1964 – The first manager in franchise history, Harry Craft, is fired with a 61-88 mark. Luman Harris is named to replace him. Nellie Fox starts off the new skipper’s reign with a game-winning pinch-hit single in the ninth for a 2-1 win over the Mets.
1964 – Don Larsen tosses a four-hit shutout at Philadelphia, 6-0 . Mike White paces the Colts attack with four hits while Eddie Kasko chips in three.
1964 – Colt .45s have trouble leaving their Philadelphia hotel as a local radio station falsely reports that the Beatles are staying there. Teenaged fans swarm the exits, seeking a glimpse of the Fab Four. Battling past the mob, the .45s then lose to the Phils, 4-3, on four solo homers.
1964 – Don Larsen, of World Series no-hit fame, tosses a five-hitter in the Texas heat to best Warren Spahn and the Milwaukee Braves, 7-1. It is Larsen’s first complete game in five years. Bob Aspromonte and Walt Bond launch solo bombs to pace the Colts. Rookie catcher Jerry Grote adds two hits, including a two-run double.
1964 – Nellie Fox delivers his third hit, a single off Barney Schultz, scoring Al Spangler for an 8-7, ten-inning triumph over St. Louis. Bob Aspromonte drives in four, including a game-tying hit with two out in the ninth to push the game into overtime.
1964 – Colts shock the Dodgers with four in the ninth for a 6-5 triumph. Nellie Fox bloops a single to plate the tying and winning runs. Earlier, Jerry Grote had belted a two-run homer off Don Drysdale.
1964 – The Colts spank the Milwaukee Braves, 5-2 and 5-4, to complete a four-game sweep. Rusty Staub is the opening-game star with four hits, including two home runs. Pitcher Ken Johnson and outfielder Joe Gaines go deep in the nightcap. Bob Lillispicks up five hits in the twinbill. In addition, the team signs high-school phenom Larry Dierker.
1964 – Nellie Fox drives in four runs with a two-run single and a two-run triple to pace a 7-1 win over St. Louis. Dick Farrell tosses a four-hitter.
1964 – Texas Governor John Connally tosses out the first pitch for the Colts’ home opener, a 6-5 loss to the Milwaukee Braves. Connally tosses lefthanded because his right arm is still healing from gunshot wounds suffered in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
1964 – Colts trade in cacti for grapefruits as they begin their first spring training in Cocoa, FL. The new facility is hailed as “state-of-the-art” but soon becomes disparaged because of poor drainage, snakes, and a spartan dormitory where the players are housed. Prankster Turk Farrell livens things up by purchasing a young alligator and slipping him into the clubhouse whirlpool.
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