1966 – Dave Giusti surrenders eight hits but walks away with a 2-0 shutout against the Giants. Giusti delivers three hits of his own but solo homers by Joe Morgan and Jim Gentile provide all the scoring.
1966 – The first major league game on artificial turf is played in the Astrodome. Two future Hall-of-Famers face off. 21-year-old rookie Don Sutton stymies Robin Roberts and the Astros for a 6-3 Dodger win, the first of his career. The infield was carpeted with the Monsanto product Judge Roy Hofheinz dubbed “Astroturf”. The outfield and foul grounds were still dirt but had the zippered sod installed after the homestand.
1966 – A tornado rips through the Astros’ spring training home in Cocoa, FL. Three light towers are toppled, one crashing into the grandstand. The scoreboard has vanished. The batting cages are ruined. That day’s exhibition game with Kansas City is cancelled.
In a spring training game in Houston’s Astrodome, the Dodgers and Astros become the first major league teams to play on artificial grass. The material, which will become known as AstroTurf, was developed by Monsanto to overcome the team’s inability to grow grass indoors.
1965 – Astros deal two pitchers and cash to the Chicago White Sox for catcher Bill Heath and outfielder Dave Nicholson. Heath would hit .301 with eight RBIs as a backup. Nicholson would bat .246 with ten homers in part-time duty.
On October 3, 1965.00 Cardinal right-hander Bob Gibson goes the distance, beating Houston at the Astrodome, 5-2, to become a 20-game winner for the first time. The future Hall of Famer will win twenty games four more times in the next five seasons.
1965 – At the Astrodome facing Don Nottebart, Giant outfielder Willie Mays becomes the fifth player in major league history to hit 500 career home runs. The “Say Hey Kid” will hit a league-leading and career-high 52 home runs en route to his second MVP season. Juan Marichal gets his 22nd victory, a 5 – 1 decision over Houston. It is the 11th straight win for San Francisco, which now has a 2 1/2 game lead in the National League pennant race.
On August 13 , 1965 — At the Astrodome Rusty Staub singles home the game-winner in the ninth to slip past New York, 3-2. In the typical fashion of those early Met teams, they couldn’t stand a 2-0 lead and let the winning run on base when two Mets collide under Joe Morgan’s pop fly. Both…
1965 – Robin Roberts, nearing the end of a Hall of Fame career, makes a memorable Astro debut. Before a cheering Astrodome throng, Roberts twirls a four-hit shutout against his old Philadelphia team, 8-0 . It is his 277th career win. The Phillies had let Roberts go back in 1961 because he was considered washed up. The Astros inked Robin after Baltimore released him. Roberts would finish the year 5-2 (1.89 ERA) in Houston.
On April 29, 1965, colorful New York Mets broadcaster Lindsey Nelson delivers the play-by-play of a game at the Astrodome from a hanging gondola, which is located 208 feet above the second base bag. Nelson, known for his loud sportcoats, will win the Hall of Fame’s prestigious Ford C. Frick Award in 1988…
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