite the Texans being a short-lived franchise, they had some memorable moments perhaps best of which was the way they dispensed with Birmingham Barracudas in the Southern Semifinal.
During the regular season, the two teams had faced off in two intense encounters, with each win winning the home leg. However this playoff game was completely one-sided, with the Texans coming out on top by a score of 52-7.
San Antonio Texans’ Most Notable Players
Mike Kiselak G 1995
David Archer QB 1995
Joe Ferguson QB 1995
Jimmy Kemp QB 1995
Malcolm Frank DB 1995
Judd Garrett RB 1995
What Happened to the San Antonio Texans?
Throughout the season, the Texans had a fairly respectable fan turnout averaging about 15,000. Attendance peaked during a 38-32 loss to the Calgary Stampeders. However travelling and other operation costs were so high that Anderson suffered a loss of about $5 million. The Texans though remained about the only stable American team in the CFL due to Anderson’s determination to keep it alive.
With the other American teams failing, the Texans were in real risk of being isolated. In order to save the Stallions, Anderson tried hard to broker a deal that would help the Baltimore franchise relocate to Houston where the NFL’s Houston Oilers were on their way out. However travelling and other operation costs were so high that Anderson suffered a loss of about $5 million. The Texans though remained about the only stable American team in the CFL due to Anderson’s determination to keep it alive.
With the other American teams failing, the Texans were in real risk of being isolated. In order to save the Stallions, Anderson tried hard to broker a deal that would help the Baltimore franchise relocate to Houston where the NFL’s Houston Oilers were on their way out.
In February 1996, the Stallions instead moved to Montreal, leaving the Texans as the only American CFL team. The nearest opponent was now 1400 miles away in Hamilton, meaning that the Texans would have to incur astronomical travelling costs to stay alive.
Relocation to Canada was preempted by the fact that no viable Canadian City had a stadium that was fit for their use. Left with no choice, Anderson had to forfeit the team and it was folded by the league along with the Birmingham Barracudas, Shreveport Pirates and Memphis Mad Dogs.
