1964 Houston Colt .45s season

1964 Houston Colt .45s
LeagueNational League
BallparkColt Stadium
CityHouston, Texas
Record66–96 (.407)
League place9th
OwnersRoy Hofheinz
General managersPaul Richards
ManagersHarry Craft, Lum Harris
TelevisionKTRK-TV
RadioKPRC (AM)
(Gene Elston, Loel Passe)

The 1964 Houston Colt .45s season was the third 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 with a 66–96 record, in ninth place and 33 games behind the NL pennant and World Series-winning Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Colt .45s commenced their season on April 13, hosted by the Cincinnati Reds at Crosley Field, where Ken Johnson made the Opening Day start for the Astros, who won, 6–3. On April 19, right-hander Bob Bruce delivered the first-ever immaculate inning for Houston.

Ten days after the season started, on April 23, Ken Johnson hurled the second no-hitter in franchise history. However, he became the first pitcher in major league history to lose a complete game no-hitter in nine innings, a 1–0 defeat to Cincinnati.

Pitcher Turk Farrell represented the Colt .45s for the MLB All-Star Game, his fourth career selection.

Manager Harry Craft was terminated on September 19 and replaced by bench coach Lum Harris. The final game at Colt Stadium was hosted on September 27, a 1–0, 12-inning victory over Los Angeles. Jimmy Wynn delivered the final, walk-off hit, while starter Bob Bruce earned the victory via a complete game shutout.

The Colt .45s concluded the 1964 season with a 66–96 record, in ninth place and 27 games behind the NL pennant and eventual World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals. This was the final of three seasons in which Houston played as the Colt .45s and at Colt Stadium before being renamed the Astros and relocating to The Astrodome effective the following year.

Offseason

Summary

During the first-ever exhibition game between the Colts and their expansion mates, the New York Mets in Spring Training on March 23, 1964, nineteen-year-old rookie phenom John Paciorek swatted a bases-loaded triple during the first inning. Paciorek had made a triumphant major league debut during the previous year's regular-season finale, going three-for-three with two base on balls. However, due to back injuries, he would be rendered unable to participate in another regular-season major league contest.[1]

On April 8, just days before Opening Day, Colt .45s pitcher Jim Umbricht died of cancer at age 33. Umbricht had returned after diagnosis and treatment in 1963 to pitch in 35 games, but relapse occurred during the offseason. The team officially retired his jersey number 32 the following Opening Day, on April 12, 1965, during a pre-game ceremony and the regular-season opening ceremony of the Astrodome. His jersey number was the first to be retired by the team.[2]

Notable transactions

Regular season

Summary

April

Opening Day starting lineup
Uniform Player Position
11 Eddie Kasko Shortstop
2 Nellie Fox Second baseman
3 Pete Runnels First baseman
23 Walt Bond Left fielder
20 Rusty Staub Right fielder
24 Jimmy Wynn Center fielder
14 Bob Aspromonte Third baseman
7 John Bateman Catcher
40 Ken Johnson Pitcher
Venue: Crosley Field • Houston 6, Cincinnat 3

Sources:[4][5]

The Colt .45s triumphed over the Cincinnati Reds at Crosley Field, 6–3, for Opening Day on April 13, to obtain sole possession of first place for the only time during their first three years.[6] In the top of fifth, Nellie Fox's two-run batted in (RBI) single extended Houston's lead, 3–0. and Cincinnati native Jimmy Wynn homered in the sixth inning.[7] President Lyndon B. Johnson, in attendance, looked on as [6] Colts starter Ken Johnson painted a two-hit shutout into the ninth inning, before Bob Skinner launched a two-run blast. Hal Woodeshick recorded the final out for the save.[7]

Bob Bruce's immaculate inning

During the eighth inning versus the St. Louis Cardinals on April 19, Bob Bruce entered in relief and hurled the first immaculate inning to club history.[8] The right-hander set down Bill White swinging, Charlie James looking, and Ken Boyer swinging. However, the Colts lost to Bob Gibson in a masterful complete game, 6–1. Bruce returned for ninth inning, whom Johnny Lewis greeted with a single to center field and then stole second base. However, Bruce proceeded to strike out the side again, ringing up Tim McCarver, Julián Javier and Gibson.[9]

