1962 Houston Colt .45s season

Last updated

1962  Houston Colt .45s
League National League
Ballpark Colt Stadium
City Houston, Texas
Record64–96–2 (.401)
League place8th
Owners Craig F. Cullinan Jr., Roy Hofheinz
General managers Paul Richards
Managers Harry Craft
Television KTRK
(Al Helfer, Gene Elston, Guy Savage)
Radio KPRC (AM)
(Al Helfer, Gene Elston, Loel Passe)
1963  →

The 1962 Houston Colt .45s season was the inaugural season for the expansion team in Major League Baseball (MLB) located in Houston, Texas, which were established as a member of the National League (NL), and based at Colt Stadium.

Contents

The first manager named for the Colt .45s was Harry Craft, having previously guided the Triple-A Houston Buffaloes in the same post through the 1961 season. Introduced along with the New York Mets, the Colt .45s formed their major league roster through the 1961 expansion draft, and their first pick was shortstop Ed Bressoud.

The first game in franchise history took place on April 10, 1962, at Colt Stadium hosting the Chicago Cubs, which Houston won, 11–2. Opening Day starting pitcher Bobby Shantz threw the first pitch in club history, while Bob Aspromonte delivered the first hit. Shantz tossed a complete game and Román Mejías connected for the first home run and a total of two on the day. This was the first MLB game played in the state of Texas. Through the first three months of the season, the Colt .45s played to a 32–41 record. However, they struggled to a 5–24 record in the month of July.

Pitcher Turk Farrell represented the Colt .45s for both MLB All-Star Games that year, his second and third career selections. [a] In September, Houston secured the first winning month in club history, at 15–12.

The Colt .45s concluded the season with a 64–96–2 record, in eighth place among 10 NL clubs, and 36+1⁄2 games behind the NL pennant-winning San Francisco Giants. Houston would lose 96 games each of their first three seasons, representing the original club record until 1965, when they lost 97. The 36+1⁄2 games behind established another club record that remained until 1975, when they placed 43+1⁄2 games behind the NL West division-champion Cincinnati Reds.

Shantz, a stellar defender off the mound throughout his career, was recognized with the sixth of eight career Gold Glove Awards following the season. [b]

Offseason

Summary

On January 3, 1962, a groundbreaking ceremony was showcased to establish the construction of the Astrodome. The ceremony included the firing of pistols into the earth by team, city, and county officials. [1]

Transactions

Expansion draft

The Colt .45s were one of two teams added to the National League before the 1962 season, the other being the New York Mets. This brought the number of teams in the NL to ten, matching the 1961 expansion of the American League.

Regular phase

$75,000 per player

Premium phase

$125,000 per player

1961 minor league affiliates

The Colt .45s and Mets were established on October 17, 1960, giving them time to acquire professional minor-league players, sign amateur free agents (there was no MLB first-year player draft until 1965) and enter into working agreements with minor league affiliates during the 1961 season. Houston had formal working agreements with two minor league baseball teams in 1961 (see table below). In addition, the roster of the 1961 Houston Buffs of the Triple-A American Association, officially a minor-league affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, would include a handful of players signed by the Colt .45s. The most prominent of these was Dave Giusti, then 21, who went on to a 15-year MLB career.

LevelTeamLeagueManager
A Jacksonville Jets Sally League Tom Saffell and Dixie Howell
D Salisbury Braves Western Carolinas League Alex Cosmidis

Regular season

Summary

The inaugural series

Inaugural game
April 10, Colt Stadium, Houston, Texas
Opening Day linescore [9]
Team123456789RHE
Chicago 000000110250
Houston10400033×11132
W: Shantz (1–0)  •  L: Cardwell (0–1)
HRs: Mejias 2 (2), Smith (1), Banks (1)

Opening Day starting lineup [10] [11]

14 Bob Aspromonte    3B
21 Al Spangler CF
25 Román Mejías RF
10 Norm Larker 1B
23 Jim Pendleton LF
 8 Hal Smith   C
11 Joey Amalfitano 2B
18 Don Buddin SS
42 Bobby Shantz   P
Venue:Colt Stadium • HOU 11,CHC 2

