Houston E-Z Riders
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| Sport | Team tennis |
|---|---|
| Founded | May 22, 1973 |
| Folded | September 15, 1975 |
| League | World TeamTennis |
| Division | Western |
| Team history |
Houston E-Z Riders 1974 |
| Based in |
Houston, Texas San Antonio, Texas |
| Stadium |
Sam Houston Coliseum HemisFair Arena |
| Colors |
Red, Black |
| Owner(s) | E.Z. Jones, Betty Jones |
| President | E.Z. Jones |
| Head coach | Bill Bowrey |
| Championships | None |
| Division titles | None |
| Playoff berths | 1974 |
Red, Black
The Houston E-Z Riders were a charter franchise of World Team Tennis (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. They lost to the Minnesota Buckskins in the Western Division Semifinals ending their season.
The E-Z Riders were founded as a charter member of WTT in 1973, by oil industry 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 in Houston, Texas and the other four at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio, Texas.
Prior to the WTT's inaugural draft, the E-Z Riders signed John Newcombe 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 Minnesota Buckskins at the Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington, Minnesota 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 and his wife Lesley, , Peter Doerner and his wife Cynthia, Karen Krantzcke, Helen Gourlay and Emilie Burrer.
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