1965 Houston Astros season

1965 Houston Astros
LeagueNational League
BallparkHarris County Domed Stadium
CityHouston, Texas
Record65–97 (.401)
League place9th
OwnersRoy Hofheinz
General managersPaul Richards
ManagersLum Harris
TelevisionKTRK-TV
RadioKPRC (AM)
(Gene Elston, Loel Passe, Harry Kalas)

The 1965 Houston Astros season was the fourth season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, a member of the National League (NL). Now rebranded as the Astros and having relocated to The Astrodome, the club were known for their first three season as the Colt .45s and were based at Colt Stadium.[Note 1] The Astros entered the 1965 season with a 66–96 record, having finished the previous year in ninth place and 27 games behind the NL pennant and World Series-winning St. Louis Cardinals.

The 1965 season was the first and only full season for Lum Harris as manager, the second in franchise history, having replaced Harry Craft late during the previous year. On April 12, Bob Bruce made the Astros' Opening Day starter, who hosted the Philadelphia Phillies, but were defeated, 2–0.

In the first-ever MLB amateur draft, the Astros' first round selection was shortstop Alex Barrett at fourth overall. Rookie second baseman Joe Morgan established club records on July 8 with six hits—tying the major league record—and 13 total bases for a single game, during a 9–8 defeat to the Milwaukee Braves over 12 innings. Pitcher Turk Farrell represented the Astros at the MLB All-Star Game, his fifth career selection.

The Astros concluded the season with a record of 65–97, a third consecutive in ninth place and 32 games behind the NL pennant and eventual World Series-champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The 97 losses represented a franchise-worst record for Houston at the time, which was one more than the 96 losses the club had for each of their first three seasons of existence. It later matched by the 1975 and 1991 teams, and exceeded in 2011 with 106 losses.

Following the season, Morgan was chosen as The Sporting News NL Rookie Player of the Year[a]—the first Astro be so recognized—and for the Topps All-Star Rookie Team. Hence, Morgan also became the first Astro to be recognized for a full-season award not specific to one position.

Offseason

On December 1, The Houston club changed its nickname 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.

Astrodome

Exterior view of the Astrodome (left) and scoreboard in 1969 (right).

The venue was designed as a defense against the oppressive heat and humidity of the Houston summer. Loosely based on the classic 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, accentuated by accoutrements not prior-featured or rarely seen at sports facilities. Every seat in the venue was theatre-style, the first stadium so configured. Additionally, it was one of the first stadiums allocated with 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.

Inaugural exhibition game at the Astrodome

On April 9, the former Houston Colt .45s took the field and officially became the Houston Astros. They inaugurated indoor baseball in the Astrodome with a 2–1 exhibition win over the New York Yankees. President Lyndon B. Johnson, one of 47,876 total guests in attendance, became the seventh U.S. president to have attended the inaugural game for a stadium. Texas governor John Connally, flanked by National League president Warren Giles and Tamaulipas governor Praxedis Balboa, tossed the ceremonial first pitch.[1]

The Astros' Turk Farrell threw the game's official first pitch and baseball indoors was underway.[1] Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle recorded each of the stadium's first hit, home run,[2] and run scored.[3] During the third inning, catcher Ron Brand smoked a triple for the home team's first hit in their new stadium.[1] Player-coach Nellie Fox, another future Hall of Famer, furnished the first walk-off hit at the Astrodome to settle the contest outright in the bottom of the 12th inning.[3]

Notable transactions

Regular season

Summary

Opening Day

Inaugural game at the Astrodome
Uniform Player Position
15 Bob Lillis Shortstop
18 Joe Morgan Second baseman
24 Jimmy Wynn Center fielder
23 Walt Bond First baseman
14 Bob Aspromonte Third baseman
20 Jim Beauchamp Left fielder
28 Joe Gaines Right fielder
7 John Bateman Catcher
30 Bob Bruce Pitcher
Final: Philadelphia 2, Houston 0 • Win: Short • Loss: Bruce
Attendance: 48,546

Sources:[5][6]

During a pre-game ceremony on Opening Day and at the regular-season opening ceremony of the Astrodome, April 12, 1965, the Astros officially retired jersey number 32 in honor of former Colt .45s pitcher Jim Umbricht. Umbricht had died on April 8, 1964, following a battle with cancer and having returned to play for Houston the season earlier, in 1963. Aged 33 years old, his jersey number was the first to be retired by the team.[7]

