1967 Houston Astros season

1967 Houston Astros
LeagueNational League
BallparkAstrodome
CityHouston, Texas
Record69–93 (.426)
League place9th
OwnersRoy Hofheinz
General managersTal Smith, Spec Richardson
ManagersGrady Hatton
TelevisionKTRK-TV
RadioKPRC (AM)
(Gene Elston, Loel Passe, Harry Kalas)

The 1967 Houston Astros season was the sixth season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their third as the Astros, sixth in the National League (NL), and third at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season with a 72–90 record, in 8th place and 23 games behind the NL pennant-winning Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Astros commenced the regular season on April 11, hosting the Atlanta Braves. Pitcher Mike Cuellar made the Opening Day start as the Astros were victorious, 6–1. On June 15, 1967, Jimmy Wynn connected for the first three-home run game in franchise history. Don Wilson tossed the third no-hitter in franchise history on June 18 for a 2–0 victory over the Atlanta Braves. The first no-hitter that took place at The Astrodome, it was the first of two no-hitters Wilson pitched for the Astros.

Three Astros were selected to the MLB All-Star Game, including Cuellar, Wynn (center field), and right fielder Rusty Staub. The Astros' first-round selection in the amateur draft was first baseman John Mayberry, at sixth overall. On July 14, Eddie Mathews, in his lone season playing for Houston, became the seventh major leaguer to hit 500 home runs for his career, with this historic blast at Candlestick Park.

The Astros' final regular season record stood at 69–93 for a ninth-place finish in the National League. The fourth time in five seasons that ended in ninth place, Houston finished 32+1⁄2 games behind the NL pennant and World Series-champion St. Louis Cardinals. Staub and Wynn teamed to establish several club records.

Offseason

Regular season

Summary

April—May

Opening Day starting lineup[6][7]
16 Sonny Jackson SS
18 Joe Morgan 2B
28 Aaron Pointer LF
24 Jimmy Wynn CF
14 Bob Aspromonte 3B
10 Rusty Staub RF
11 Eddie Mathews 1B
 7 John Bateman  C
35 Mike Cuellar  P
Venue: Astrodome • HOU 6, ATL 1

Tensions arose during the May 18 contest versus the San Francisco Giants. A riot nearly ensued in the first inning when the Astros' Jimmy Wynn connected for a home run that struck the foul pole. Giants manager Herman Franks and umpire Shag Crawford nearly were in agreement that the ball traveled foul. However, tensions escalated again when Ollie Brown was ejected for something that he had not said. After the fracas that transpired, the Astros emerged with the win, 6–2.[8]

With winds blowing out at Wrigley Field on May 26, Houston won over the Chicago Cubs, 7–4. The Astros' Wynn, Rusty Staub, Joe Morgan, and Ron Davis each connected for home runs. At one point, in spite of being hit by a pitch, the Astros' John Bateman was permitted to remain in the batter's box and keep trying for a home run of his own.[9]

Early June

Led by Bob Aspromonte on June 7, the Astros' 17–1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals accounted for a new record for largest margin of victory in franchise history. Aspromonte had a 5-hit day, while catcher Ron Brand collected four. This record maintained until 2019.[10]

On June 15, 1967, Wynn hit three solo home runs against San Francisco to lead to a 6–2 win. This was the first three-home run game by an Astros hitter in franchise history.[a] This achievement was also not repeated at the Astrodome until 1994.[b][11][12] Moments before the trade deadline on June 15, the Astros sent Claude Raymond to the Atlanta Braves for Wade Blasingame. The following day, Raymond earned the save in the Braves' 9–8 win over the Astros.[13]

Don Wilson's no-hitter

Don Wilson no-hit the Atlanta Braves on June 18 to spearhead a 2–0 win. He fanned Hank Aaron for the final out of this masterpiece.[14] The third no-hitter in franchise history, it was the first Astros' no hitter to end as a shutout, and the first pitched at The Astrodome. It was also the first of two no-hitters that Wilson pitched for Houston, the first Astro to accomplish this feat.[15]

Rest of June

On June 19, Julio Gotay authored a 5-for-5 day, including delivering the game-tying RBI to send the contest into extra innings. However, the St. Louis Cardinals prevailed, 5–4, in 11 innings. Gotay had replaced Joe Morgan on the roster while he was on military leave.[16]

From June 30 to July 21, Staub recorded the first-ever hitting streak of 20 games in franchise history, also his best period of hitting on the season, represented with a .423 batting average and 10 doubles. Staub's hitting streak broke the club record set during the inaugural season of 1962 when Román Mejías hit in 16 consecutively from May 25–June 10 of that year, and remained as the record stood until June 22, 1973, when Lee May collected a hit in 21 straight contests.[17][18]

During the month of June, Jimmy Wynn clubbed 11 home runs and 29 runs batted in.[19]

Early July

On July 8, Eddie Mathews hit the 499th home run of his career, and Wynn added a home run to lead a 3–1 victory over the Cubs. Both of the blasts were in the sixth inning off Cubs right-hander Ray Culp. The Astros followed up that effort with a 6–0 shutout, which sealed a four-game sweep of Chicago prior to the All-Star break. The Astros ended their first half with a record of 33–50 (.398).[20]

MLB All-Star Game

For the first time, three Astros were selected to represent the team at the MLB All-Star Game, hosted at Anaheim Stadium. The three were pitcher Mike Cuellar, and outfielders Jimmy Wynn and Rusty Staub. Moreover, Wynn and Staub became the first two Astros players to log base hits in an All-Star Game.[21] Wynn's safety preceded Staub's, as both were called on to pinch hit in the pitcher's spot in the lineup. Wynn was substituted in for Bob Gibson, and led off the top of the ninth with a single off Al Downing. In the top of the 11th, Staub banged a single in place of Chris Short off Catfish Hunter.[22]

Later July

Wynn socked 9 home runs in July.

