1963 Houston Colt .45s season

1963 Houston Colt .45s
LeagueNational League
BallparkColt Stadium
CityHouston, Texas
Record66–96 (.407)
League place9th
OwnersRoy Hofheinz
General managersPaul Richards
ManagersHarry Craft
TelevisionKHOU (TV)
(Gene Elston, Guy Savage, Loel Passe)
RadioKPRC (AM)
(Gene Elston, Loel Passe, Mickey Herskowitz)

The 1963 Houston Colt .45s season was the second season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, a member of the National League (NL) based at Colt Stadium, The Colt .45s entered the season having finished their inaugural season with a 64–96–2 record, qualifying for eighth place and 36+1⁄2 games behind the NL pennant-winning San Francisco Giants.

On April 9, pitcher Turk Farrell made his only Opening Day start for the Colt .45s, who hosted the San Francisco Giants but were defeated, 9–2. Colt .45s starting pitchers established a franchise record by registering five contests with a game score of 90 or higher. One such outing was by Don Nottebart, who pitched the first no-hitter in franchise history on May 17, by which Houston defeated the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 4–1. This no-hitter was also just the second in major league history to have been thrown by an individual pitcher which did not result in a shutout.

Pitcher Hal Woodeshick was selected to represent the Colt .45s at the MLB All-Star Game, his lone career selection.

The Colt .45s finished with a record of 66–96, in ninth place and 33 games behind the NL pennant and World Series-winning Los Angeles Dodgers.

First baseman Rusty Staub was selected to the Topps All-Star Rookie Team, the first Colt 45s rookie so named.

Offseason

The expansion Colt .45s concluded their inaugural season with a 64–96–2 (.401) record, ranking in eighth place in the National League (NL), 36+1⁄2 games behind the NL pennant-winning San Francisco Giants.[1] The team drew 924,456 patrons, ranking seventh in the National League.[2] Right-hander Turk Farrell became the first All-Star in franchise history, while left-hander Bobby Shantz earned the first Gold Glove Award.[3]

Regular season

Summary

Broadcaster Harry Kalas made his major league debut in 1963 with Houston, replacing Al Helferrceived and working alongside Gene Elston and Loel Passe.[11][12]

April

Opening Day starting lineup
Uniform Player Position
11 Ernie Fazio Second baseman
21 Al Spangler Left fielder
3 Pete Runnels First baseman
20 Rusty Staub[a] Right fielder
14 Bob Aspromonte Third baseman
27 Howie Goss Center fielder
9 Jim Campbell Catcher
15 Bob Lillis Shortstop
13 Turk Farrell Starting pitcher
Venue: Colt Stadium • San Francisco 9, Houston 2

Sources:[13][14]

The Colt .45s hosted the San Francisco Giants on Opening Day, as right-hander Turk Farrell, Houston's most accomplished pitcher during their inaugural season, made the start. However, the Giants' bats were well-tuned, as Orlando Cepeda and Willie Mays both took Farrell deep, and piled on four runs in the second. The Giants proceeded to swat 17 hits as Farrell surrendered five runs over three innings. Later, Willie McCovey and Felipe Alou each "touched 'em all" off George Brunet. Al Spangler led the Colts hitters with three hits.[15] Rusty Staub, making his major league debut in right field for the Colts,[16] turned in a memorable performance. During the bottom of the sixth, Staub netted both his first hit and run batted in (RBI) when he diced a single to right field off Giants starter Jack Sanford to bring home Spangler. Later, during the top of the ninth, Staub threw out Jim Davenport attempting to take second after hitting a single. However, the Giants emerged triumphant, 9–2, handing Farrell the loss.[15] Spangler and Bob Aspromonte remained the only holdovers from Houston's first Opening Day starting lineup.[17]

On April 12, Farrell pitched a 12-inning complete game, his only outing going the distance in extra innings. Farrell surrendered four and two base on balls while whiffing 11.[18]

Bob Bruce's one-hitter

On April 26, right-hander Bob Bruce one-hit the Cincinnati Reds.[19] Bob Lillis and Al Spangler delivered one run batted in (RBI) each to pace Houston's offense for a 2–0 victory. Both starters lasted to earn the complete game, with Bruce (1–1) edging Jim Maloney (2–1) for a game score of 90.[20]

