Best Record: 91-72 (1973)
Worst Record: 59-103 (1965)
Playoff Appearances: 1
Championships: 0
The Houston Railmen were born in 1956 as an expansion team. They looked to have the makings of success early on, as it took only three years for them to emerge as playoff contenders, finishing in 2nd place with a winning record and only 6 games out of first place. However, 8 straight losing seasons following that proved them to have been a one-year wonder. During that stretch, they renamed themselves as the Houston Apollos in honor of the Apollo space program. They began to show signs of life in the late 1960s as exciting young second baseman Joe Leonard electrified their lineup. However, he was dealt to Cincinnati in a shocking 13-player trade following the 1970 season and subsequently went from a top player to a superstar. All four players the Silverbacks received made notable contributions to their 1970s super teams, while most of the nine players Houston acquired did not do much for them. The Apollos remained competitive despite that lopsided trade, as one of the main pieces of that trade--second baseman Ernie Waite--did help lead them to their first (and to date, only) playoff appearance in 1973, although they were promptly swept by the Bears. That was the end of their run of success, as they were 90+ loss bottom-feeders within two seasons. They have not finished with a winning record since 1974.
Outlook for 1990:
This team is not very good. This team has not been very good in a very long time. This team will not be very good in 1990. The future does not look that bright for them. Need we go on?
Current Manager:
Desperate for a spark, the Apollos have just hired former star second baseman and soon-to-be Hall of Famer Joe Leonard as their manager. Leonard spent the first five years of his career in Houston before being traded to Cincinnati, where he had his best seasons. He spent one year in San Francisco, two in Baltimore, one in Pittsburgh and hsi final season in Washington before retiring after the 1984 season. His son, Jimmy Leonard, is a senior in high school and is expected to be drafted this coming summer.
Hall of Famers:
None