The Colt .45s started their inaugural season on April 10, 1962, with an 11–2 win against the Chicago Cubs, highlighted by a three-run home run in the bottom of the third inning with no outs by Román Mejías, the first home run in franchise history. Mejías became Houston's breakout offensive star for that game, going 3-for-5 with six runs batted in (RBI). Catcher Hal Smith followed Mejías' home run in the third inning with his first of the season just two outs later. Al Spangler was 2-for-3 with two bases on balls and connected for the first triple in franchise history. [10] Bob Aspromonte delivered the first hit and scored the first run. Mejías connected for a second home run in the eighth inning, and Shantz threw a complete game to earn the win. [12]

By virtue of driving in 6 runs in the Colt .45s' inaugural game, Mejías established the single-game franchise RBI record, which stood until August 29, 1989, when Rafael Ramírez produced 7 RBI, also against the Chicago Cubs. [1] Mejías continued the momentum of his brilliant start, establishing another Colt .45s record with an eight-game hitting streak to open the 1962 campaign, [13] and followed that up by starting another hitting streak the following month.

In the second game on April 11, Hal Woodeshick and Dick "Turk" Farrell combined to produce Houston's first shutout victory, 2-0 . Hal Smith stroked a two-run single in the first inning to accounted for the all of the game's scoring. Moreover, this contest actualized the franchise's first-ever rain delay, spanning one hour and seven minutes. During the Opening Series finale on April 12, Dean Stone tossed the first complete-game shutout in Colts franchise history, a three-hitter that led a 3–0 win. Stone's effort also capped a three-game sweep of the Cubs in Houston's first-ever series in their first homestand. With a 3–0 record, the Colt .45s retained a share of the National League lead with the San Francisco Giants. [1]

Rest of April—May

Houston, as the major league club, hosted the St. Louis Cardinals for the first time on April 24, 1962. Prior to joining the National League, Houston's Buffaloes had served as one of Cardinals' minor league affiliates over a span of four decades, where which many future Cardinals stars made their way to the major leagues. [1] Don Taussig, a Colt .45s expansion draftee from the Cardinals, [7] hit the go-ahead home run off Larry Jackson in the sixth inning that set a 4–3 Colts victory. Hal Woodeshick navigated five errors to earn the victory. [1] This was Taussig's only home run for Houston, and the final of his major league career. [7]

The team finished April with a 7–8 record, 4 games in front of fellow-expansion club the New York Mets and only 5 games behind the National League-leading Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Beginning May 25, Mejías initiated another hitting streak for 16 games to establish one of Houston's earliest club records, during which he carried a .368 batting average. This hitting streak lasted until June 10, and stood as the record stood until Rusty Staub hit in 20 consecutively from June 30 to July 21, 1967. [14]

A new idea was presented to Harris County commissioners on May 31 by Weldon Appelt to build a stadium using arches to facilitate construction, leading to a proposing for a domed stadium. Meanwhile, the Colt .45s defeated the Chicago Cubs, 10–6, after erupting for five runs ninth inning. [15]

June

By June 2, with the second loss to the Pirates in Pittsburgh, the Colt .45s had fallen to 16 games behind the eventual NL champion Giants, a deficit that no pre-Wild Card era team had ever recovered from to make the post season. [16]

During a doubleheader on June 10 hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers, 78 fans and umpire Jocko Conlan suffered heat stroke. Though the Dodgers swept the doubleheader, many of their players complained about the excess heat. Colts shortstop Don Buddin hit a grand slam during the second game, the first-ever in franchise history. [17]

August

With an August 21 loss at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies, [18] the Houston Colt .45s were mathematically eliminated from the postseason with a 37-game deficit to the Dodgers with 37 games remaining.

To get an idea of how the first season was for Houston, look at the team's best pitcher, Richard "Turk" Farrell. A starter for the Colt .45s, he was primarily a relief pitcher when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. Turk lost 20 games in 1962, but had an earned run average (ERA) of 3.02. Turk was selected to both All-Star games that year.

