Dizzy Dean (L) points out to Earl Averill, toe that liner off the bat of Averill broke during 1937 All-Star game
July 28, 1962 – at Yankee Stadium Dizzy Dean points out to Earl Averill, toe that liner off...
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July 28, 1962 – at Yankee Stadium Dizzy Dean points out to Earl Averill, toe that liner off...
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June 2, 1962 – Willie Mays in action as the Giants take on the Mets in a double header at...
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1962 Reds Don Zimmer gets caught in a rundown, and is tagged out by Chicago Cubs SS Andre Rodgers...
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1962 – Bob Aspromonte celebrates his 24th birthday with two hits and two runs scored as the Colts subdue the Giants, 6-4. Hal Smith homers. Dick Farrell escapes a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to save it for Dave Giusti.
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1962 – Dick Farrell ponders life’s unfairness. He is the losing pitcher while New York’s Al Jackson tosses a 2-0 one-hitter in the opener of a twinbill at the Polo Grounds. In the nightcap, the Colts explode for a 16-3 triumph. Winning pitcher Jim Golden gets support from four Houston homers and six Met errors, including three by first baseman “Marvelous” Marv Throneberry. Golden helps himself with three hits, including two triples.
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1962 – The Colts bomb the Dodgers, 13-1, using three homers and three triples. Carl Warwick, Roman Mejias and Bob Aspromonte go deep . Backup catcher Merritt Ranew belts a two-run triple as part of the eight-run fifth inning, his seventh three-bagger of the season to lead the National League.
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1962 – 78 fans, as well as umpire Jocko Conlan, are treated for heat stroke during an afternoon doubleheader at Colt Stadium. The Dodgers sweep the twinbill, 9-3 and 9-7, but complain about Houston’s stiffling heat afterwards. Don Buddin, a shortstop with a .160 average, belts the first grand slam in franchise history
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1962 – Houston gets their first doubleheader sweep when they bounce the Pirates, 10-6 and 10-3, at Forbes Field. Tied at six in the opener, catcher Hal Smith uses pitcher Bobby Tiefenauer’s glove to tag out Roberto Clemente at the plate. Smith then singles to start a four-run rally that puts the game away. The Colts tally seven runs in the first inning of the nightcap to complete the sweep.
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1962 – Weldon Appelt proposes to Harris County Commissioners a stadium plan using arches that he says could be built faster and cheaper than the proposed domed stadium. Elsewhere, the Colts stun the Cubs with five runs in the ninth for a 10-6 shocker. Carl Warwick’s two-run single precedes a three-run shot from Jim Pendleton in the uprising.
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1962 – Ken Johnson gives up a game-tying homer to Willie McCovey in the bottom of the ninth but singles home Carl Warwick in the tenth for a 3-2 victory. Norm Larker also homers for Houston.
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1962 – Roman Mejias belts a ninth-inning homer off Don McMahon to beat Milwaukee, 3-2. Hal Smith and Jim Pendleton also launch solo homers in the victory. Dick Farrell takes the win in relief.
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1962 – Don Buddin’s three-run blast in the 11th inning gives Houston their first road win in franchise history, a 5-2 victory over the Mets at the Polo Grounds. Norm Larker hit a two-run shot to account for the earlier runs.
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1962 Major League Baseball officially starts in Houston as the Colt .45s make a big hit in their 11-2 Opening Day win against the Chicago Cubs. Bobby Shantz gets the victory, striking out Lou Brock as the first batter. Roman Mejias belts two home runs and drives in six for the Colts. Hal Smith also homers. In all, quite a 50th birthday gift for team owner Judge Roy Hofheinz.
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1962 – Dean Stone tosses the first complete-game shutout in franchise history, blanking the Cubs, 3-0 . It’s a three-hit effort and caps a series sweep in their inaugural homestand. At 3-0, they are tied with the Giants atop the National League standings.
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1962 – Construction begins on the Astrodome, a short hike from where Colt Stadium is nearing completion. The excavation pit for the domed stadium floor soon becomes a haven for breeding mosquitoes in land that was once marsh fields.
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1962 – Mickey Herskowitz of the Houston Post has his first column published as a mythical Houston pitcher named “Lefty” who tells about life with the Colt .45s. He continues the columns for five years and they sell as a book entitled “Letters From Lefty”. A few more letters show up through 1971. They remain some of the best stories about the early years of the franchise.
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1962 – Houston Colt .45s lose the first exhibition game in their history to the Los Angeles Angels, 7-3, in Palm Springs, CA. Bob Aspromonte scores the first run and Roman Mejias gets the first Colt hit, a clean single off Eli Grba.
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1962 – Colt .45s get their first-ever win in a 2-1 exhibition victory over the Cleveland Indians. Jack Waters singles home Jim Pendleton with the winning run. Jim Umbricht is the winning pitcher.
