Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball as a member club of the American League West Division. They are one of two major league clubs based in Texas; the Texas Rangers belong to the same division. They play their home games at Daikin Park.
Established as the Houston Colt.45s, the Astros entered the National League as an expansion team in along with the New York Mets. The current name was adopted three years later, when they moved into the Astrodome, the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium. The Astros moved to Enron Field in. The team played in the NL West division from 1969 to 1993, then the NL Central division from 1994 to 2012, before being moved to the AL West as part of an MLB realignment in 2013.
The Astros posted their first winning record in and made the playoffs for the first time in, before winning a total of three division titles throughout the 1980s. Spearheaded by the Killer B's, a collection of prominent hitters that included the Astros' Hall of Fame members Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell, along with closer Billy Wagner, the Astros began reaching major prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s with four further division titles and two Wild Card appearances, culminating in their first World Series appearance in where they were swept by the Chicago White Sox.
After a major slump throughout the next decade, the team was purchased by business owner Jim Crane in 2011 for $680 million. Under Crane's ownership and the tenure of former GM Jeff Luhnow, the Astros embraced sabermetrics and pioneered new analytical technologies in their transition to the American League, and by the mid-2010s transformed from a historically middling franchise into one of MLB's most dominant and successful clubs, as headlined by stars such as Jose Altuve. Since then, the Astros have won over 100 games in four seasons, and have appeared in a record seven consecutive American League Championship Series, winning four of the last seven American League pennants. During this era, the Astros won the 2017 World Series, their first championship, against the Los Angeles Dodgers; however, this win drew controversy and backlash from fans after the Astros were implicated in a sign stealing scandal.
The Astros made later World Series appearances in against the Washington Nationals, against the Atlanta Braves, and against the Philadelphia Phillies, winning their second title in the latter series. Often cited as one of the best teams in the American League, the team's sustained success since 2015 has led some to declare the Astros a dynasty. They are the only team to win a postseason series in seven straight seasons. Their fifth pennant in 2022 made them the second team created in the expansion era to win five league pennants and the fifth expansion team to have won two World Series championships. In 2024, the Astros clinched their AL West division title for the seventh time in eight years and became the first team to win the AL West division in four straight years since the 1971–1975 Oakland Athletics.
Since 2017 when the Astros won their first American League pennant, they are the first and only team in Major League Baseball to win pennants in both leagues. While in the National League, the Astros held rivalries with the Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals, but since their transition to the American League, have come to hold divisional rivalries with the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers, as well as a recurring postseason rivalry with the New York Yankees. From 1962 through the end of the 2025 season, the Astros' all-time record is . In addition to having the most postseason appearances by an expansion team, they are the only expansion era team with an all-time winning record. In 2024, the Astros became the second expansion team to reach 5,000 wins.
History
Major League Baseball comes to Texas
From 1888 until 1961, Houston's professional baseball club was the minor league Houston Buffaloes. Although expansion from the National League eventually brought an MLB team to Texas in 1962, Houston officials had been making efforts to do so for years prior, with a group effort led in 1952 to buy the St. Louis Cardinals for $4.25 million, but local owners were instead chosen. There were four men chiefly responsible for bringing Major League Baseball to Houston: journalist/promoter George Kirksey, Craig Cullinan Jr., R.E. "Bob" Smith, a prominent oilman and real estate magnate in Houston who like Cullinan was brought in for his financial resources, and Judge Roy Hofheinz, a former Mayor of Houston and Harris County Judge who was recruited for his salesmanship and political style. They founded the Houston Sports Association as their vehicle for attaining a big league franchise for the city of Houston.Given MLB's refusal to consider expansion, Kirksey, Cullinan, Smith, and Hofheinz joined forces with would-be owners from other cities and announced the formation of a new league to compete with the established National and American Leagues. They called the new league the Continental League. Wanting to protect potential new markets, both existing leagues chose to expand from eight teams to ten. However, plans eventually fell through for the Houston franchise after the Houston Buffaloes owner, Marty Marion, could not come to an agreement with the HSA to sell the team. To make matters worse, the Continental League as a whole folded in August 1960.
