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.
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.
1961 – The Colts obtain pitchers Bob Bruce and Manny Montejo from Detroit for pitcher “Toothpick” Sam Jones. Bruce compiles a 42-58 record and a 3.78 ERA in five seasons for Houston. Picked in the expansion draft from San Francisco, Jones, a two-time All-Star, pitches only spot duty in his remaining three big league seasons.
1961 – Houston makes their debut as a major league franchise through an Arizona instructional league team based in Scottsdale dubbed the “Colt .22s”.
1961 – The Houston Colt .45s and the New York Mets choose in the first National League expansion draft. Among the Colt selections are Bob Aspromonte and Dick Farrell (both from L.A.), Hal Smith and Roman Mejias (Pit.), Ken Johnson (Cin.), Al Spangler(Mil.) and Bob Lillis (St.L.). Houston’s first pick is infielder Eddie Bressoud but he is traded before the inaugural season begins.
A contest to name the new Houston ballclub is announced. Entries will be accepted through the end of the month by the Houston Sports Association.
Gabe Paul announces his decision to leave the Reds to become the general manager of the Colt .45’s, an expansion team scheduled to begin play in 1962. After clashing with majority owner Roy Hofheinz, the experienced baseball executive will leave Houston nearly a year before the team plays an official game.
Special Memory or Event? Want to have some fun? Advertise your business? Dedicate this page On October 17, 1960 –At the Sheraton Blackstone Hotel in Chicago, the National League owners vote to admit Houston and New York, making it the first structural change in the Senior Circuit since the turn of the century. The…
1961 – Rumors swirl that legendary manager Leo Durocher, currently a coach with the Dodgers, would be named the first manager of the new Houston franchise. Reports of phone conversations between Durocher and General Manager Gabe Paul are true but nothing materializes beyond that. Durocher would eventally lead the club in 1972 after several years as skipper of the Cubs.
1945 – Jay Dahl is born in San Bernadino, CA. Signed at age 17 in June of 1963, Dahl starts the “All-Rookie” game for the Colt .45s three months later, allowing seven runs in 2-2/3rds innings. It is to be his only big league game. The lefthander dies on June 20, 1965 in an automobile accident in Salisbury, NC where the Astros have a farm club. His teammate, Gary Marshall, is permanently blinded in the wreck. A female passenger also dies.
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