In the bottom of the first, Spangler singled in Pete Runnels for the first tally of the contest. In the bottom of the seventh, Lillis singled in Rusty Staub for the Colts' second run. Bruce issued a base on balls to the Reds' Marty Keough leading off the ninth. With two out, Don Blasingame coaxed another walk to place runners on first and second for the Reds' biggest scoring threat of the contest. However, Bruce got Vada Pinson to ground into an unassisted out to first for the final out of the contest and seal the Colts' victory.[20]

This was the first shutout in club history that resulted in one hit or fewer,[b][21] the fourth with a game score of 90 or above, and first complete game in franchise history pitched in nine innings or fewer that resulted in a game score of 90 or above.[c][22]

May

On May 10, Turk Farrell struck out a then-club record 13 hitters, supplanting his own (July 20) and Ken Johnson's (August 14) 12-whiff outings from the previous year.[d][23] Both Farrell and Chicago Cubs starter, Glen Hobbie, went the distance as the Colts prevailed, 4–1. Farrell spun a two-hit, no walk performance for a game score of 92. At the plate, Farrell singled in Howie Goss for the go-ahead run. Rusty Staub collected three hits and two RBI.[24] Moreover, this was Farrell's first two-hit complete game, representing a career-best.[18] Farrell was later tied by Bob Bruce on May 26, 1965, and surpassed by Mike Cuellar on June 25, 1966.[d][23]

Don Nottebart's no-hitter

On May 17, Don Nottebart pitched the first no-hitter for an expansion team when Houston defeated Philadelphia by a score of 4–1.[25] In his masterpiece, Nottebart surrendered three walks and struck out eight.[26]

Twenty-year old catcher John Bateman was Nottebart's batterymate. The historic contrest transpired at Colt Stadium before 8,223 fans.[27]

Right fielder Carl Warwick, with a 4-for-4 day at the plate, finished just a double away from hitting for the cycle. During the bottom of the first, Warwick took Jack Hamilton deep for his second home run of the season. In the bottom of the fourth, Warwick scorched a ground ball single to right field off Hamilton. Warwick singled again in the sixth prior to being erased on a Pete Runnels groundball force out. His final hit of the day was a triple to center field against Ryne Duren.[28]

The lead set by Warwick's home run maintained at 1–0 until the top of the fifth inning, when Don Demeter smoked a ground ball through the legs of J. C. Hartman, who was charged with an error. Demeter jetted to second, whom Clay Dalrymple sacrificed to third. Don Hoak then looped a short fly to Howie Goss just behind second base. Demeter then raced home, as Goss' throw to Bateman was off-target, allowing Demeter to score Philadelphia's only run easily and eliminate the shutout bid.[27]

In the bottom of the sixth, Goss atoned for the uncompetitive throw with a three-run drive deep to left that put the Colts in the lead for good, 4–1.[27]

Nottebart maintained the no-hitter and got the complete game with the only blemish being the unearned run in the fifth. In addition, the effort earned a game score of 90.[28] Remarkably, this was the second no-hitter in the major leagues since 1950 to have been thrown by an individual pitcher which was also not a shutout, following Bob Feller's gem on July 1, 1951, when he led the Cleveland Indians to a 2–1 triumph over the Detroit Tigers.[29]

Nottebart's outing was the fifth (and final) on the season that featured a game score of 90 or higher by a Colts starting pitcher, which set a franchise record—in just the 37th contest of the season.[e][30]

Houston's subsequent no-hitter was fabricated by Nottebart's rotation-mate, Ken Johnson, less than one year later on April, 23, 1964.[31] Also remarkable was that Johnson's no-hitter paralleled Nottebart's in that it was also achieved without a shutout effort.[29]

June

In the 17th inning on June 2, Astros catcher Jim Campbell delivered the game-winning single for a 3–1 score versus the Milwaukee Braves.[32]

As "revenge" for being exposed in the expansion draft, on June 3, Colts pitcher Turk Farrell took a no-hitter into the seventh inning versus the Los Angeles Dodgers, in tossing a 2–1 masterpiece. Houston's Rusty Staub hit his first career home run.[33]