The Astrodome hosted a standing-room-only attendance of 48,546. Distinguished guests included Commissioner Ford Frick, National League President Warren Giles (also at the first exhibition game), and a contingent of NASA personnel, who witnessed baseball's tribute to the Space Age through the Astrodome. There, the Houston Astros hosted the Philadelphia Phillies. Twenty-two of the 24 NASA astronauts were in attendance, and, for the ceremonial first pitch, each simultaneously tossed to one of 22 members of the Astros.[8]

The Philadelphia Phillies won the Astrodome’s regular-season opener, 2–0, behind a shutout by starter Chris Short. He held the Houston Astros to four hits and recorded 11 strikeouts, finishing with a game score of 88. Tony Taylor hit a leadoff double for the first regular-season hit in an indoor Major League game. For Houston, Bob Bruce pitched seven innings and allowed two runs. In the third inning, Dick Allen hit a two-run home run to give Philadelphia the lead, while Joe Morgan recorded Houston’s first regular-season hit in the fourth.[9]

Rest of April

On April 15, Jimmy Wynn drilled the first home run for Houston known as the Astros, a two-run game-tying blast in the top of the ninth off Jack Fisher at Shea Stadium.[10] However, in the bottom of the tenth inning, Bobby Klaus cranked a Claude Raymond offering for a walk-off home run deep to left field and decide a 5–4 the New York Mets victory.[11]

Rusty Staub christened the first regular-season walk-off safety at the Astrodome on April 23, singling home Al Spangler in the bottom of the twelfth inning, icing a 4–3 decision over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Dave Giusti plugged the final two frames in relief to secure the victory. Bruce, the Astros starter, logged his first double of the season during the third off his mound opponent, Bob Veale (the National League's reigning strikeout leader), to score John Bateman. Bruce surrendered two runs over 7+13 innings pitched.[12]

Bob Aspromonte blasted the home team's first home run at the Astrodome on April 24 during the bottom of the sixth off Vern Law of the Pirates. The next inning, Wynn also took Law deep.[10] As a result, a home run event by the home team cued "The Home Spectacular," an animated visual graphics display that quantified 474 feet (144 m) on the center field wall.[13]

May

On May 1, the Astros swept a doubleheader of the Chicago Cubs, extending a winning streak to ten games for a club record. Though Houston would tie this record over a number of occasions, it remained the record until 1999.[14]

Two prominent Astros obtained milestone firsts on May 8 at Wrigley Field. Joe Morgan connected for his first major league home run to deep right field. The blast occurred in the top of the sixth inning off Lindy McDaniel of Chicago, extending the Astros' lead to 8–5.[15] Meanwhile, right-hander Larry Dierker procured his first Major League victory through finishing off the final 4+13 innings[b][16] of relief of Don Nottebart. Seven of the Astros starting nine collected multi-hit games as Rusty Staub and Jimmy Wynn also went deep for an 11–6 Houston triumph. Wynn doubled and led the Astros with 3 RBI.[17]

For the first time, on May 22, ABC's broadcast of the Major League Baseball Game of the Week featured the Astrodome. Viewers were thrilled by a massive Willie Mays home run that propelled the San Francisco Giants over the Astros to win the contest, 10–1.[18] On May 23, the Giants, able to leverage a three-run, inside-the-park home run—a result of the ball getting caught in the roof of the Astrodome—won, 5–2, over Houston. This was the final game as a Houston Astro for starter Ken Johnson, who received news after the contest that had been traded to the Milwaukee Braves for outfielder Lee Maye.[19]

Due to pop flies routinely misjudged as induced by the glare through the roof of the Astrodone, clear glass panes costing about $20,000 were installed on May 24. Consequently, these conditions created inadequate lighting to sustain the grass, which led to the installation of AstroTurf the following season.[20]

Bpb Bruce struck out a then-club record 13 on May 26, tying Turk Farrell's effort on May 10, 1963.[c][21] Bruce surrendered five hits and three runs in a complete game as the Astros triumphed over the Cincinnati Reds, 8–3. Jimmy Wynn homered and tripled, wound up just a double short of hitting for the cycle, and knocked in four runners.[22] This record remained until June 25, 1966, when Mike Cuellar fanned 15.[21]