A late-blooming outfielder emerged as a bright spot for the .Colt 45s line up in 1962. Román Mejías, acquired from the Pirates during the expansion draft, was named the Colt .45s starting right fielder and emerged as a breakout performer during his age-36 season. Prior to coming to Houston, he had appeared in 308 games over six seasons with Pittsburgh, batting .245 with 17 home runs and 83 RBI. In Houston, Mejías played the best baseball of his major league career, simultaneously establishing career highs in virtually every offensive category, [19] while leading the team in numerous categories, [20] which introduced many of the original single-season franchise offensive records. While he played better the first half of the season, an injury slowed him the second half of the season. However, he still finished with a .286 batting average, 24 home runs, and 76 RBI. His modesty and his hard play made him a fan favorite that year. Despite his excellent performance, Mejías was traded to the Boston Red Sox in the fall of 1962. [21]

Season standings

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
San Francisco Giants 10362.624—61‍–‍2142‍–‍41
Los Angeles Dodgers 10263.618154‍–‍2948‍–‍34
Cincinnati Reds 9864.6053½58‍–‍2340‍–‍41
Pittsburgh Pirates 9368.578851‍–‍3042‍–‍38
Milwaukee Braves 8676.53115½49‍–‍3237‍–‍44
St. Louis Cardinals 8478.51917½44‍–‍3740‍–‍41
Philadelphia Phillies 8180.5032046‍–‍3435‍–‍46
Houston Colt .45s 6496.40036½32‍–‍4832‍–‍48
Chicago Cubs 59103.36442½32‍–‍4927‍–‍54
New York Mets 40120.25060½22‍–‍5818‍–‍62

Record vs. opponents

1962 National League record

Sources:
TeamCHCCINHOULADMILNYMPHIPITSFSTL
Chicago —4–147–114–148–109–910–84–146–127–11
Cincinnati 14–4—13–59–913–513–58–1013–57–118–10
Houston 11–75–13—6–127–1113–3–11–175–137–119–9–1
Los Angeles 14–49–912–6—10–816–214–410–810–117–11
Milwaukee 10–85–1311–78–10—12–611–710–87–1112–6
New York 9–95–133–13–12–166–12—4–142–164–145–13
Philadelphia 8–1010–817–14–147–1114–4—7–105–139–9
Pittsburgh 14–45–1313–58–108–1016–210–7—7–1112–6
San Francisco 12–611–711–711–1011–714–413–511–7—9–9
St. Louis 11–710–89–9–111–76–1213–59–96–129–9—