The first Sunday night game in National League history took place on June 9 at Colt Stadium. The Colt .45s hosted the San Francisco Giants and won, 3–0, to sweep the series. The night games were played as a result of the suffocating heat during day games in the 1962 season.[34]

A little leaguer, recovering in Houston from a lightning strike, received a promise on June 11 from Colt .45s infielder Bob Aspromonte that he would hit a home run. Aspromonte connected for a grand slam in the 10th inning to lead a 6–2 win over the Chicago Cubs.[35] The walk-off grand slam was the first career grand slam for Aspromeonte and first of multiple he would swat against the Cubs.[36] Further, Aspromonte replicated the grand slam event exactly one year later in 1964[35] a seminal moment during the fifth inning which provided the margin for a 5–3 triumph over the Cincinnati Reds.[37]

July

Twenty-one year old Jimmy Wynn made his MLB debut on July 10, as the starting shortstop,[38] and was 1-for-4 with a stolen base versus the Pittsburgh Pirates>[39] Wynn got his first hit off Pirates starter Bob Friend (who tossed a complete game) leading off the top of the ninth inning, and pilfered second for his first major league steal with Bob Lillis batting.[40]

Wynn slugged his first major league home run on July 14, New York Mets, in the top of the fifth at Shea Stadium, from a Don Rowe offering.[41]

On July 15, Ken Johnson surrendered the first and only grand slam by a Houston Colt .45s/Astros hurler to his counterpart, Carl Willey of the New York Mets. The Mets drubbed the Astros, 15–4.[42] Jimmy Wynn stroked his first career double. However, two weeks later on July 26, Aspromonte himself revisited the favor upon the Mets.[43]

On July 26, Bob Aspromonte's grand slam invoked extra import for the visually impaired Bill Bradley, while spearheading a 7–3 defeat of the New York Mets. Bradley, whose sight was restored after three operations over two years, watched the promised blast from his hero, who pointed to him while rounding the bases. Aspromonte's drive accentuated a seven-run opening frame, more than enough required support for ace Turk Farrell to earn the victory.[44] At the plate, Farrell injected extra euphoria for the young Bradley with his first career three-hit bout.[18]

September

On September 21, just two days after his 20th birthday, Joe Morgan made his major league debut, going hitless in one at bat versus the Philadelphia Phillies.[45] The following day, Morgan achieved his first major league hit, a single in the ninth inning that scored Jimmy Wynn for the walk-off hit and 2–1 triumph over Philadelphia.[46]

In the antepenultimate contest of the season, on September 27, manager Harry Craft devised a strategy to help reverse waning attendance by deploying an all-rookie starting lineup. Per known sources, an all-rookie lineup was unprecedented in major league history. Having entered the series with a four-game winning streak, were they to sweep their expansion brethren, the New York Mets, for the final three-game set, a seven-game winning streak would surpass the longest of the year at six consecutive.[47] However, the Mets routed the Colts, 10–3.[48]

During the regular-season finale on September 29 hosting New York, outfielder John Paciorek made his major league debut, while pitcher Jim Umbricht got two outs to assume for the victory. Paciorek went 3-for-3, drew two walks, collected 3 RBI, and scored four times. However, for both players, this would be their final major league appearance due to physical ailments. Paciorek was battling significant back injuries that robbed him of great promise. Umbricht, back on the mound against all odds following treatment for melanoma, died the following April, just days before Opening Day.[49]

Performance overview

Highlighted by Don Nottebart's no-hitter—the first in franchise history—this Colt .45s pitching staff set a club all-time record by tossing five games with a game score of 90 or higher.[e][30] The five game scores of 90 were, at the time, the most ever since the start of the live-ball era in 1921. The all-time lead of seven—counting dead-ball era play—was accomplished by the 1904 Philadelphia Athletics and 1910 Chicago White Sox. Four other pre-1921 clubs had tied for second by tallying five such games. In 1968, the Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Cardinals each set the post-1921 record with 7 such contests.[f][50]