Eddie Mathews' 500th home run

Batting fifth in the order on July 14, Eddie Mathews connected for his 500th career home run. The historic drive was a three-run home run in the sixth inning at Candlestick Park off fellow future Hall of Famer Juan Marichal, leading an 8–6 victory over San Francisco. Staub and Wynn singled ahead of Mathews for the runners that he'd drive in. Later in the sixth inning, Houston starting pitcher Dave Giusti added a triple to drive in Norm Miller. Staub was 3-for-4 with two runs scored that game and Wynn scored three times. Mathews became the first player to reach the milestone in the Houston Astros uniform, and seventh major leaguer all-time, preceded by Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Mel Ott, Babe Ruth, and Ted Williams. The first 493 home runs of Mathews' illustrious career arrived during his first 15 seasons as a member of the Boston / Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves organization.[20]

August—September

To give Mathews the opportunity to conclude the season with a contender, on August 17, Astros general manager Spec Richardson traded him to the Detroit Tigers, who wound up second in that year's American League (AL) pennant chase.[20]

Wynn drilled his 30th home run on August 23, becoming the first Astros hitter to reach the milestone in a single campaign. He took a Clay Carroll offering deep but Atlanta proved too much, defeating Houston, 9–3. Wynn remained the lone Astros player to actualize the feat until Glenn Davis in 1986.[23]

On September 9, at Dodger Stadium , Wynn reached another new frontier with 100 RBI, with a home runs versus Claude Osteen [24]

During the penultimate contest of the season on September 30, rookie Bob Watson walloped his first major league home, a two-run blast off Jim Shellenback. This was a clutch drive, game-tying in an eventual 4–3 Houston triumph.[25]

Performance overview

Wynn established club records with 37 home runs and 107 runs batted in (RBI).[14] Staub established other single-season club records, including a .333 batting average, a major-league leading 44 doubles, 182 hits, and 21 intentional bases on balls (IBB).[17] He became the first Astro to lead both their assigned league in doubles as well as all of baseball.[26] Additionally, Staub was recognized as the Astros' team Most Valuable Player (MVP), also the first player to be recognized both in consecutive years and more than once.[27]

Season standings

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
St. Louis Cardinals 101 60 .627 — 49‍–‍32 52‍–‍28
San Francisco Giants 91 71 .562 10½ 51‍–‍31 40‍–‍40
Chicago Cubs 87 74 .540 14 49‍–‍34 38‍–‍40
Cincinnati Reds 87 75 .537 14½ 49‍–‍32 38‍–‍43
Philadelphia Phillies 82 80 .506 19½ 45‍–‍35 37‍–‍45
Pittsburgh Pirates 81 81 .500 20½ 49‍–‍32 32‍–‍49
Atlanta Braves 77 85 .475 24½ 48‍–‍33 29‍–‍52
Los Angeles Dodgers 73 89 .451 28½ 42‍–‍39 31‍–‍50
Houston Astros 69 93 .426 32½ 46‍–‍35 23‍–‍58
New York Mets 61 101 .377 40½ 36‍–‍42 25‍–‍59

Record vs. opponents

1967 National League record

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


Notable transactions

Roster

1967 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Game log

Regular season

Legend
  Astros win
  Astros loss
  Postponement
  Eliminated from playoff race
Bold Astros team member
1967 regular season game log: 69–93 (Home: 46–35; Away: 23–58)[32]
April: 5–13 (Home: 4–8; Away: 1–5)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
May: 11–15 (Home: 5–6; Away: 6–9)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
June: 11–19 (Home: 6–10; Away: 5–9)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
July: 19–12 (Home: 14–1; Away: 5–11)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
— July 11 6:15 p.m. CDT 38th All-Star Game in Anaheim, CA
August: 9–21 (Home: 8–8; Away: 1–13)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
September: 14–12 (Home: 9–2; Away: 5–10)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
October: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Away: 0–1)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak

Detailed records

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
C John Bateman 76 252 48 .190 2 17
1B Eddie Mathews 101 328 78 .238 10 38
2B Joe Morgan 133 494 136 .275 6 42
SS Sonny Jackson 129 520 123 .237 0 25
3B Bob Aspromonte 137 486 143 .294 6 58
LF Ron Davis 94 285 73 .256 7 38
CF Jim Wynn 158 594 148 .249 37 107
RF Rusty Staub 149 546 182 .333 10 74