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1962 – KPRC-AM introduces Gene Elston and Al Helfer as the Colts’ first radio play-by-play team. Loel Passe, a local favorite after his years with the Houston Buffs, is later added to the crew. Although Helfer leaves after the first year, Elston and Passe would be together for the next fourteen seasons. Elston would remain with the club through 1986.
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1962 – Catcher John Bateman is inked to a free agent contract. The hulking catcher leads the team in home runs and RBIs in 1963 but his career year comes in 1966 when Bateman puts up a .279 average with 17 homers, 24 doubles and 70 RBIs – all career highs. He hits .228 over six seasons in Houston (1963-1968). Bateman dies in Sand Spring, TX at age 56 on December 3, 1996.
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1962 – The first Houston training camp begins in Apache Junction, AZ. The fledgling Colt .45s would finish with a 14-7 spring record, best in the majors – a testament to what 40 guys can accomplish when none of them are assured of employment.
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1962 – Harris County voters approve a bond issue to complete financing of the Astrodome. The election comes after the first season at hot and humid Colt Stadium, perhaps a push that helped get the bonds passed.
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1962 – Righthander Don Nottebart is purchased from the Milwaukee Braves on the advice of ex-teammate Don McMahon. Nottebart’s three-year record in Houston is 21-34, including the franchise’s first no-hitter. Infielders Norm Larker and Joey Amalfitano are also traded in two separate deals for four players who do not make Houston’s roster. Larker is swapped to the Braves while Amalfitano is shipped to the Giants.
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1962 – Mark Portugal is born in Los Angeles, CA. The righthander spends five of his 15 big league seasons in Houston, compiling a 52-30 record with one save and a 3.34 ERA while watching the club change from a veteran contender to a young rebuilding club from 1989 to 1993.
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1962 – Jim Umbricht gets his first major league hit and his first win as a Colt .45. His RBI single scores Johnny Temple to cap a 5-3 victory over Pittsburgh. Jim Pendleton drives home the winning run with a hit off 43-year-old rookie Diomedes Olivo.
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1962 – Houston loses a twinbill with Philadelphia, 3-2 and 5-3, even though it is “Break The Jinx Night” with fans admitted at half-price for bringing their good luck charms. Bob Bruce is the hero the next day in a 4-1 triumph or the Colts would have become the first big league team ever to be swept in a season series.
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1962 – Losing takes its toll on the expansion Colt .45s, blanked by Milwaukee, 3-0. With a chance to tie in the eighth, Norm Larker is rung up on strikes then tossed out when he argues with umpire Augie Donatelli. Al Spangler gets the heave ho as well. Larker returns to the dugout and tosses 18 bats onto the field in a tirade. The league fines him $75 and he retorts it was worth every penny.
Read MorePosted by Tom | Oct 15, 2019 | Houston Astros, This Day In Baseball | 0 |
1962 – Carl Warwick ‘s four hits pace the Colts past St. Louis, 8-3. He cracks a two-run double off Bob Gibson in the first then adds a two-run bomb in the third. Ken Johnson earns the victory, supported by 15 Houston hits.
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1962 – Roman Mejias singles home the winning run in the ninth as Houston nips the Cardinals, 4-3, on “Stan Musial Day” in Houston . Dick Farrell admits the next day during a radio interview that he threw an illegal spitball at Musial, but the St. Louis legend drilled it for an RBI single. Farrell is fined and touches off a debate that mars his 12-strikeout performance.
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1962 – Colt .45s ground into five double plays, still a franchise record, during a 4-0 meltdown in Pittsburgh. Shortstop Dick Groat starts three of them. Bob Friend defeats hard-luck Dick Farrell, who is wearing number “13” on Friday the 13th. It’s the 16th loss in the past 18 games for the sinking Colts.
Read MoreMajor League Baseball Season Recap 1962 World Series – New York Yankees AL over San Franciso Giants NL 4 games to 3 World Series MVP – Ralph Terry Babe Ruth Award – Ralph Terry Awards – </strong? Major...
Read MorePosted by This Day in Baseball | Dec 31, 1962 | Owners | 0 |
1962 – The state of Ohio withdraws a suit against the Cincinnati Reds when team owner Bill DeWitt agrees in writing that the club will stay in Cincinnati for 10 years.
Read MorePosted by Tom | Dec 22, 1962 | This Day In Baseball | 0 |
Voters in Harris County (TX) approve a bond issue to complete the financing of the world’s first domed sports stadium, which will become home for the Houston Astros. The structure will become known as the Astrodome, and will be dubbed the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’.
Read MorePosted by Tom | Dec 22, 1962 | This Day In Baseball | 0 |
1962 – Harris County voters approve a bond issue to complete the financing of an all-weather stadium to house the Houston Colt .45’s.
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1962 – The San Francisco Giants trade pitchers Stu Miller and Mike McCormick, along with C Johnny Orsino, to Baltimore for pitchers Jack Fisher and Billy Hoeft, and C Jim Coker.