Notable transactions

Roster

1962 Houston Colt .45s
Roster
PitchersCatchers

Infielders

OutfieldersManager

Coaches

Game log

Houston Colt .45s 1962 Regular Season Game Log
April 1962 (7–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 10 Cubs 11–2Shantz (1–0)Cardwell (0–1)–25,2711–0
2April 11 Cubs 2–0Woodeshick (1–0)Hobbie (0–1)Farrell (1)20,3362–0
3April 12 Cubs 2–0Stone (1–0)Curtis (0–1)–7,8383–0
4April 13 @ Phillies 2–3Hamilton (1–0)Farrell (0–1)–12,6333–1
5April 14 @ Phillies 0–3Mahaffey (2–0)Johnson (0–1)–2,7323–2
6April 17 @ Mets 5–2 (11)Golden (1–0)Moford (0–1)Tiefenauer (1)3,1914–2
7April 18 @ Cubs 2–3 (10)Ellsworth (1–0)Farrell (0–2)–3,3184–3
8April 19 @ Cubs 6–0Stone (2–0)Cardwell (0–3)–3,8355–3
9April 21 Phillies 1–3McLish (1–0)Johnson (0–2)Baldschun (1)21,8415–4
10April 22 Phillies 3–4Owens (1–1)Giusti (0–1)Baldschun (2)13,1305–5
11April 24 Cardinals 4–3Woodeshick (2–0)Jackson (2–1)–19,3356–5
12April 25 Cardinals 5–5 (17)–––17,2656–5
13April 26 Cardinals 2–3Gibson (1–1)Johnson (0–3)–15,1296–6
14April 27 Braves 1–2Shaw (2–1)Shantz (1–1)–16,1606–7
15April 28 Braves 3–9Butler (1–0)Giusti (0–2)–22,5016–8
16April 29 Braves 3–2Farrell (1–2)McMahon (0–1)–21,0507–8
May 1962 (12–19)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
17May 1 @ Cardinals 4–6Washburn (2–0)Stone (2–1)Bauta (1)4,9247–9
18May 2 @ Cardinals 1–4Gibson (2–1)Johnson (0–4)–7,8807–10
19May 3 @ Cardinals 0–4Simmons (4–0)Giusti (0–3)–6,4367–11
20May 4 @ Braves 7–4Bruce (1–0)Hendley (2–2)Farrell (2)7,8118–11
21May 5 @ Braves 5–6 (12)Curtis (1–2)Woodeschick (2–1)–4,9208–12
22May 6 @ Braves 2–3Spahn (3–3)Golden (1–1)–12,6358–13
23May 6 @ Braves 9–1Farrell (2–2)Willey (0–2)–12,6359–13
24May 7 Dodgers 9–6Tiefenauer (1–0)Richert (1–1)–19,17010–13
25May 8 Dodgers 6–9 (10)Perranoski (2–0)Tiefenauer (1–1)Roebuck (1)17,48310–14
26May 9 Dodgers 2–9Podres (2–2)Richert (1–1)–12,68410–15
27May 10 Dodgers 2–6Drysdale (5–1)Bruce (1–1)–15,07610–16
28May 11 Giants 7–0Farrell (3–2)Perry (2–1)–19,00311–16
29May 12 Giants 0–11Marichal (6–2)Woodeshick (2–2)–26,31111–17
30May 13 Giants 2–7Sanford (4–2)Johnson (0–5)–19,87911–18
31May 15 @ Dodgers 7–10Perranoski (3–0)Tiefenauer (1–2)–18,67511–19
32May 16 @ Dodgers 2–5Moeller (2–3)Farrell (3–3)Roebuck (3)16,07511–20
33May 17 @ Dodgers 4–2 (10)Roebuck (2–0)Tiefenauer (1–2)–17,63911–21
34May 18 @ Giants 3–2 (10)Johnson (1–5)Sanford (4–3)–18,54412–21
35May 19 @ Giants 2–10McCormick (1–1)Witt (0–1)Larson (3)16,70112–22
36May 20 @ Giants 6–5Bruce (2–1)Marichal (7–3)Farrell (3)40,93213–22
37May 20 @ Giants 4–7Pierce (6–0)Woodeshick (2–3)–40,93213–23
38May 21 Mets 3–2Golden (2–1)Mizell (1–2)–16,31714–23
39May 22 Mets 3–2Farrell (4–3)Hook (3–3)–11,98015–23
40May 23 Reds 2–0Johnson (2–5)Purkey (7–1)–9,26616–23