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Julio Gotay 77 234 66 .282 2 15
Ron Brand 84 215 52 .242 0 18
Norm Miller 64 190 39 .205 1 14
Chuck Harrison 70 177 43 .243 2 26
Doug Rader 47 162 54 .333 2 26
Jim Landis 50 143 36 .252 1 14
Dave Adlesh 39 94 17 .181 1 4
Jackie Brandt 41 89 21 .236 1 15
Bob Lillis 37 82 20 .244 0 5
Aaron Pointer 27 70 11 .157 1 10
Hal King 15 44 11 .250 0 6
Ivan Murrell 10 29 9 .310 0 1
Lee Bales 19 27 3 .111 0 2
Bob Watson 6 14 3 .214 1 2
Bill Heath 9 11 1 .091 0 0
José Herrera 5 4 1 .250 0 1
Candy Harris 6 1 0 .000 0 0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Mike Cuellar 36 246.1 16 11 3.03 203
Dave Giusti 37 221.2 11 15 4.18 157
Don Wilson 31 184.0 10 9 2.79 159
Bo Belinsky 27 115.1 3 9 4.68 80
Larry Dierker 15 99.0 6 5 3.36 68
Wade Blasingame 15 77.0 4 7 5.96 46
Bruce Von Hoff 10 50.1 0 3 4.83 22
Chris Zachary 9 36.1 1 6 5.70 18

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Danny Coombs 6 24.1 3 0 3.33 23
Howie Reed 4 18.1 1 1 3.44 9

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Larry Sherry 29 1 2 6 4.87 32
Dan Schneider 54 0 2 2 4.96 39
Carroll Sembera 45 2 6 3 4.83 48
Barry Latman 39 3 6 0 4.52 70
Dave Eilers 35 6 4 1 3.94 27
Claude Raymond 21 0 4 5 3.19 17
Tom Dukes 17 0 2 2 5.32 23
Jim Owens 10 0 1 0 4.22 6
Turk Farrell 7 1 0 0 4.63 10
Pat House 6 1 0 1 4.50 2
Arnold Earley 2 0 0 0 27.00 1
John Buzhardt 1 0 0 0 0.00 0

Awards and achievements

Career achievements
Pitching achievements
Awards
NL batting leaders

Minor league system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Oklahoma City 89ers Pacific Coast League Mel McGaha
AA Amarillo Sonics Texas League Buddy Hancken
A Asheville Tourists Carolina League Chuck Churn
A Cocoa Astros Florida State League Walt Matthews
Rookie Covington Astros Appalachian League Tony Pacheco
Awards

See also

References

Footnotes
  1. ^ Wynn's achievement was next equaled by Lee May on June 21, 1973.
  2. ^ By Jeff Bagwell on June 24, 1994.
Sources
  1. ^ a b "Bob Lillis stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  2. ^ "Bo Belinsky stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Eddie Mathews stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  4. ^ "Lee Mayes tats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  5. ^ "Sandy Alomar stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  6. ^ "Atlanta Braves (1) vs Houston Astros (6) box score". Baseball Almanac. April 11, 1967. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  7. ^ "1967 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  8. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (May 19, 2025). "Today in Astros history—May 18–19". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  9. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (May 26, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 26". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
  10. ^ Schwartzburg, Seth (June 7, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 16". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  11. ^ "3 home runs in a game". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  12. ^ Schwartzburg, Seth (June 15, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 15". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  13. ^ Schwartzburg, Seth (June 16, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 16". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  14. ^ a b "Astros history – Timeline". MLB.com. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  15. ^ a b Schwartzberg, Seth (June 18, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 18". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
  16. ^ Schwartzburg, Seth (June 19, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 16". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  17. ^ a b c Smith, David. "Houston Astros hitting streaks". Astros Daily. Retrieved September 27, 2025 – via Retrosheet.
  18. ^ "Rusty Staub 1967 batting game logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 27, 2025.
  19. ^ Wilson, John (August 29, 1967). "Wynn packing cannon on his spindly frame". The Sporting News. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
  20. ^ a b c d Krell, David (July 9, 2021). "July 14, 1967: Astros' Eddie Mathews joins 500 Home Run Club". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  21. ^ "Houston Astros All-Star player register". Baseball-Refererence.com. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
  22. ^ a b "1967 All-Star Game box score". Baseball-Reference.com. July 11, 1967. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  23. ^ Hulsey, Bob. "This date in Astros history". Astros Daily. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  24. ^ Hulsey, Bob (September 9, 1967). "Wynn reaches 35-homer, 100-RBI plateau". Astros Daily. Retrieved December 11, 2025..
  25. ^ "Bob Watson career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  26. ^ "Yearly league leaders & records for doubles". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
  27. ^ McTaggart, Brian (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  28. ^ "John Mayberry stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  29. ^ "Braves send Blasingame to Houston; few other trades". Observer-Reporter. June 16, 1967. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  30. ^ "Gary Kroll stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  31. ^ "Jim Weaver stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  32. ^ "1967 Houston Astros Schedule & Results". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  33. ^ "Jim Wynn stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  34. ^ "Texas League Player of the Year". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
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