Ken Johnson's no-hitter

On April 23, Houston starter Ken Johnson became the first pitcher in major league history to lose a complete game no-hitter in nine innings when he was beaten 1–0 by the Cincinnati Reds.[10] Cincinnati's Pete Rose scored the only run of the contest. In the ninth inning, he reached second base via error on Vada Pinson's batted ground ball and later scored.[11]

Prior to Johnson's remarkable—though dubious—accomplishment, nine other mound slingers had lost no-hit games in extra innings.[12]

This magnus opus succeeded Don Nottebart after less than one year on May 17, 1963, in a 4–1 triumph over the Philadelphia Phillies as the second no-hitter in franchise history.[13]

In addition to becoming the only pitcher to lose a no-hitter, Johnson's was just the third in the major leagues to have been thrown by an individual pitcher which also did not result in a shutout.[14] Rather, Joe Nuxhall, Johnson's mound opponent, was credited with the shutout and victory.[11]

Among no-hatters by individual pitchers that were not shutouts, Johnson was preceded first by Bob Feller on July 1, 1951, when he led the Cleveland Indians to a 2–1 triumph over the Detroit Tigers, then by Nottebart's effort. This made the Houston Colt .45s the all-time record-holders as a franchise for no-hitters that were complete games but not shutouts. The next bout of this type was imposed by Dean Chance on August 25, 1967, in a 2–1 Minnesota Twins triumph over the Indians. Moreover, on September 8, 1993, Astros moundsman Darryl Kile stymied the New York Mets, 7–1, in this class of no-hitter to extend the Colt .45s/Astros franchise as the major league leader.[14]

June

On June 11, Bob Aspromonte smashed a go-ahead grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning to bring Houston to a 5–2 lead over the Cincinnati Reds. The shot, off Reds starter John Tsitouris (2–4), provided all the support required for winner Claude Raymond (2–1), who tossed 6+1⁄3 innings in relief of Bob Bruce as Houston held on to win, 5–3. However, all of Houston's runs were scored with a two-out upstart in the fifth and were unearned. Facing a 2–0 deficit, Al Spangler worked a base on balls and Nellie Fox followed with a single. Next, Mike White reached on a third-strike passed ball to load the bases, and first baseman Dave Roberts coaxed the second walk of the frame to force in Houston's first run. Aspromonte then followed with his thunderous blast deep to left.[15] Aspromonte's third career slam, it arrived one year to the day following his 10th inning, walk-off grand slam which defeated the Chicago Cubs.[16]

Ken Boyer of the Cardinals connected for the first[17]—and only—cycle at Colt Stadium on June 16.[18] Bob Bruce yielded the double and triple to Boyer, who smacked the home run off Don Larsen in the top of the seventh. The Colt .45s' only tally for the game arrived via Rusty Staub's home run to right off Curt Simmons in the bottom of the seventh. Houston dropped this contest, 7–1.[19]

In another first for pitcher Ken Johnson, he slugged his first career home run on June 21, during the fifth inning of a doubleheader nightcap.[20] The victim was Denny Lemaster of the Milwaukee Braves. Every run counted as Johnson departed the mound with three runs surrendered over 6+2⁄3 innings pitched for a 5–3 lead. Joe Gaines also homered for the Colts, a two-run shot in the seventh. During the bottom of the eighth, Gene Oliver scored on a Denis Menke ground ball double play to shortstop, but Hal Woodeshick got out of rest of the inning unscathed and closed out the contest for his 14th save.[21]

Following the doubleheader sweep of the Braves on June 21, the Colts had assembled a four-game winning streak. They played to their best showing on the season to date, 32–34 (.485) and in seventh place in the National League, but stumbled to 34–62 (.354) the rest of the way.[22]

Bob Aspromonte connected for the final grand slam hit at Colt Stadium on June 29.[18]

July

On July 4, Joe Gaines cranked the final inside-the-park home run at Colt Stadium.[18]