Bob Aspromonte was one of seven hitters in the major leagues that season tied for most walk-off home runs with two.[g][51]

Season standings

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Los Angeles Dodgers 99 63 .611 — 50‍–‍31 49‍–‍32
St. Louis Cardinals 93 69 .574 6 53‍–‍28 40‍–‍41
San Francisco Giants 88 74 .543 11 50‍–‍31 38‍–‍43
Philadelphia Phillies 87 75 .537 12 45‍–‍36 42‍–‍39
Cincinnati Reds 86 76 .531 13 46‍–‍35 40‍–‍41
Milwaukee Braves 84 78 .519 15 45‍–‍36 39‍–‍42
Chicago Cubs 82 80 .506 17 43‍–‍38 39‍–‍42
Pittsburgh Pirates 74 88 .457 25 42‍–‍39 32‍–‍49
Houston Colt .45s 66 96 .407 33 44‍–‍37 22‍–‍59
New York Mets 51 111 .315 48 34‍–‍47 17‍–‍64

Record vs. opponents

1963 National League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Team CHC CIN HOU LAD MIL NYM PHI PIT SF STL
Chicago — 9–9 9–9 7–11 12–6 11–7 9–9 8–10 10–8 7–11
Cincinnati 9–9 — 11–7 8–10 10–8 10–8 8–10 11–7 8–10 11–7
Houston 9–9 7–11 — 5–13 5–13 13–5 8–10 6–12 8–10 5–13
Los Angeles 11–7 10–8 13–5 — 8–10–1 16–2 7–11 13–5 9–9 12–6
Milwaukee 6–12 8–10 13–5 10–8–1 — 12–6 10–8 7–11 10–8 8–10
New York 7–11 8–10 5–13 2–16 6–12 — 8–10 4–14 6–12 5–13
Philadelphia 9–9 10–8 10–8 11–7 8–10 10–8 — 13–5 8–10 8–10
Pittsburgh 10–8 7–11 12–6 5–13 11–7 14–4 5–13 — 5–13 5–13
San Francisco 8–10 10–8 10–8 9–9 8–10 12–6 10–8 13–5 — 8–10
St. Louis 11–7 7–11 13–5 6–12 10–8 13–5 10–8 13–5 10–8 —

Notable transactions

Roster

1963 Houston Colt .45s
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

[52]

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
Positional abbreviations: C = Catcher; 1B = First base; 2B = Second base; 3B = Third base; SS = Shortstop; LF = Left field; CF = Center field; RF = Right field

Pos Player G AB R H 2B 3B Avg. HR RBI SB
C John Bateman 128 404 23 85 8 6 .210 10 59 0
1B Rusty Staub 150 513 43 115 17 4 .224 6 45 0
2B Ernie Fazio 102 228 31 42 10 3 .184 2 5 4
3B Bob Aspromonte 136 468 42 100 9 5 .214 8 49 3
SS Bob Lillis 147 469 31 93 13 1 .198 1 19 3
LF Al Spangler 120 430 52 121 25 4 .281 4 27 5
CF Howie Goss 133 411 37 86 18 2 .209 9 44 4
RF Carl Warwick 150 528 49 134 19 5 .209 7 47 3

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases

Player G AB R H 2B 3B Avg. HR RBI SB
Pete Runnels 124 388 35 98 9 1 .253 2 23 2
Johnny Temple 100 322 22 85 12 1 .264 1 17 7
Jim Wynn 70 250 31 61 10 5 .244 4 27 4
Jim Campbell 55 158 9 35 3 0 .222 4 19 0
J. C. Hartman 39 90 2 11 1 0 .122 0 3 1
Johnny Weekly 34 80 4 18 3 0 .225 3 14 0
Hal Smith 31 58 1 14 2 0 .241 0 2 0
Brock Davis 34 55 7 11 2 0 .200 1 2 0
Carroll Hardy 15 44 5 10 3 0 .227 0 3 1
Glenn Vaughan 9 30 1 5 0 0 .167 0 0 1
Joe Morgan 8 25 5 6 0 1 .240 0 3 1
Dave Adlesh 6 8 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0
Mike White 3 7 0 2 0 0 .286 0 0 0
Jerry Grote 3 5 0 1 0 0 .200 0 1 0
Ivan Murrell 2 5 1 1 0 0 .200 0 0 0
Aaron Pointer 2 5 0 1 0 0 .200 0 0 0
John Paciorek 1 3 4 3 0 0 1.000 0 3 0
Sonny Jackson 1 3 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player G GS IP W L ERA R ER BB K
Ken Johnson 37 32 224.0 11 17 2.65 86 66 50 148
Turk Farrell 34 26 202.1 14 13 3.02 76 68 35 141
Don Nottebart 31 27 193.0 11 8 3.17 80 68 39 118
Bob Bruce 30 25 170.1 5 9 3.59 73 68 60 123
Hal Brown 26 20 141.1 5 11 3.31 54 52 60 68
Larry Yellen 1 1 5.0 0 0 3.60 4 2 1 3
Jay Dahl 1 1 2.2 0 1 16.88 7 5 0 0

