Houston Astros History (1962-present)

A Look Back at Four Decades of Astros' History

Houston Astros: 1960s

The Houston Astros have not always been named the Houston Astros. After joining the National League in 1962, the Houston baseball franchise was called the Houston Colt .45s. In 1965, the Colt .45s changed their name to the Houston Astros in support of their new venue, the Astrodome – an indoor, domed stadium that served as the home to the Houston Astros from 1965-1999, until the Astros moved to Minute Maid Park, where they currently reside.

Houston Astros: 1970s

In the1970s, the history of the Houston Astros was a mix of both professional rise and vast personal tragedy in the Astros organization. During the 1972 season, the Houston Astros finished with an 84-69 record, good for second place in the NL West, which was the best Astros season to this point.

But just as things seemed to be improving for the Houston Astros, their former pitcher Don Wilson committed suicide in 1975, which had a resounding effect on the entire Astros franchise. Wilson had enjoyed much success with the Houston Astros and successfully pitched two no-hitters while playing for the team. For the remainder of the 1975 Houston Astros baseball season, the Astros wore a patch with Wilson’s number on their uniform sleeve in Wilson’s memory.

Houston Astros: 1980s

Starting in 1979, the Houston Astros started to build their team around pitching and speed, largely because hitting and power was such a weakness for the Houston Astros. Their unconventional strategy worked and the Astros baseball team were contenders for the first time. The 1979 Houston Astros baseball season was led by all-stars such as outfielder José Cruz, Sr., third baseman Enos Cabell and pitcher J.R. Richard, but in 1980 the Houston Astros added the now-legendary Nolan Ryan and Joe Morgan en route to winning their first NL West Championship, where the Houston Astros faced the Philadelphia Phillies in what is arguably one of the best and most exciting post-season series in Houston Astros baseball history.

In 1980, J.R. Richard was all the buzz and a favorite to win the Cy-Young Award in the upcoming baseball season, since Richardson was considered to be one of the most dominating and successful pitchers in baseball. However, Richard suffered a stroke that season, which kept him from playing another game for the Astros or professional baseball again. Thanks to the help of free agent Don Sutton, the Houston Astros were able to make the playoffs in the 1981 season. In 1983, Nolan Ryan made history as baseball’s all-time strikeout leader, a great honor for Ryan and the entire Houston Astros baseball franchise.

Under new management in 1986, the Houston Astros showed great improvement, starting their season on a red-hot streak. Astros fans started flocking to the Astrodome with their Astros baseball caps and Astros jerseys to see the Houston Astros baseball games. Houston hosted the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in the Astrodome that same year, which added to the excitement of the city of Houston. Discontent with the management again after the 1986 season, the Houston Astros front office moved toward a rebuilding process for the Astros.

Houston Astros: 1989-1999

By 1989, many of the veterans on the Houston Astros baseball team were replaced by younger, less-expensive players. Even though franchise icon and hero Nolan Ryan left the Astros in 1989 to play for the Texas Rangers, rookie Craig Biggio joined the team, proving that 1989 was not a complete loss for the Houston Astros.

In 1990, a trade was made that forever changed the face of Houston Astros baseball history. Right before the trade deadline in 1990, the Houston Astros brought in Jeff Bagwell, who went on to become arguably the best player in Houston Astros history. In 1993, the Houston Astros changed management along with their trademark Astros logo, uniforms, caps and colors, which quickly became fan favorites. As a sign of continued success, the Astros won division titles in 1997, 1998, and 1999. The tradition of the “Killer Bs” also started in the late 90’s after the Astros acquired Craig Biggio, Derek Bell, Jeff Bagwell, and Sean Berry. Lance Berkman and Carlos Beltran were later added to the lineup of the Killer Bs.

Houston Astros: 2000-2004

In 2000, a new ball park marked the new start and new home for the Houston Astros. The Astros players and fans had grown discontent with the Astrodome and the sale of Houston Astros tickets were down, so Enron Field (now Minute Maid Park) was constructed as the new home of the Houston Astros. The Houston Astros made the playoffs in 2001, but failed to reach the second round. The Astros missed the playoffs in 2002 and 2003, but in 2004, the Astros added all-stars Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte to their line-up and replaced their head coach, making the Astros the favorites to win the NL pennant. The eighth time was a charm for the Houston Astros, as they finally made it out of the first round of the playoffs. That year, Roger Clemens also won his first NL Cy- Young Award – his 7^th overall.

Houston Astros: First World Series

In the early part of the Houston Astros schedule in 2005, the Houston Astros got off to a rocky start, falling 15 games below .500 at mid season, but the Houston Astros went on to go 42-17, a streak that helped them snag the NL Wild Card en route to the franchise’s first-ever World Series. The Chicago White Sox swept the Houston Astros 4-0 in a best-of-seven game series. Even though the Houston Astros didn’t win, it was a success for the team to make it into the World Series. In both 2006 and 2007, the Astros failed to make the playoffs, but made plenty of personnel changes to help the team return to the World Series once again.  

Houston Astros Schedule: 2008 

The Houston Astros schedule has the Houston Astros baseball team opening on the road against the San Diego Padres and then their division foe Chicago Cubs. Fans will have an exciting Houston Astros schedule to look forward to, including competitive series against rivals St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers as well as former World Series Champions – Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.

With all the personnel and management changes, the Astros are hoping all the pieces of the puzzle will fit together and create the chemistry for a winning season. With young stars on the rise such as Roy Oswalt, Brandon Backe, Lance Berkman, and Hunter Pence, and Carlos Lee leading the way, the Astros hope that fans will continue to buy Houston Astros tickets and cheer on a new-look Houston Astros baseball team in 2008.

Houston Astros Tickets & Records

In 2007, the Houston Astros baseball team ranked 10^th in overall home attendance, averaging 37,288 fans per game, while an astounding 3,020,405 million Houston Astros tickets were sold last season. This was not far behind the 3,022,763 Houston Astros tickets that were sold in 2006 – good for 8^th overall ranking in home attendance in the league.

After back-to-back seasons with more than 3 million Houston Astros tickets sold and with the Houston Astros schedule pitting the Houston Astros against the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees in interleague play, the Houston Astros hope to continue making history and set home-attendance records at Minute Maid Park in 2008.