September

The Colt .45s relieved manager Harry Craft of duty on September 19 and promoted coach Lum Harris to guide the club for the remainder of the season. Craft was Houston's first major league manager as well as the city's final minor league manager, of the Buffaloes. General manager Paul Richards indicated the move was made to allow Craft to pursue other offers for the same position, as two other clubs had interest in his services.[23] Craft had led the club to a 61–88 (.409) record, while the club performed to 5–8 (.385) under Harris for the remaining 13 contests.[24]

Right-hander Larry Dierker made his MLB debut on his 18th birthday on September 22 at Colt Stadium, starting versus the San Francisco Giants. Dierker walked the leadoff batter, Harvey Kuenn, and surrendered a hit to the next hitter, Matty Alou, but retired the next three in order without allowing a run, including retiring Jim Ray Hart for his first career strikeout, and striking out Willie Mays looking to retire the side. However, Orlando Cepeda blasted a home run off Dierker leading off the second. He aggregated 2+2⁄3 innings pitched, surrendered four total runs with two earned, five hits, three bases on balls and three strikeouts. The Colt .45s managed just one run while San Francisco triumphed, 7–1, handing Dierker the loss.[25] Dierker is the last major leaguer to make his debut during his age-17 season.[a][26]

Final game at Colt Stadium

The final contest at Colt Stadium transpired on September 27,[18] hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both starting pitchers, Don Drysdale and Bob Bruce, pumped at least ten sensational innings each as absolute deterrents to scoring. In the bottom of the ninth, Bruce led off and singled for his first hit, and after one out, Joe Morgan likewise singled for his first hit. However, Drysdale induced a ground ball double play from Rusty Staub to retire the side and dispatch the game into extra innings. Ron Perranoski entered for Drysdale for the bottom of the 11th, who earned a game score of 90.[27]

In the bottom of the 12th, with the game having remained scoreless, Morgan led off with a single, becoming the only player in the game to attain more than one hit. Next, Staub took Morgan's place on a failed sacrifice hit, and Walt Bond was retired on a groundout. With two out, Bob Aspromonte took what would be the stadium's last intentional base on balls so Perranoski could face Jimmy Wynn. However, Wynn foiled the strategy to deliver the final, walk-off, hit, which scored Staub for the concluding run at the stadium and a 1–0 Houston triumph.[27]

Bruce (15–9), who pitched all 12 innings, earned the closing victory via a five-hit, six-strikeout, complete game shutout, and a game score of 96. Each of the nine members of the Colts' starting lineup played through the entire 12 innings.[27] This was the longest outing of Bruce's major league career.[28] Moreover, he became Houston's first-ever 15-game winner in a single season.[6]

Performance overview

The Houston Colt .45s concluded their third season at 66–96 (.407), replicating their record and ninth-place standing in the National League from the year prior. It was also their third straight 96-loss season, at the time, tying the club record since their premier season of 1962. The Colt .45s hosted 725,793 fans during the season, an improvement by over 6 thousand from the year prior but second-lowest in club history. By contrast, during the inaugural season of the Astrodome the following year in 1965, Houston drew over 2 million for the first time.[24]

During their three-year stay at Colt Stadium, Aspromonte was the club's all-time home run leader at the park, with 21.[29]

Season standings

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
St. Louis Cardinals 93 69 .574 — 48‍–‍33 45‍–‍36
Philadelphia Phillies 92 70 .568 1 46‍–‍35 46‍–‍35
Cincinnati Reds 92 70 .568 1 47‍–‍34 45‍–‍36
San Francisco Giants 90 72 .556 3 44‍–‍37 46‍–‍35
Milwaukee Braves 88 74 .543 5 45‍–‍36 43‍–‍38
Pittsburgh Pirates 80 82 .494 13 42‍–‍39 38‍–‍43
Los Angeles Dodgers 80 82 .494 13 41‍–‍40 39‍–‍42
Chicago Cubs 76 86 .469 17 40‍–‍41 36‍–‍45
Houston Colt .45s 66 96 .407 27 41‍–‍40 25‍–‍56
New York Mets 53 109 .327 40 33‍–‍48 20‍–‍61