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player G GS IP W L SV ERA R ER BB K
Dick Drott 27 14 97.2 2 12 0 4.98 61 54 49 58
Chris Zachary 22 7 57.0 2 2 0 4.89 38 31 22 42
Conrad Cardinal 6 1 13.1 0 1 0 6.08 14 9 7 7
George Brunet 5 2 12.2 0 3 0 7.11 11 10 6 11
Jim Golden 3 1 6.1 0 1 0 5.68 4 4 2 5

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L SV ERA R ER BB K
Hal Woodeshick 55 114.0 11 9 10 1.97 29 25 42 94
Don McMahon 49 80.0 1 5 5 4.05 38 36 26 51
Jim Umbricht 35 76.0 4 3 0 2.61 23 22 21 48
Russ Kemmerer 17 36.2 0 0 1 5.65 28 23 8 12
Jim Dickson 13 14.2 0 1 2 6.14 13 10 2 6
Joe Hoerner 1 3.0 0 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 2
Danny Coombs 1 0.1 0 0 0 27.00 1 1 0 0

Awards and honors

Grand slams

No. Date Astros batter Venue Inning Pitcher Opposing team Box
1 June 11 Bob Aspromonte Colt Stadium 9[i] Lindy McDaniel Chicago Cubs [53]
2 July 4 Jim Campbell[ii] 8[iii] Joey Jay Cincinnati Reds
3 July 26 Bob Aspromonte 1[iii] Tracy Stallard New York Mets [43]
  1. ^ Walk-off
  2. ^ 1st MLB grand slam
  3. ^ a b Tied score or took lead

Awards

Major league award winners
Name of award Recipient Ref
Houston Colt .45s Most Valuable Player (MVP) Hal Woodeshick [54]
MLB All-Star Reserve pitcher Hal Woodeshick [55]
Topps All-Star Rookie Team First baseman Rusty Staub

Minor league system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Oklahoma City 89ers Pacific Coast League Grady Hatton
AA San Antonio Bullets Texas League Lou Fitzgerald
A Modesto Colts California League Dave Philley
A Durham Bulls Carolina League Billy Goodman
A Moultrie Colt .22s Georgia–Florida League Jim Walton
Championships

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Major league debut.
  2. ^ For single games, playing for HOU, in the regular season, requiring hits allowed ≤ 1 and innings pitched ≥ 8, sorted by ascending date.
  3. ^ For single games, playing for HOU, in the regular season, requiring game score ≥ 90, sorted by ascending date.
  4. ^ a b For single games, from 1962 to 1966, playing for HOU, in the regular season, sorted by descending strikeouts.
  5. ^ a b Number of player games that meet criteria in a season, playing for HOU, in the regular season, requiring game score ≥ 90, sorted by descending date.
  6. ^ Pre-1921 clubs with five games with scores of 90 or higher: 1904 Boston Americans, 1914 White Sox, 1918 Pittsburgh Pirates, and 1918 Washington Senators. Criteria: Number of player games that meet criteria for a team, in the regular season, requiring game score ≥ 90, sorted by descending date.
  7. ^ Also, Al Kaline, Frank Howard, Willie Mays, Jim Hickman, Tim Harkness, and Don Lock.

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