41May 24 Reds 0–5Jay (6–4)Witt (0–2)–8,57016–24
42May 25 Pirates 3–4 (13)Face (2–1)Tiefenauer (1–4)Sturdivant (1)11,35016–25
43May 26 Pirates 2–0Golden (3–1)Friend (4–6)–13,90917–25
44May 27 Pirates 2–7Law (2–1)Johnson (2–6)–11,79317–26
45May 28 @ Reds 6–9Jay (7–4)Farrell (4–4)–8,97917–27
46May 30 @ Cubs 8–6 (14)Giusti (1–3)Schultz (3–2)–17,84218–27
47May 30 @ Cubs 10–6McMahon (1–1)Elston (2–2)–3,72219–27
June 1962 (13–14)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
48June 1 @ Pirates 4–8Face (3–1)Golden (3–2)–14,96119–28
49June 2 @ Pirates 2–9Law (3–1)Farrell (4–5)–11,70319–29
50June 3 @ Pirates 10–6Tiefenauer (2–4)Sturdivant (3–3)McMahon (1)24,28220–29
51June 3 @ Pirates 10–3Johnson (3–6)McBean (5–2)–24,28221–29
52June 5 Braves 7–1Bruce (3–1)Piche (3–1)–11,59322–29
53June 6 Braves 3–6Burdette (3–4)Golden (3–3)–11,56922–30
54June 7 Braves 3–2McMahon (2–1)Spahn (6–6)–14,81823–30
55June 8 Dodgers 3–4 (13)L. Sherry (4–2)McMahon (2–2)–15,87723–31
56June 9 Dodgers 13–1Bruce (4–1)Williams (6–2)–11,90824–31
57June 10 Dodgers 3–9Drysdale (10–3)Golden (3–4)–30,02724–32
58June 10 Dodgers 7–9Moeller (5–4)Woodeshick (2–4)Perranoski (7)30,02724–33
59June 11 Mets 1–3Jackson (3–7)Farrell (4–6)–8,92024–34
60June 12 Mets 3–2Johnson (4–6)Anderson (3–6)–7,34425–34
61June 14 Mets 10–2Bruce (5–1)Hook (4–7)–10,76126–34
62June 15 @ Dodgers 2–0Golden (4–4)Drysdale (10–4)–22,70927–34
63June 16 @ Dodgers 4–1Farrell (5–6)Podres (3–6)–51,53028–34
64June 17 @ Dodgers 2–6Roebuck (4–0)Johnson (4–7)L. Sherry (5)47,39728–35
65June 19 @ Giants 6–4Giusti (2–3)O'Dell (7–6)Farrell (4)18,74929–35
66June 20 @ Giants 9–5Stone (3–2)Miller (3–2)McMahon (2)10,43030–35
67June 22 @ Mets 0–2Jackson (4–8)Farrell (5–7)–11,48430–36
68June 22 @ Mets 16–3Golden (5–4)B. Miller (0–5)–11,48431–36
69June 23 @ Mets 2–13Hook (5–8)Johnson (4–8)–6,42531–37
70June 25 @ Phillies 3–4Green (2–2)Woodeshick (2–5)–8,08731–38
71June 26 @ Phillies 0–2Hamilton (5–5)Farrell (5–8)–18,70731–39
72June 26 @ Phillies 4–6Mahaffey (9–8)Golden (5–5)–18,70731–40
73June 29 Reds 0–4O'Toole (6–9)Johnson (4–9)–7,61231–41
74June 30 Reds 7–3 (7)Bruce (6–1)Maloney (2–3)–9,75832–41
July 1962 (5–24)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
75July 1 Reds 1–6Jay (11–7)Golden (5–6)–6,66632–42
76July 2 Pirates 2–4Friend (8–8)Woodeshick (2–6)Face (14)11,76032–43
77July 3 Pirates 2–5Haddix (7–3)Johnson (4–10)Face (15)10,72932–44
78July 4 Pirates 0–7Law (7–3)Bruce (6–2)–20,00532–45
79July 4 Pirates 3–4Francis (5–5)Golden (5–7)Face (16)20,00532–46
80July 6 @ Reds 2–0Woodeshick (3–6)Jay (11–8)–15,87133–46
81July 7 @ Reds 1–10Purkey (14–2)Johnson (4–11)–6,93633–47
82July 8 @ Reds 8–12Maloney (4–3)Farrell (5–9)–18,33233–48
83July 8 @ Reds 11–12 (13)O'Toole (8–9)Farrell (5–10)–18,33233–49
