1963 – Ernie Fazio scores on a single from Rusty Staub in the 11th inning for a 4-3 victory over St. Louis. It is Staub’s second RBI of the game. Hal Woodeshick wins his eighth, all in relief. Johnny Temple drives in the Colts’ other two runs with a single in the eighth inning.
1963 – Bob Bruce tosses the first one-hitter in franchise history, a 2-0 blanking of the Reds. A harmless single by Vada Pinson is the only blemish. Bruce needs just 96 pitches to accomplish the feat.
July 6, 1962 – Cincinnati, Crosley Field Houston finally beats Joey Jay (11-8) after he had won his first three games for the Reds against the .45s, but it took a shutout by Hal Woodeshick (3-6) to come up with the 2-0 victory. Woodeshick threw an eight-hitter, did not walk a man and struck out…
1962 – Hal Woodeshick and Dick Farrell combine for Houston’s first shutout, 2-0 over the Cubs. Hal Smith’s first-inning single plated the game’s only runs. This game also featured the franchise’s first rain delay – one hour and seven minutes.
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.
Ground is broken for the Astrodome. The ceremony includes the firing of pistols into the ground by team, city and county officials.
Houston voters approve financing for a domed stadium, removing the last hurdle to gaining a major league franchise for the Texas city. The Astrodome, the eighth wonder of the world, will be the result of today’s approval and will serve as the Astros’ home from 1965-1999.
1949 – John Mayberry is born in Detroit, MI. A hot prospect drafted by the Astros, he bats .191 in parts of four seasons in Houston (1968-1971) before being traded away to the American League where he stars for the next eleven years.
Ron Brand is born in Los Angeles, CA. The catcher plays for Houston for four seasons (1965-1968) and was the only Houston catcher to bat leadoff before Craig Biggio arrived twenty years later.
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