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. Don Nottebart pitched the first no-hitter in franchise history on May 17, by which Houston defeated the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 4–1.

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

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.[8][9]

April—May

Opening Day starting lineup[10][11]
11 Ernie Fazio 2B
21 Al Spangler LF
 3 Pete Runnels 1B
20 Rusty Staub RF
14 Bob Aspromonte 3B
27 Howie Goss CF
 9 Jim Campbell  C
15 Bob Lillis SS
13 Turk Farrell  P
Venue: Colt Stadium • SFG 9, HOU 2

On April 26, right-hander Bob Bruce one-hit the Cincinnati Reds.[12]

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.[13] In his masterpiece, Nottebart surrendered three walks and struck out eight.[14]

Twenty-year old catcher John Bateman was Nottebart's batterymate. The historic contrest transpired at Colt Stadium before 8,223 fans.[15]

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.[16]

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.[15]

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.[15]

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.[16]

Houston's subsequent no-hitter was fabricated by Nottebart's rotation-mate, Ken Johnson, less than one year later on April, 23, 1964.[17]

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.[18]

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.[19]

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.[20]

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.[21] The walk-off grand slam was the first career grand slam for Aspromeonte and first of multiple he would swat against the Cubs.[22] Further, Aspromonte replicated the grand slam event exactly one year later in 1964[21] a seminal moment during the fifth inning which provided the margin for a 5–3 triumph over the Cincinnati Reds.[23]

July

Twenty-one year old Jimmy Wynn made his MLB debut on July 10, as the starting shortstop,[24] and was 1-for-4 with a stolen base versus the Pittsburgh Pirates>[25] 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.[26]

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.[27]

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.[28] Jimmy Wynn stroked his first career double. However, two weeks later on July 26, Aspromonte himself revisited the favor upon the Mets.[29]

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.[30] 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.[31]

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.[32] However, the Mets routed the Colts, 10–3.[33]

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

[34]

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† Lindy McDaniel Chicago Cubs [35]
2 July 26 Bob Aspromonte Colt Stadium 1₰ Tracy Stallard New York Mets [29]
†—Walk-off • ₰—Tied score or took lead

Awards

Farm 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

References

  1. ^ "Joe Morgan stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  2. ^ "Conrad Cardinal stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Ellis Burton stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  4. ^ "Don Taussig stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Manny Mota stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
  6. ^ "Norm Larker stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  7. ^ Hal Haydel at Baseball Reference
  8. ^ Reed, Robert. A Six-Gun Salute: An Illustrated History of the Colt .45s. Houston, Texas: Gulf Publishing Co., 1999.
  9. ^ Barron, David (April 13, 2009). "Phillies announcer Kalas dies after collapsing in booth". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  10. ^ "San Francisco Giants (9) vs Houston Colt .45s (2)". Baseball Almanac. April 9, 1963. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
  11. ^ "1963 Houston Colt .45s uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
  12. ^ "Astros history – Timeline". MLB.com. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  13. ^ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 143, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
  14. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (May 17, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 17". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  15. ^ a b c Clements, Olen (May 18, 1963). "Don Nottebart hurls first Colt no-hitter". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  16. ^ a b "Philadelphia Phillies (1) vs Houston Colt .45s (4) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. May 17, 1963. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  17. ^ "Official no-hitters in Major League Baseball". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  18. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 2, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 2". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  19. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 3, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 3". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  20. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 9, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 9". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  21. ^ a b Schwartzberg, Seth (June 11, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 11". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  22. ^ "Bob Aspromonte career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  23. ^ "Cincinnati Reds (3) vs Houston Colt .45s (5) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. June 11, 1964. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  24. ^ "Jim Wynn stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  25. ^ "Jim Wynn 1963 batting game logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  26. ^ "Houston Astros (2) vs Pittsburgh (0) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. July 10, 1963. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  27. ^ "Jimmy Wynn career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  28. ^ Sutton, Keith. "Pitchers hitting grand slams". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  29. ^ a b "New York Mets (3) vs Houston Colt .45s (7) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. July 26, 1963. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  30. ^ "Joe Morgan stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  31. ^ "Philadelphia Phillies (1) vs Houston Colt .45s (2) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. September 21, 1963. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  32. ^ Glassman, Steve (September 27, 1963). "Houston Colt .45s start a lineup of all rookies". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  33. ^ Herskowitz, Mickey (September 28, 1963). "Mets wallop Colts rookie lineup, 10–3". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  34. ^ Geisler Young, LLC –. "1963 Houston Colt .45s Roster by Baseball Almanac". Archived from the original on March 23, 2009. Retrieved April 19, 2009.
  35. ^ "Chicago Cubs (2) vs Houston Colt .45s (6) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. June 11, 1963. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  36. ^ McTaggart, Brian (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  37. ^ "1963 All-Star Game". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
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