History of the Astros Part 1 (1962-1979)

In Part 1 we cover the birth of the franchise and slow movement towards becoming contenders. In Part 2, we cover the last half of the Astrodome era when the Astros were legitimate contenders who came ever so close to winning the pennant. In Part 3, we cover the 21st century Astros – including their two World Series appearances.

The early years of the Astros were marked more by their iconic home stadium and rainbow uniform, then their play. During their first two decades, the Astros did not make it to the post-season even once.

1960’s

After the American League added the Los Angeles Angels and Washington Senators as expansion teams in 1961, the following season the National League added the New York Mets and Houston Colt .45s. The Houston named was chosen in a contest after “the gun that won the west”.

Baseball began in Houston with an 11-2 rout of the Chicago Cubs at Colt Stadium, which was a temporary home pending completion of the Houston Astrodome. In 1964, Colt .45 fans witnessed Ken Johnson pitch a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds, except the Reds won 1-0 on an error – the only losing complete game no-hitter in history.

The team changed their name to Astros upon moving into the Astrodome (once dubbed the 8th Wonder of the World) in 1965, the first domed stadium in baseball and first to use astroturf. After the team moved to the Astrodome, Colt Stadium was sold to a Mexican League team, dismantled and shipped in pieces over four years.

While the stadium may have been wonderous, the Astros were simply mediocre with their best season of the decade coming in 1969 when they finished 81-81.

Franchise History
Year	G	W	L	W-L%	Finish	GB	Attendance	Top Player	Managers
1969	162	81	81	.500	5th of 6	12.0	1,442,995	L.Dierker (8.4)	H.Walker (81-81)
1968	162	72	90	.444	10th of 10	25.0	1,312,887	J.Wynn (5.4)	G.Hatton (23-38) and H.Walker (49-52)
1967	162	69	93	.426	9th of 10	32.5	1,348,303	J.Wynn (5.3)	G.Hatton (69-93)
1966	163	72	90	.444	8th of 10	23.0	1,872,108	M.Cuellar (5.4)	G.Hatton (72-90)
1965	162	65	97	.401	9th of 10	32.0	2,151,470	J.Wynn (7.4)	L.Harris (65-97)
1964	162	66	96	.407	9th of 10	27.0	725,773	B.Bruce (5.5)	H.Craft (61-88) and L.Harris (5-8)
1963	162	66	96	.407	9th of 10	33.0	719,502	H.Woodeshick (4.6)	H.Craft (66-96)
1962	162	64	96	.400	8th of 10	36.5	924,456	T.Farrell (7.3)	H.Craft (64-96)

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/28/2017.

1970s

The 1970’s began with a blockbuster trade in 1972 that sent Joe Morgan (2B), Cesar Geronimo (OF), Ed Armbrister (OF) and pitcher Denis Menke and Jack Billingham to Cincinnati for infielders Lee May, Tommy Helms and Jimmy Stewart.

The 1970’s saw steady improvement and ended with a near miss in 1979. The Astros led the division all of June and July, most of August and part of September but fell 1.5 games behind the Cincinnati Reds despite winning 89 games.

In 1975, the Astros launched their iconic Rainbow jersey.

Franchise History
Year	G	W	L	W-L%	Finish	GB	Attendance	Top Player	Managers
1979	162	89	73	.549	2nd of 6	1.5	1,900,312	J.Richard (5.4)	B.Virdon (89-73)
1978	162	74	88	.457	5th of 6	21.0	1,126,145	J.Cruz (5.3)	B.Virdon (74-88)
1977	162	81	81	.500	3rd of 6	17.0	1,109,560	J.Richard (5.6)	B.Virdon (81-81)
1976	162	80	82	.494	3rd of 6	22.0	886,146	C.Cedeno (5.9)	B.Virdon (80-82)
1975	162	64	97	.398	6th of 6	43.5	858,002	C.Cedeno (4.4)	P.Gomez (47-80) and B.Virdon (17-17)
1974	162	81	81	.500	4th of 6	21.0	1,090,728	C.Cedeno (5.8)	P.Gomez (81-81)
1973	162	82	80	.506	4th of 6	17.0	1,394,004	C.Cedeno (7.4)	L.Durocher (82-80)
1972	153	84	69	.549	3rd of 6	10.5	1,469,247	C.Cedeno (8.0)	H.Walker (67-54), S.Parker (1-0) and L.Durocher (16-15)
1971	162	79	83	.488	4th of 6	11.0	1,261,589	D.Wilson (6.1)	H.Walker (79-83)
1970	162	79	83	.488	4th of 6	23.0	1,253,444	J.Wynn (4.9)	H.Walker (79-83)