June

With the scored tied 2–2 on June 4 going into the ninth inning, Houston Astros catcher Ron Brand connected for a three-run homer into the left field bleachers off Bob Gibson for the decisive runs in an Astros' 5–2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.[23] After 140 relief appearances, on June 6, Claude Raymond made the first of seven starts over his major league career. He tossed a complete game against the Cardinals. holding them to just seven hits and one run as the Houston won, 10–1.[24]

The Astros passed the one-million mark in attendance for the first time on June 25,[3] surpassing the prior year's total[25] in under half a season.[26] Eighteen-year-old Larry Dierker outdueled an ageless Warren Spahn—a quarter-century Dierker's senior—to lead the Astros to a 6–1 triumph over New York. Joe Morgan ignited the scoring with a two-run triple.[3]

Joe Morgan's six-hit game

On July 8, rookie second baseman Joe Morgan established clubs records with six hits and 13 total bases, including two home runs, and also collected three RBI and four runs scored at Milwaukee County Stadium. The six hits tied the major league record for one game. His feats carried through Astros through an eventual 12-inning, 9–8 loss to the Milwaukee Braves.[Note 2][Note 3][27] This was the first multi-home run game of Morgan's career, with both drives courtesty of Tony Cloninger offerings.[15]

Early July

Morgan scored his second career multi-home run game just two days after his record performance. On July 10, took Galen Cisco deep in the top of the fourth inning at Shea Stadium, and in the top of the ninth, Tug McGraw. His performance was instrumental in a 9–1 clobbering of the New York Mets.[15]

MLB All-Star Game

Turk Farrell made the MLB All-Star Game, hosted at Metropolitan Stadium. His fourth selection as an Astro, this extended his own club record. Outfielder César Cedeño was chosen to four All-Star Game to match Farrell for the club record in the 1976 edition.[d] This stood as club record until Craig Biggio would receive his fifth selection in the 1996 All-Star Game[28]

Later July—August

During a span of eight outings initiated July 26, right-hander Dave Giusti retired 27 consecutive batters faced until August 14 to establish a club record. It remained as the club record 44 years until 2019 when surpassed by starting pitcher Justin Verlander, who accumulated 32. In 2022, Ryan Pressly also reached 32, which usurped Giusti for the club record for relief pitchers.[29]

Veteran right-hander Robin Roberts made his Houston Astros debut at home on August 9, tossing a four-hit shutout while leading an 8–0 whitewashing of his former club, the Philadelphia Phillies.[30] The victory was the 277th of Roberts' career.[3]

On August 16, Roberts hurled his second successive four-hit shutout, this time of the Phillies' rival, the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Astros triumphed, 3 to 0. Roberts issued two base on balls while whiffing seven.[30]

Roberts tossed another complete game in catenation on August 21, leading a 9–2 triumph over the Cubs. Roberts diffused nine hits and three walks while being charged with both runs as earned.[30]

September

Hosting the Giants on September 13 at the Astrodome, Willie Mays crushed his 500th home run, and 47th of the season. Mays golfed a Don Nottebart offering deep to centerfield leading off the top of the fourth inning, depicted by Bob Stevens of the San Francisco Chronicle as a “monstrous, 440-foot blast into the centerfield bleachers.” At the time, the only hitters Mays had trailed were Babe Ruth (714), Jimmie Foxx (534), Ted Williams (521), and Mel Ott (511). The Giants scored three more times in the fourth, and behind a complete game effort from Juan Marichal, cruised, 5–1. Houston's only tally arrived via Jimmy Wynn's 21st home run in the bottom of the first inning.[31]

On September 26, Chuck Harrison belted a walk-off home run—also his first major league home run—to cap a 4–2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Harrison took Billy McCool deep, and the drive scored Lee Maye and Jimmy Wynn.[32]

Performance overview

The Astros concluded the 1965 epoch with a 65–97 (.401) record, in ninth place of ten National League clubs, and 32 games behind the pennant-winning Los Angeles Dodgers.[33] In their first year at the Astrodome, Houston smashed attendance records with 2,151,470, nearly tripling the showing of fans from the year prior,[25] for the second-highest total in the National League.[e][34] This was the premier campaign in which the Colt .45s/Astros franchise had claimed both of the one-million and two-million thresholds of attendees. The team next reached the 2-million barrier in 1980, during which they claimed their first-ever playoff qualification.[25]