However, on October 17, 1960, the National League granted an expansion franchise to the Houston Sports Association for them to begin play in the 1962 season. According to the Major League Baseball Constitution, the Houston Sports Association was required to obtain territorial rights from the Houston Buffaloes in order to play in the Houston area, resulting in the HSA revisiting negotiations. Eventually, the Houston Sports Association succeeded in purchasing the Houston Buffaloes, which were at this point majority-owned by William Hopkins, on January 17, 1961. The Buffs played one last minor league season as the top farm team of the Chicago Cubs in 1961 before being succeeded by the city's NL club.
The new Houston team was named the Colt.45s after a "Name the Team" contest was won by William Irving Neder. The Colt.45 was well known as "the gun that won the west".
The colors selected were navy and orange. The first team was formed mostly through an expansion draft after the 1961 season. The Colt.45s and their expansion cousins, the New York Mets, took turns choosing players left unprotected by the other National League franchises.
Many players and staff associated with the Houston Buffaloes organization continued in the major leagues. Manager Harry Craft, who had joined Houston in 1961, remained in the same position for the team until the end of the 1964 season. General manager Spec Richardson also continued with the organization as business manager but was later promoted back to GM for the Astros from 1967 until 1975. Although most players for the major league franchise were obtained through the 1961 Major League Baseball expansion draft, Buffs players J.C. Hartman, Pidge Browne, Jim Campbell, Ron Davis, Dave Giusti, and Dave Roberts were chosen to continue as major league ball players.
Similarly, the radio broadcasting team remained with the new Houston major league franchise. Loel Passe worked alongside Gene Elston as a color commentator until he retired from broadcasting in 1976. Elston continued with the Astros until 1986.
The Colt.45s began their existence playing at Colt Stadium, a temporary venue built just north of the construction site of their permanent home, a domed stadium. Hofheinz and his partners believed a domed stadium was a must for MLB to be viable in Houston, given the area's oppressive humidity.
1962–1964: The Colt .45s
The Colt.45s started their inaugural season on April 10, 1962, against the Chicago Cubs with Harry Craft as the Colt.45s' manager. Bob Aspromonte scored the first run for the Colt.45s on an Al Spangler triple in the first inning. They started the season with a three-game sweep of the Cubs but eventually finished eighth among the National League's ten teams. The team's best pitcher, Richard "Turk" Farrell, lost 20 games despite an ERA of 3.02. A starter for the Colt.45s, Farrell was primarily a relief pitcher prior to playing for Houston. He was selected to both All-Star Games in 1962.The 1963 season saw more young talent mixed with seasoned veterans. Jimmy Wynn, Rusty Staub, and Joe Morgan all made their major league debuts in the 1963 season. However, Houston's position in the standings did not improve, as the Colt.45s finished in ninth place with a 66–96 record. The team was still building, trying to find that perfect mix to compete. The 1964 campaign began on a sad note, as relief pitcher Jim Umbricht died of cancer at the age of 33 on April 8, just before Opening Day. Umbricht was the only Colt.45s pitcher to post a winning record in Houston's first two seasons. He was so well liked by players and fans that the team retired his jersey number, 32, in 1965.
Just on the horizon, the structure of the new domed stadium was more prevalent, and it would soon change the way that baseball was watched in Houston and around the league. On December 1, 1964, the team announced the name change to "Astros", which reflected Houston's role in the American space program.
1965–1970: The Great Indoors
With Judge Roy Hofheinz now the sole owner of the franchise and the new venue complete, the team moved into the Astrodome in 1965. The Astrodome, called the "Eighth Wonder of the World", did little to improve the home team's results on the field. While several "indoor" firsts were accomplished, the team still finished ninth in the standings. The attendance was high not because of the team's accomplishments, but because people came from miles around to see the Astrodome.Just as the excitement was settling down over the Astrodome, the 1966 season found something new to put the domed stadium in the spotlight once again – the field. Grass would not grow in the new park, since the roof panels had been painted to reduce the glare that was causing players on both the Astros and the visiting teams to miss routine pop flies. A new artificial turf was created called "AstroTurf" and Houston would be involved in yet another change in the way the game was played.