84July 11 @ Phillies 1–6Mahaffey (11–9)Woodeshick (3–7)–3,44133–50
85July 12 @ Pirates 4–6McBean (9–5)Golden (5–8)–14,78433–51
86July 13 @ Pirates 0–4Friend (9–9)Farrell (5–11)–15,37633–52
87July 14 @ Pirates 2–4Law (8–4)Bruce (6–3)-7,34333–53
88July 15 Cubs 5–4Woodeshick (4–7)Buhl (6–7)McMahon (3)6,90734–53
89July 15 Cubs 1–4Ellsworth (5–13)Johnson (4–12)–6,90734–54
90July 17 Phillies 0–3Hamilton (6–7)Kemmerer (0–1)Baldschun (9)8,11534–55
91July 17 Phillies 2–8McLish (6–2)Farrell (5–12)Bennett (1)8,11534–56
92July 18 Phillies 2–6Green (3–2)Bruce (6–4)–5,14034–57
93July 19 Phillies 2–6Short (5–6)Woodeshick (4–8)Baldschun (10)5,01734–58
94July 20 Cardinals 4–3Farrell (6–12)McDaniel (2–5)–15,42235–58
95July 21 Cardinals 0–7Jackson (9–8)Kemmerer (0–2)–17,74235–59
96July 21 Cardinals 7–3Johnson (5–12)Simmons (8–6)Golden (1)17,74236–59
97July 22 Cardinals 1–3Gibson (13–6)Bruce (6–5)McDaniel (11)8,68536–60
98July 23 Giants 1–5Bolin (6–0)Woodeshick (4–9)–12,09636–61
99July 24 Giants 1–3Sanford (13–6)Farrell (6–13)Larsen (6)11,28936–62
100July 25 Giants 2–3O'Dell (12–8)Golden (5–9)Miller (14)12,34436–63
101July 27 @ Cubs 1–5Ellsworth (6–14)Woodeshick (4–10)–6,11136–64
102July 29 @ Cubs 2–4Koonce (9–3)Golden (5–10)Cardwell (2)10,33436–65
103July 29 @ Cubs 3–1Farrell (7–13)Hobbie (3–10)–10,33437–65
August 1962 (12–19)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
104August 1 @ Braves 0–3Shaw (12–8)Woodeshick (4–11)–10,82937–66
105August 2 @ Braves 3–0Farrell (8–13)Burdette (8–7)–8.33838–66
106August 3 @ Cardinals 8–3Johnson (6–12)Gibson (13–8)McMahon (4)11,85339–66
107August 4 @ Cardinals 0–2Washburn (10–5)Bruce (6–6)–9,39039–67
108August 5 @ Cardinals 7–4Kemmerer (1–2)McDaniel (2–6)McMahon (5)14,95440–67
109August 5 @ Cardinals 4–7Toth (1–0)Woodeshick (4–12)–14,95440–68
110August 6 Reds 0–1 (13)Klippstein (4–2)McMahon (2–3)–8,50740–69
111August 7 Reds 0–3Jay (17–9)Johnson (6–13)–6,52340–70
112August 8 Reds 0–4Nuxhall (2–0)Bruce (6–7)Brosnan (8)7,35040–71
113August 9 Reds 3–7O'Toole (12–12)Woodeshick (4–13)–5,19640–72
114August 10 Braves 6–7Spahn (12–11)Brunet (0–1)Raymond (5)7,04740–73
115August 11 Braves 1–3Shaw (14–8)Farrell (8–14)Raymond (6)14,63040–74
116August 12 Braves 8–5Bruce (7–7)Burdette (9–8)Kemmerer (1)4,90241–74
117August 14 Cardinals 4–3 (10)McMahon (3–3)Gibson (14–9)–9,60442–74
118August 15 Cardinals 3–1Woodeshick (5–13)Washburn (10–6)Kemmerer (2)8,84343–74
119August 16 Cardinals 1–3Jackson (10–10)Farrell (8–15)–9,15943–75
120August 17 Cubs 3–2Kemmerer (2–2)Anderson (2–6)–6,53944–75
121August 18 Cubs 2–1Brunet (1–1)Koonce (9–6)–12,24345–75
122August 18 Cubs 5–6Elston (4–7)McMahon (3–4)Cardwell (4)12,24345–76
123August 19 Cubs 3–4Buhl (9–9)Woodeshick (5–14)Anderson (4)4,54345–77