However, the 97 defeats transformed into the franchise-worst record for Houston at the time, which surmounted the 96 losses the club had tallied in each of their first three seasons of existence. The 1975 and 1991 squads later equaled this record and, in 2011, the team overran the record with 106 losses. The 1965 iteration was the fourth of Houston's first seven campaigns in which they lost 90 or more contests, a franchise record.[25]

Houston totaled 25 home runs at the Astrodome during their first year in their new stadium, compared with 72 on the road.[10]

Morgan set club marks for at-bats (601), runs (100), hits (163) and triples (12) over a season.[35][36] His 14 home runs established the club rookie record.[f][37] Morgan also became the first Houston Astro to be selected as the NL Rookie Player of the Year by The Sporting News (TSN).[a][38]

Meanwhile, Jim Wynn became Houston's first 40-stolen base bandit with 43, retaining the club record until Sonny Jackson pilfered 49 the following year.[g][39]

Season standings

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Los Angeles Dodgers 97 65 .599 50‍–‍31 47‍–‍34
San Francisco Giants 95 67 .586 2 51‍–‍30 44‍–‍37
Pittsburgh Pirates 90 72 .556 7 49‍–‍32 41‍–‍40
Cincinnati Reds 89 73 .549 8 49‍–‍32 40‍–‍41
Milwaukee Braves 86 76 .531 11 44‍–‍37 42‍–‍39
Philadelphia Phillies 85 76 .528 11½ 45‍–‍35 40‍–‍41
St. Louis Cardinals 80 81 .497 16½ 42‍–‍39 38‍–‍42
Chicago Cubs 72 90 .444 25 40‍–‍41 32‍–‍49
Houston Astros 65 97 .401 32 36‍–‍45 29‍–‍52
New York Mets 50 112 .309 47 29‍–‍52 21‍–‍60

Record vs. opponents


Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Team CHC CIN HOU LAD MIL NYM PHI PIT SF STL
Chicago 7–11 8–10 8–10 9–9 11–7–1 8–10 5–13 6–12 10–8–1
Cincinnati 11–7 12–6 6–12 12–6 11–7 13–5 8–10 6–12 10–8
Houston 10–8 6–12 5–13 4–14 14–4 6–12 8–10 3–15 9–9
Los Angeles 10–8 12–6 13–5 10–8 12–6 9–9 9–9 10–8 12–6
Milwaukee 9–9 6–12 14–4 8–10 13–5 6–12 9–9 10–8 11–7
New York 7–11–1 7–11 4–14 6–12 5–13 7–11–1 4–14 5–13 5–13
Philadelphia 10–8 5–13 12–6 9–9 12–6 11–7–1 8–10 8–10 10–7
Pittsburgh 13–5 10–8 10–8 9–9 9–9 14–4 10–8 11–7–1 4–14
San Francisco 12–6 12–6 15–3 8–10 8–10 13–5 10–8 7–11–1 10–8
St. Louis 8–10–1 8–10 9–9 6–12 7–11 13–5 7–10 14–4 8–10

Notable transactions

Roster

1965 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

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 Ron Brand 117 391 27 92 6 3 .235 2 37 10
1B Walt Bond 117 407 46 107 17 2 .263 7 47 2
2B Joe Morgan 157 601 100 163 22 12 .271 14 40 20
3B Bob Aspromonte 152 578 53 152 15 2 .263 5 52 2
SS Bob Lillis 124 408 34 90 12 1 .221 1 38 2
LF Lee Maye 108 415 38 104 17 7 .251 3 36 1
CF Jim Wynn 157 564 90 155 30 7 .275 22 73 43
RF Rusty Staub 131 410 43 105 20 1 .256 14 63 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
Joe Gaines 100 229 21 52 8 1 .227 6 31 4
Jim Gentile 81 227 22 55 11 1 .242 7 31 0
Eddie Kasko 68 215 18 53 7 1 .247 1 10 1
John Bateman 45 142 15 28 3 1 .197 7 14 4
Al Spangler 38 112 18 24 1 1 .214 1 7 1
Gus Triandos 24 72 5 13 2 0 .181 2 7 0
Frank Thomas 23 58 7 10 2 0 .172 3 9 0
Jim Beauchamp 24 53 5 10 1 0 .189 0 4 0
Chuck Harrison 15 45 2 9 4 0 .200 1 9 0
Nellie Fox 21 41 3 11 2 0 .268 0 1 0
Dave Adlesh 15 34 2 5 1 0 .147 0 3 0
Sonny Jackson 10 23 1 3 0 0 .130 0 0 1
Norm Miller 11 15 2 3 0 1 .200 0 1 0
Mike White 8 9 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0
John Hoffman 2 6 1 2 0 0 .333 0 1 0
Jim Mahoney 5 5 0 1 0 0 .200 0 0 0
Gene Ratliff 4 4 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
Bob Bruce 35 34 229.2 9 18 3.72 107 95 38 145
Turk Farrell 33 29 208.1 11 11 3.50 94 81 35 122
Don Nottebart 29 25 158.0 4 15 4.67 99 82 55 77
Larry Dierker 26 19 146.2 7 8 3.50 69 57 37 109
Robin Roberts 10 10 76.0 5 2 1.89 22 16 10 34
Ken Johnson 8 8 51.2 3 2 4.18 25 24 11 28
Don Arlich 1 1 6.0 0 0 3.00 2 2 1 0
Don Larsen 1 1 5.1 0 0 5.06 3 3 3 1

