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).

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. Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle recorded the stadium's first hit and home run.[1]

The stadium 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. 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.

Notable transactions

  • January 31, 1965: Bob Watson was signed as an amateur free agent by the Astros.[2]

Regular season

Summary

Opening Day / Inaugural game of the Astrodome

Opening Day starting lineup[3][4]
15 Bob Lillis SS
18 Joe Morgan 2B
24 Jimmy Wynn CF
23 Walt Bond 1B
14 Bob Aspromonte 3B
20 Jim Beauchamp LF
28 Joe Gaines RF
 7 John Bateman  C
30 Bob Bruce  P
Venue: Astrodome • PHI 2, HOU 0

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.[5]

May

On May 8, Joe Morgan connected for his first major league home run, to deep right at Wrigley Field. The blast occurred in the top of the sixth inning off Lindy McDaniel of the Chicago Cubs, extending the Astros' lead to 8–5.[6]

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.[7] 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.[8]

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.[9]

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.[10] 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.[11]

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][12] This was the first multi-home run game of Morgan's career, with both drives courtesty of Tony Cloninger offerings.[6]

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.[6]

MLB All-Star Game

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.[b] This stood as club record until Craig Biggio would receive his fifth selection in the 1996 All-Star Game[13]

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.[14]

Performance overview

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, and the first time they had claimed both of either the one-million and two-million threshold of attendees. It would not be until 1980 that they reached the 2-million mark again.[15]

Morgan set club marks for at-bats (601), runs (100), hits (163) and triples (12) over a season.[16][17] He also became the first Houston Astro selected as the NL Rookie Player of the Year by The Sporting News (TSN).[a][18]

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

1965 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 — 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

Minor league system

See also: Minor League Baseball
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

References

Footnotes
  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. ^ 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.
  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.
Sources
  1. ^ de Luna, Marcy (April 9, 2020). "Iconic Astrodome made its grand debut 55 years ago, became 'Eighth Wonder of the World'". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  2. ^ "Bob Watson stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  3. ^ "Philadelphia Phillies (2) vs Houston Astros (0) box score". Baseball Almanac. April 12, 1965. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  4. ^ "1965 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Ayers, Thomas (March 15, 2021). "Jim Umbricht". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c "Joe Morgan career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  7. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (May 22, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 22". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  8. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (May 23, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 23". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  9. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (May 24, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 24". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  10. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 4, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 4". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  11. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 6, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 6". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
  12. ^ McTaggart, Brian (January 11, 2021). "Astros' best single-game hitting displays". MLB.com. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  13. ^ "Houston Astros All-Star player register". Baseball-Refererence.com. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
  14. ^ Wolf, Gregory H. (September 13, 1965). "Willie Mays clouts 500th home run". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  15. ^ "Houston Astros team history & encyclopedia". Baaseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  16. ^ "Astros history – Timeline". MLB.com. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  17. ^ "1965 Houston Astros statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  18. ^ a b "Rookie Player of the Year Award". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  19. ^ "Bob Saverine stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  20. ^ "Lee Maye stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  21. ^ a b Gus Triandos at Baseball Reference
  22. ^ a b Frank Thomas at Baseball Reference
  23. ^ "Jim Umbricht stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  24. ^ McTaggart, Brian (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  25. ^ "Texas League Player of the Year". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  26. ^ "Scout's honor". The Topps Archives. March 25, 2014. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
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