Record vs. opponents

1964 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 — 6–12 11–7 10–8 8–10 11–7 6–12 9–9 9–9 6–12
Cincinnati 12–6 — 12–6 14–4–1 9–9 11–7 9–9 8–10 7–11 10–8
Houston 7–11 6–12 — 7–11 12–6 9–9 5–13 5–13 7–11 8–10
Los Angeles 8–10 4–14–1 11–7 — 8–10 15–3–1 8–10 10–8 6–12 10–8
Milwaukee 10–8 9–9 6–12 10–8 — 14–4 10–8 12–6 9–9 8–10
New York 7–11 7–11 9–9 3–15–1 4–14 — 3–15 6–12 7–11 7–11
Philadelphia 12-6 9–9 13–5 10–8 8–10 15–3 — 10–8 10–8 5–13
Pittsburgh 9–9 10–8 13–5 8–10 6–12 12–6 8–10 — 8–10 6–12
San Francisco 9–9 11–7 11–7 12–6 9–9 11–7 8–10 10–8 — 9–9
St. Louis 12–6 8–10 10–8 8–10 10–8 11–7 13–5 12–6 9–9 —

Notable transactions

Roster

1964 Houston Colt .45s
Roster[31]
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

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 Jerry Grote 100 298 26 54 9 3 .181 3 24 0
1B Walt Bond 148 543 63 138 16 7 .254 20 85 2
2B Nellie Fox 133 442 45 117 12 6 .265 0 28 0
3B Bob Aspromonte 157 553 51 155 20 3 .280 12 28 6
SS Eddie Kasko 133 448 45 109 16 1 .243 0 22 4
LF Al Spangler 135 449 51 110 18 5 .245 4 38 7
CF Mike White 89 280 30 76 11 3 .271 0 27 1
RF Joe Gaines 89 307 37 78 9 7 .254 7 34 8

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
Bob Lillis 109 332 31 89 11 2 .268 0 17 4
Rusty Staub 89 292 26 63 10 2 .216 8 35 1
Mike White 89 280 30 76 11 3 .271 0 27 1
John Bateman 74 221 18 42 8 0 .190 5 19 0
Carroll Hardy 46 157 13 29 1 1 .185 2 12 0
Dave Roberts 61 125 9 23 4 1 .184 1 7 0
Jim Beauchamp 23 55 6 9 2 0 .164 2 4 0
Pete Runnels 22 51 3 10 1 0 .196 0 3 0
Joe Morgan 10 37 4 7 0 0 .189 0 0 0
Sonny Jackson 9 23 3 8 1 0 .348 0 1 1
Johnny Weekly 6 15 0 2 0 0 .133 0 3 0
John Hoffman 6 15 1 1 0 0 .067 0 0 0
Ivan Murrell 10 14 1 2 1 0 .143 0 1 0
Dave Adlesh 3 10 0 2 0 0 .200 0 0 0
Walt Williams 10 9 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 1
Steve Hertz 5 4 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0
Brock Davis 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 35 35 218.0 11 16 3.63 100 88 44 117
Bob Bruce 35 29 202.1 15 9 2.76 73 70 62 135
Turk Farrell 32 27 198.1 11 10 3.27 80 72 52 117
Don Nottebart 28 24 157.0 6 11 3.90 76 68 37 90
Hal Brown 27 21 132.0 3 15 3.95 68 58 26 53
Chris Zachary 1 1 4.0 0 1 9.00 5 4 1 2

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
Jim Owens 48 11 118.0 8 7 6 3.28 48 43 32 88
Don Larsen 30 10 103.1 4 8 1 2.26 36 26 20 58
Larry Dierker 3 1 9.0 0 1 0 2.00 4 2 3 5
Don Bradey 3 1 2.1 0 2 0 19.29 7 5 3 2