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
Dave Giusti 38 13 131.1 8 7 3 4.32 67 63 46 92
Claude Raymond 33 7 96.1 7 4 5 2.90 35 31 16 79
Jack Lamabe 3 2 12.2 0 2 0 4.26 9 6 3 6
Chris Zachary 4 2 10.2 0 2 0 4.22 6 5 6 4
Jim Ray 3 2 7.2 0 2 0 10.57 9 9 6 7
Carroll Sembera 2 1 7.1 0 1 0 3.68 3 3 3 4

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
Jim Owens 50 71.1 6 5 8 3.28 28 26 29 53
Ron Taylor 32 57.2 1 5 4 6.40 42 41 16 37
Mike Cuellar 25 56.0 1 4 2 3.54 24 22 21 46
Danny Coombs 26 47.0 0 2 0 4.79 26 25 23 35
Ken MacKenzie 21 37.0 0 3 0 3.89 22 16 6 26
Hal Woodeshick 27 32.1 3 4 3 3.06 13 11 18 22
Don Lee 7 8.0 0 0 0 3.38 3 3 3 3
Bruce Von Hoff 3 3.0 0 0 0 9.00 3 3 2 1
Gordon Jones 1 1.0 0 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0

Awards and honors

Career honors
Jim
Umbricht

P
 
Retired April 12, 1965
Annual awards
NL batting leaders
1965 grand slams
No. Date Astros batter Venue Inning Pitcher Opposing team Box
None

Minor league system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Oklahoma City 89ers Pacific Coast League Grady Hatton
AA Amarillo Sonics Texas League Lou Fitzgerald
A Durham Bulls Carolina League Dave Philley
A Cocoa Astros Florida State League Billy Goodman
A Salisbury Astros Western Carolinas League Chuck Churn
Rookie FRL Astros Florida Rookie League Joe Frazier

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Oklahoma City, FRL Astros

Awards

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The team remained at The Astrodome through the 1999 season.
  2. ^ On May 7, 2018, George Springer tied the club record with six hits one game.
  3. ^ Three other players had since connected for 13 total bases in one game: Lee May in 1974, Jeff Bagwell on June 24, 1994, and Morgan Ensberg in 2005.
  1. ^ a b c From 1961–2003, The Sporting News declared one rookie position player and pitcher from each league, the NL and the American League (AL), for this award. Starting in 2004, this system was modified to selecting one rookie from each league for the award, regardless of position.
  2. ^ Larry Dierker, for single games, from 1964 to 1965, in the regular season, in career game No. 50 or less, requiring batters faced ≥ 1, sorted by ascending date.
  3. ^ For single games, from 1962 to 1966, playing for HOU, in the regular season, sorted by descending strikeouts.
  4. ^ As Major League Baseball held two All-Star Games each year from 1959 to 1962, Cedeño distinguished himself as the first Astro to make the All-Star team in four different seasons.
  5. ^ This would remain the Astros' highest attendance-placing in the league throughout all their years as tenants of the Astrodome. The club would next reach a ranking as high as second place in 2021, as tenants of Minute Maid Park, doing so for the first of four successive campaigns.
  6. ^ Eclipsed by Glenn Davis in 1985.
  7. ^ For single seasons, playing for HOU, in the regular season, requiring stolen bases ≥ 40, sorted by ascending season.

References

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