124August 20 @ Phillies 1–7Green (6–5)Farrell (8–16)–14,60145–78
125August 21 @ Phillies 3–5Mahaffey (17–10)Bruce (7–8)–5,48945–79
126August 21 @ Phillies 4–7Hamilton (7–11)Golden (5–11)–5,48945–80
127August 22 @ Pirates 0–3Sturdivant (6–3)Brunet (1–2)–10,55345–81
128August 23 @ Pirates 0–4Law (10–6)Johnson (6–14)–10,74245–82
129August 24 @ Reds 2–4Purkey (20–4)Woodeshick (5–15)–18,87945–83
130August 25 @ Reds 6–7Jay (20–10)Farrell (8–17)Brosnan (10)12,68045–84
131August 26 @ Reds 2–1Brunet (2–2)Maloney (8–5)–25,80846–84
132August 26 @ Reds 6–4McMahon (4–4)Wills (0–2)Umbricht (1)25,80847–84
133August 28 @ Cardinals 4–2Bruce (8–8)Broglio (10–7)McMahon (6)9,51048–84
134August 29 @ Cardinals 3–2Farrell (9–17)Gibson (15–10)–8,29549–84
September 1962 (15–12)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
135September 1 @ Cubs 3–4Ellsworth (8–17)McMahon (4–5)Schultz (3)9,88749–85
136September 2 @ Cubs 3–1McMahon (5–5)Buhl (10–10)–13,08850–85
137September 3 Phillies 2–3Mahaffey (18–11)Farrell (9–18)–17,30250–86
138September 3 Phillies 3–5Hamilton (8–11)Woodeshick (5–16)Bennett (3)17,30250–87
139September 4 Phillies 4–1Bruce (9–8)McLish (9–5)–4,53751–87
140September 5 Pirates 5–3Umbricht (1–0)Law (10–7)McMahon (7)4,59352–87
141September 6 Pirates 4–3Kemmerer (3–2)Face (8–7)–5,19653–87
142September 7 Pirates 4–2Golden (6–11)Jackson (8–18)McMahon (8)6,20854–87
143September 8 Mets 4–3Kemmerer (4–2)Anderson (3–17)–1,63855–87
144September 8 Mets 6–5 (10)Umbricht (2–0)Craig (7–23)–6,56856–87
145September 9 Mets 7–7 (8)–––3,63056–87
146September 12 Dodgers 0–1Roebuck (10–0)Johnson (6–15)Perranoski (19)28,66956–88
147September 14 @ Braves 1–3Hendley (11–12)Farrell (9–19)–5,50556–89
148September 15 @ Braves 8–9Nottebart (2–2)Kemmerer (4–3)–6,87256–90
149September 16 @ Braves 4–5Burdette (10–9)McMahon (5–6)–5,47756–91
150September 18 @ Mets 6–2Johnson (7–15)Jackson (8–19)–3,67057–91
151September 18 @ Mets 8–6Drott (1–0)Foss (0–1)Umbricht (2)3,67058–91
152September 20 @ Mets 7–2Golden (7–11)Hook (8–18)Kemmerer (3)1,48159–91
153September 20 @ Mets 5–4 (12)Kemmerer (5–3)Daviault (1–5)–1,48160–91
154September 21 Giants 5–11Perry (3–1)Brunet (2–3)Miller (18)12,18060–92
155September 22 Giants 6–5Umbricht (3–0)Miller (4–8)–17,12561–92
156September 23 Giants 3–10O'Dell (19–13)Bruce (9–9)–9,62361–93
157September 25 @ Dodgers 3–2 (10)Farrell (10–19)Roebuck (10–1)–25,03662–93
158September 26 @ Dodgers 1–13Podres (15–12)Brunet (2–4)L. Sherry (11)25,81362–94
159September 27 @ Dodgers 8–6Umbricht (4–0)Perranoski (6–5)–29,85563–94
160September 29 @ Giants 5–11Sanford (24–7)Johnson (7–16)Miller (19)26,26863–95
161September 29 @ Giants 4–2Bruce (10–9)Marichal (18–11)–26,26864–95
162September 30 @ Giants 1–2Miller (5–8)Farrell (10–20)–41,32764–96