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 61 78.1 2 9 23 2.76 32 24 32 58
Claude Raymond 38 79.2 5 5 0 2.82 28 25 22 56
Gordon Jones 34 50.0 0 1 0 4.14 24 23 14 28
Larry Yellen 13 21.0 0 0 0 6.86 19 16 10 9
Dave Giusti 8 25.2 0 0 0 3.16 10 9 8 16
Danny Coombs 7 18.0 1 1 0 5.00 10 10 10 14
Joe Hoerner 7 11.0 0 0 0 4.91 11 6 6 4

Awards and achievements

Grand slams

No. Date Astros batter Venue Inning Pitcher Opposing team Box
1 June 11 Bob Aspromonte Colt Stadium 5[i] John Tsitouris Cincinnati Reds [15]
2 June 29 1 Art Mahaffey Philadelphia Phillies [32]
  1. ^ Tied score or took lead.

Awards

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 Chuck Churn
A Durham Bulls Carolina League Billy Goodman and Walt Matthews
A Statesville Colts[b] Western Carolinas League Dave Philley and Rudy York
Rookie Cocoa Colts Cocoa Rookie League Dave Philley
Championships
Awards

See also

References

Footnotes
  1. ^ As of 2025. The season age of a player is determined by their age as of July 1 of a given year.
  2. ^ Statesville affiliation shared with the Boston Red Sox.
Sources
  1. ^ "John Paciorek stats, height, weight, research & history". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved February 22, 2026.
  2. ^ Ayers, Thomas (March 15, 2021). "Jim Umbricht". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  3. ^ "Claude Raymond stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  4. ^ "Houston Colt .45s (6) vs Cincinnati Reds (3) box score". Baseball Almanac. April 13, 1964. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  5. ^ "1964 Houston Colt .45s uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c Hulsey, Bob. "This date in Astros history". Astros Daily. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Houston Colt .45s (6) vs Cincinnati Reds (3) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. April 13, 1964. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  8. ^ "The Strikeout Zone". Astros Daily. January 26, 2008. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  9. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals (6) vs Houston Colt .45s (1) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. April 19, 1964. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  10. ^ "Astros history – Timeline". MLB.com. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  11. ^ a b "Cincinnati Reds (1) vs Houston Colt .45s (0) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. April 23, 1964. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  12. ^ Schmitt, Steven (April 23, 1964). "Ken Johnson pitches a no-hitter for Houston … and loses the game to Reds". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  13. ^ "Official no-hitters in Major League Baseball". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  14. ^ a b Seidman, Eric (April 25, 2011). "The non-shutout no-hitter". FanGraphs. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  15. ^ a b "Cincinnati Reds (3) vs Houston Colt .45s (5) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. June 11, 1964. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
  16. ^ "Bob Aspromonte career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  17. ^ "Colt Stadium firsts". Retrosheet. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
  18. ^ a b c d "Colt Stadium lasts". Retrosheet. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  19. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals (7) vs Houston Colt .45s (1) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. June 16, 1964. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
  20. ^ "Ken Johnson career home runs—batting". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
  21. ^ "Houston Colt .45s (5) vs Milwaukee Braves (4) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. June 21, 1964. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
  22. ^ "Houston Colt .45s schedule". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
  23. ^ "Harry Craft fired as Colt manager". TimesDaily. Associated Press. September 20, 1964. p. 26. Retrieved October 26, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  24. ^ a b "Houston Astros team history & encyclopedia". Baaseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
  25. ^ "San Francisco Giants (7) vs Houston Colt .45s (1) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. September 22, 1964. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  26. ^ "Yearly league leaders & records for youngest". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  27. ^ a b c "Los Angeles Dodgers (0) vs Houston Colt .45s (1) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. September 27, 1964. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  28. ^ "Top performances for Bob Bruce". Retrosheet. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  29. ^ "Home Run Alley". Astros Daily. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  30. ^ "Walt Williams stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  31. ^ Geisler Young, LLC. "1964 Houston Colt .45s roster". Baseball Almanac. Archived from the original on March 23, 2009. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
  32. ^ "Philadelphia Phillies (1) vs Houston Colt .45s (6) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. June 29, 1964. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
  33. ^ McTaggart, Brian (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  34. ^ "Texas League champions". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  35. ^ "Texas League Player of the Year". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
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