1965 Houston Astros season

MLB yearly infobox-pre1969 alt‎
name = Houston Astros
season = 1965
misc =

current league = National League
y1 = 1962
Uniform
ballpark = Harris County Domed Stadium
y4 = 1965
city = Houston, Texas
y5 = 1962
owners = Roy Hofheinz
general manager =Paul Richards, Tal Smith
managers =Lum Harris
television = KTRK-TV
radio = KPRC (AM)
(Gene Elston, Loel Passe, Harry Kalas)|

The Houston Astros' 1965 season was their first season in the Houston Astrodome, as well as franchise's first season as the Astros, after three seasons as the Colt .45s. It involved the Houston Astros finishing in ninth place in the National League with a record of 65-97, 32 games behind the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The Astros were managed by Lum Harris.

Offseason

*January 31, 1965: Bob Watson was signed by the Houston Astros as an amateur free agent. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/w/watsobo01.shtml Bob Watson Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]

Regular season

eason standings

Opening Day Starters

* Bob Aspromonte
* John Bateman
* Jim Beauchamp
* Walt Bond
* Bob Bruce
* Joe Gaines
* Bob Lillis
* Joe Morgan
* Jimmy Wynn

Astrodome

* On April 9, by|1965, the Houston Colt .45s became the Houston Astros and inaugurated indoor baseball in the Astrodome with a 2-1 exhibition win over the New York Yankees on April 9 in the Astrodome. Rookie Joe Morgan set club marks for at-bats, runs, hits and triples.

* The Houston club changed its nickname, December 1, from Colt .45s to Astros. The move resulted from objections by the Colt Firearms Company to the club's sales of novelties bearing the old nickname. Despite the trademark issues, the "Astros" nickname matched the futuristic ambiance of the revolutionary domed stadium. The nickname was also appropriate since Houston was, by then, the home of NASA's astronaut program. The scoreboard retained subliminal references to the old nickname, as it featured electronically animated cowboys firing pistols, with the "bullets" ricocheting around the scoreboard, when an Astros player would hit a home run. Early on, the groundskeepers also wore astronaut spacesuits to promote that futuristic image.

* The stadium was designed as a defense against the oppressive heat and humidity of the Houston summer. Loosely based on the old Roman Colosseum, the Astrodome was dubbed the "Eighth Wonder of the World". As with many stadiums of that era, such as RFK Stadium and Shea Stadium, the Astrodome was a multi-purpose stadium, designed for both football as well as baseball.

* Besides its roof, the Astrodome was revolutionary for a number of other reasons. It was one of the first stadiums to have individual, theatre-type seats for every seat in the venue. Additionally, it was one of the first stadiums to have luxury seats and club seating, at the time a relatively new concept in sports venues. It also had an "exploding scoreboard", which would show various animations after a home run or a win, as well as messages and advertising.

Game log