With new manager Grady Hatton, the Astros started the 1966 season strong. By May they were in second place in the National League and looked like a team that could contend. Joe Morgan was named as a starter on the All-Star Team. The success did not last as they lost Jimmy Wynn for the season after he crashed into an outfield fence in Philadelphia and Morgan had broken his knee cap. The 1967 season saw first baseman Eddie Mathews join the Astros. The slugger hit his 500th home run while in Houston. He would be traded late in the season and Doug Rader would be promoted to the big leagues. Rookie Don Wilson pitched a no-hitter on June 18. Wynn also provided some enthusiasm in 1967. The 5 ft 9 in Wynn was becoming known not only for how often he hit home runs, but also for how far he hit them. Wynn set club records with 37 home runs, and 107 RBIs. It was also in 1967 that Wynn hit his famous home run onto Interstate 75 in Cincinnati. As the season came to a close, the Astros found themselves again in ninth place and with a winning percentage below.500. The team looked good on paper, but could not make it work on the field.
April 15, 1968, saw a pitching duel for the ages. The Astros' Don Wilson and the Mets' Tom Seaver faced each other in a battle that lasted six hours. Seaver went ten innings, allowing no walks and just two hits. Wilson went nine innings, allowing five hits and three walks. After the starters exited, eleven relievers tried to end the game. The game finally ended in the 24th inning when Bob Aspromonte hit a shot toward Mets shortstop Al Weis. Weis had been perfect all night at short, but he was not quick enough to make the play. The ball zipped into left field, allowing Norm Miller to score.
With baseball expansion and trades, the Astros had dramatically changed in 1969. Aspromonte was sent to the Braves and Rusty Staub was traded to the expansion Montreal Expos, in exchange for outfielder Jesús Alou and first baseman Donn Clendenon. However, Clendenon refused to report to Houston, electing to retire and take job with a pen manufacturing company. The Astros asked Commissioner Bowie Kuhn to void the trade, but he refused. Instead, he awarded Jack Billingham and a left-handed relief pitcher to the Astros to complete the trade. Cuellar was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Curt Blefary. Other new players included catcher Johnny Edwards, infielder Denis Menke and pitcher Denny Lemaster. Wilson continued to pitch brilliantly and on May 1 threw the second no-hitter of his career. In that game, he struck out 18 batters, tying what was then the all-time single-game mark. He was just 24 years of age and was second to only Sandy Koufax for career no-hit wins. Wilson's no-hitter lit the Astros' fire after a miserable month of April, and six days later the team tied a major league record by turning seven double plays in a game. By May's end, the Astros had put together a ten-game winning streak. The Houston infield tandem of Menke and Joe Morgan continued to improve, providing power at the plate and great defense. Morgan had 15 homers and stole 49 bases while Menke led the Astros with 90 RBIs. The Menke/Morgan punch was beginning to come alive, and the team was responding to Walker's management style. The Astros dominated the season series against their expansion twins, the New York Mets. In one game at New York, Denis Menke and Jimmy Wynn hit grand slams in the same inning, against a Mets team that would go on to win the World Series that same year. The Astros finished the 1969 season with a record of 81 wins, 81 losses, marking their first season of.500 ball.
In 1970, the Astros were expected to be a serious threat in the National League West. In June, 19-year-old César Cedeño was called up and immediately showed signs of being a superstar. The Dominican outfielder batted.310 after being called up. Not to be outdone, Menke batted.304 and Jesús Alou batted.306. The Astros' batting average was up by 19 points compared to the season before. The team looked good, but the Astros' ERA was up. Larry Dierker and Wilson had winning records, but the pitching staff as a whole had an off season. Houston finished in fourth place in 1970.