Who Remembers the Shreveport Steamer? [VIDEO]

It's one of the ArkLaTex's best sports trivia questions! What was the name of the Shreveport entry in the long-ago-deceased World Football League? Pirates? No...that was our short-lived try at Canadian football. Well, if you guessed "Steamer," there's no doubt you know your stuff!

The Steamer began the 1974 season as the Houston Texans, but for financial reasons relocated to Shreveport in September of that year - remember, it was a summer. In their first home game at Independence Stadium, the Steamer, featuring a number of NFL and AFL veterans (including future Hall of Famer Don Maynard), took on the Memphis Southmen in front of 21,000 fans, losing 17-3.

The Steamer returned in 1975, but both the franchise and the league struggled financially and ended play in October. Their record at the time was a less than stellar 5-7.

In addition to Maynard, who was best known as a member of the Super Bowl winning New York Jets, the team featured other stars including former Patriots Jim Nance and Mike Taliaferro, ex-Oiler Garland Boyette and one-time Raiders Phil and John Villapiano. But perhaps the best know personality in the Steamer organization was future radio and TV talk legend Larry King., who moonlighted as marketing director for Louisiana Downs.