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1962 – The Red Sox ship Carroll Hardy to Houston for Dick Williams.
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1962 – The Red Sox send P Tracy Stallard and infielders Pumpsie Green and Al Moran to the Mets for infielder Felix Mantilla.
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1962 – Former major leaguers Frank Crosetti and Johnny Schulte bring suit to prevent any increase in pension benefits which fails to include players from different eras.
Read MorePosted by This Day in Baseball | Dec 7, 1962 | This Day In Baseball | 0 |
On December 7, 1962, J.G. Taylor Spink, the publisher of The Sporting News, dies at the age of 74. The legendary Spink operated the weekly newspaper for 48 years. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will eventually...
Read MorePosted by Tom | Dec 7, 1962 | Rookie Of The Year American League | 0 |
Tom Tresh, the Yankees shortstop and left fielder, is selected as the American League’s Rookie of the Year by the BBWAA. The 24 year-old son of former major league catcher Mike Tresh gets 13 of the 20 votes cast by the writers, with Bob Rodgers (4), Dean Chance (1), Dick Radatz (1), and Bernie Allen (1) also receiving consideration.
Read MorePosted by Tom | Dec 3, 1962 | Labor Issues | 0 |
1962 – Former players Frank Crosetti and Johnny Schulte file a suit to halt any increased Major League Baseball pension benefits that fail to include old-time players.
Read MorePosted by Tom | Dec 1, 1962 | This Day In Baseball | 0 |
1962 – A complete overhaul of the classifications in the minor leagues is made. The Eastern and South Atlantic leagues are promoted from Class-A to Class-AA. Meanwhile, classes B, C and D are abolished with those leagues being promoted to Class-A. The Class-B leagues were the Carolina and Northwest leagues; the Class-C leagues were the California, Mexican Center, Northern and Pioneer leagues. The Class-D leagues were the Florida State, Georgia-Florida, Midwest, New York-Pennsylvania and Western Carolinas leagues. The Appalachian League moves from Class-D to Rookie classification.
Read MorePosted by Tom | Nov 29, 1962 | Minor Leagues | 0 |
After 61 years, the American Association (AAA) folds, with some of the franchises being absorbed by the International League and the Pacific Coast League. The PCL adds the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX, Denver, CO and Oklahoma City, OK clubs and drops the Vancouver, BC club. The International League adds the Indianapolis, IN and Little Rock, AR clubs. As a result, both leagues became ten-club leagues. The American Association will re-form after expansion in 1969.
Read MorePosted by Tom | Nov 29, 1962 | This Day In Baseball | 0 |
Major league officials and player representatives agree to return to a single All-Star Game in 1963. The players’ pension fund will receive 95 percent of the one game’s proceeds (rather than 60 percent of two games).
Read MorePosted by Tom | Nov 27, 1962 | Transactions | 0 |
1962 – The Milwaukee Braves trade slugger Joe Adcock and pitcher Jack Curtis to the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Frank Funk and outfielders Don Dillard and Ty Cline. With the addition of Adcock, first base prospect Walt Bond will spend another year in the minors. Bond hit .380 with six home runs in 50 at-bats for Cleveland in September.
Read MorePosted by Tom | Nov 26, 1962 | Houston Astros, This Day In Baseball | 0 |
1962 – Colt .45s draft infielder Jim Wynn from Cincinnati. The 20-year-old is disappointed to be leaving his hometown’s farm system but gains a fast track to the majors, appearing in Houston the next season as an outfielder.
Read MorePosted by Tom | Nov 26, 1962 | This Day In Baseball | 0 |
The Dodgers trade pitcher Stan Williams (14-12, 4.46) for Yankee first baseman Bill Skowron (.270, 23, 80). ‘Moose’ will hit .385, including a home run in Game 2, against his former teammates in Los Angeles’ four-game sweep of the Bronx Bombers in next season’s Fall Classic.
Read MorePosted by Tom | Nov 26, 1962 | This Day In Baseball | 0 |
American League batting champ Pete Runnels (.326) is traded by the Boston Red Sox to the Houston Colt .45s for outfielder Roman Mejias. After that, the Texas native will only hit .252 in Houston next season and will retire in May of 1964.
Read MorePosted by This Day in Baseball | Nov 26, 1962 | Transactions | 0 |
On November 26, 1962, the Houston Colt .45s acquire American League batting champion Pete Runnels from the Boston Red Sox for outfielder Roman Mejias. Runnels, who batted .326 in 1962, will slump to .253 with the Colt .45s and...
Read MorePosted by Tom | Nov 26, 1962 | This Day In Baseball | 0 |
The Dodgers trade pitcher Stan Williams (14-12, 4.46 ERA) to the Yankees for first baseman Bill Skowron (.270, 23 HR, 80 RBI). Skowron will homer against his former teammates in Game 2 of the 1963 World Series.
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