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

PosPlayerGABRH2B3BAvg.HRRBISB
C Hal Smith 1093453281140.23512350
1B Norm Larker 14750658133195.2639631
2B Joey Amalfitano 1173804490125.2371274
3B Bob Aspromonte 14953459142184.26611594
SS Bob Lillis 12945738114124.2491307
LF Al Spangler 12941851119109.2855357
CF Carl Warwick 13047763124171.26016602
RF Román Mejías 14656682162123.286247612

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

PlayerGABRH2B3BAvg.HRRBISB
Jim Pendleton 1173213079122.2468360
Merritt Ranew 71218265168.2344242
Billy Goodman 82161124141.2550100
J. C. Hartman 51148113350.223051
Pidge Browne 6510082142.2101100
Johnny Temple 3195142540.2630121
Jim Campbell 278661940.221360
Don Buddin 4080101341.1632100
Al Heist 277241610.222030
Dave Roberts 165331330.2451100
Bob Cerv 19312700.226230
Johnny Weekly 13263510.192220
Don Taussig 16251500.200110
Dick Gernert 10241500.208010
Ron Davis 6141300.214011
Ernie Fazio 12123100.083010
Jim Busby 15112200.182010
George Williams 581310.375020

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

PlayerGGSIPWLERARERBBK
Turk Farrell 4329241.210203.02918155203
Ken Johnson 3331197.07163.031008446178
Bob Bruce 3227175.01094.06927982135
Hal Woodeshick 3126139.15164.3984685482
Bobby Shantz 3320.2111.3143514

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

PlayerGGSIPWLSVERARERBBK
Jim Golden 3718152.271114.0784695088
Dave Giusti 22573.22305.6249463043
George Brunet 171154.02404.5031272136
Dean Stone 15752.13204.4731262031
Red Witt 8215.10207.041412910
Dick Drott 6113.01007.621211910

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

PlayerGIPWLSVERARERBBK
Don McMahon 5176.25581.5314133369
Bobby Tiefenauer 4385.02414.3442412160
Russ Kemmerer 3668.05334.1034311523
Jim Umbricht 3467.04022.0119151755
John Anderson 1017.20005.09121036
Al Cicotte 54.20003.864214

Awards and achievements

Awards
National League pitching leaders [26]

Farm system

1962 minor league affiliates

LevelTeamLeagueManager
AAA Oklahoma City 89ers American Association Connie Ryan
B Durham Bulls Carolina League Lou Fitzgerald
C Modesto Colts California League Fred Hatfield
D Moultrie Colt .22s Georgia–Florida League Jim Walton

References

Footnotes
  1. 1 2 Major League Baseball held two All-Star Games each year from 1959 to 1962.
  2. 1 2 Based on performance with both the Colt .45s and St. Louis Cardinals as Shantz was acquired from Houston on May 7, 1962.
  3. ↑ Also MLB leader.
    Sources
    1. 1 2 3 4 5 Hulsey, Bob. "This date in Astros history". Astros Daily. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
    2. ↑ "Rusty Staub stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 28, 2025.
    3. ↑ "Al Cicotte stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
    4. 1 2 "Dave Philley stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
    5. ↑ "J. C. Hartman stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
    6. ↑ Merritt Ranew at Baseball Reference
    7. 1 2 3 "Don Taussig stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
    8. ↑ Norm Larker at Baseball Reference
    9. ↑ "Chicago Cubs at Houston Colt .45s box score". Baseball-Reference.com. April 10, 1962.
    10. 1 2 "Houston Colt .45s 11, Chicago Cubs 2 box score". Retrosheet . April 10, 1962. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
    11. ↑ "1962 Houston Colt .45s uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
    12. ↑ "Highlights from Houston's first major league baseball game". KTNV-TV ABC-13. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
    13. ↑ Nowlin, Bill; Briley, Ron; Costello, Rory (March 9, 2023). "Román Mejías biography". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved September 27, 2025.
    14. ↑ Smith, David. "Houston Astros hitting streaks". Astros Daily. Retrieved September 27, 2025– via Retrosheet.
    15. ↑ Schwartzberg, Seth (May 31, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 31". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation . Retrieved July 22, 2025.
    16. ↑ Vass, George (2005). "The greatest pennant-chase comebacks in baseball history: here are 14 teams that trailed by 10 or more games near the season's midpoint and went on to win division or league titles". Baseball Digest .
    17. ↑ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 10, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 10". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
    18. ↑ "Philadelphia Phillies 5, Houston Colt .45s 3 (1) box score". Retrosheet. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
    19. ↑ "Román Mejías stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
    20. ↑ "1962 Houston Colt .45s statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
    21. ↑ Briley, Ron (June 10, 2003). "ROMAN MEJIAS – BRIEF BIOGRAPHY". McFarland & co. Archived from the original on June 16, 2009. Retrieved October 2, 2008.
    22. 1 2 "John Anderson stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
    23. 1 2 "Bob Cerv stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 14, 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. ↑ "Gold Glove pitchers". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
    26. ↑ "1962 National League pitching leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
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