James Edward "Pete" Runnels was an American professional baseball player,coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder for the Washington Senators (1951–57),Boston Red Sox (1958–62) and Houston Colt .45s (1963–64). Runnels was a five-time All-Star player during his tenure with the Red Sox and,is notable for being a two-time American League batting champion. He was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2004.
Thomas Marian Paciorek is an American former outfielder and first baseman who spent 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1970–1975),Atlanta Braves (1976–1978),Seattle Mariners (1978–1981),Chicago White Sox (1982–1985),New York Mets (1985) and Texas Rangers (1986–1987). He appeared twice in the postseason,with the National League (NL) champion Dodgers in 1974 and the American League (AL) West-winning White Sox in 1983.
Grady Edgebert Hatton Jr. was an American professional baseball second baseman,third baseman,coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds / Redlegs,Chicago White Sox,Boston Red Sox,St. Louis Cardinals,Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs. Hatton is most identified with his native Texas:he was born in Beaumont,attended the University of Texas at Austin,managed minor league teams in Houston and San Antonio,and was an important contributor to the early years of Major League Baseball's Houston Astros.
Robert Thomas Aspromonte is an American former professional baseball player and business entrepreneur. He played as a third baseman in Major League Baseball in 1956 and then from 1960 to 1971,most prominently as a member of the newly formed Houston Colt .45s expansion team where,he became the regular third baseman for the first seven seasons of the young franchise. As well as being the first-ever batter for Houston,he was also the last Brooklyn Dodger to appear in a major league game. He also played for the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets in addition to the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers.
Merritt Thomas Ranew was an American professional baseball catcher who appeared in 269 games over all or parts of five Major League Baseball seasons for five different teams. He batted left-handed,threw right-handed,and was listed as 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and 170 pounds (77 kg).
Harry Francis Craft was an American Major League Baseball player and manager. Born in Ellisville,Mississippi,he was a center fielder for the Cincinnati Reds from 1937 to 1942. Craft attended Mississippi College,threw and batted right-handed,stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 185 pounds (84 kg).
Donald Thomas Buddin was an American professional baseball shortstop. He played all or part of six seasons in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox,Houston Colt .45s (1962) and Detroit Tigers (1962). Listed at 5' 11",178 lb. (81 kg),Buddin batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Turbeville,South Carolina.
Bobby Gene Tiefenauer was an American professional baseball player and coach. A knuckleball relief pitcher,he pitched for six Major League teams during a ten-year MLB career that stretched between 1952 and 1968:the St. Louis Cardinals,Cleveland Indians,Houston Colt .45s (1962),Milwaukee Braves (1963–65),New York Yankees (1965) and Chicago Cubs (1968). Tiefenauer was born in Desloge,Missouri;he threw and batted right-handed and was listed as 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and 190 pounds (86 kg).
Walter Franklin Bond was an American professional baseball player who appeared in 365 games over six Major League Baseball seasons between 1960 and 1967 for the Cleveland Indians,Houston Colt .45s/Astros and Minnesota Twins. An outfielder and first baseman,he played the last five seasons of his 11-year professional career after being diagnosed with leukemia while serving as a private first class in the United States Army in 1962. Bond died of the disease in the closing weeks of the 1967 baseball season —a year during which he had made the Twins' roster coming out of spring training.
James Edward Pendleton was an American professional baseball player,an outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1953 and 1962. He played for the Milwaukee Braves,Pittsburgh Pirates,Cincinnati Reds and Houston Colt .45s. Before appearing in MLB,he was a Negro league player. He was a right-handed batter and thrower,measured 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and weighed 185 pounds (84 kg).
Albert Donald Spangler is a retired American Major League Baseball outfielder and coach. Spangler appeared in 912 games in the majors between 1959 and 1971 for the Milwaukee Braves,Houston Colt .45s / Astros,Los Angeles / California Angels,and Chicago Cubs. Born in Philadelphia,he threw and batted left-handed,and was listed as 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and 175 pounds (79 kg).
The 1965 Houston Astros season was the franchise's first season in the Houston Astrodome,as well as its first season as the Astros after three seasons known as the Colt .45s. It involved the Houston Astros finishing in ninth place in the National League with a record of 65–97,32 games behind the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The Astros were managed by Lum Harris.
The 1964 Houston Colt .45s season was the team's third season in Major League Baseball. It involved the Houston Colt .45s finishing in ninth place in the National League with a record of 66–96,27 games behind the eventual World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals. It was their final season for the team at Colt Stadium before relocating their games to the Astrodome in 1965,along with the accompanying name change to the "Astros" for the '65 season.
The Houston Colt .45s' 1963 season was a season in American baseball. The team finished ninth in the National League with a record of 66–96,33 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 1962 Houston Colt .45s were an expansion team in American Major League Baseball's National League,and 1962 was the first season in franchise history. Harry Craft was Houston's first manager. The .45s finished eighth among the National League's ten teams with a record of 64–96,36+1⁄2 games behind the league champion San Francisco Giants.
The 1962 Chicago Cubs season was the 91st season of the Chicago Cubs franchise,the 87th in the National League and the 47th at Wrigley Field. In the second season under their College of Coaches,the Cubs finished ninth in the National League with a record of 59–103,42+1⁄2 games behind the NL Champion San Francisco Giants. The Cubs finished ahead of the expansion New York Mets and behind the expansion Houston Colt .45s in the NL's first 162-game season.
James Aubrey Adair was an American baseball infielder,manager and coach. Although he played only briefly in Major League Baseball,as a shortstop for the 1931 Chicago Cubs,Adair had a long career as a minor league player and manager,and as a Major League coach and scout. A native of Waxahachie,Texas,he was associated for many years with a fellow townsman,Paul Richards,who as a manager or general manager employed Adair as a coach for three MLB teams.
James Robert Campbell is an American former professional baseball player,a catcher who played 82 games in the Major Leagues for the Houston Colt .45s during 1962 and 1963. He threw and batted right-handed,stood 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and weighed 190 pounds (86 kg).
Prentice Almont "Pidge" Browne Jr. was an American professional baseball player. A first baseman,he was a longtime minor league star who had a half-season trial in Major League Baseball in 1962 in his 13th and final professional season at the age of 33. That year,as a member of the first-ever Houston Colt .45s squad,he participated in another unusual feat,representing a Houston-based professional baseball team at three different levels —Double-A,Triple-A and MLB.
Glenn Edward Vaughan,nicknamed "Sparky",was an American professional baseball player for three seasons,1962–1964. A shortstop,he was the nephew of Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop Arky Vaughan. He was a switch hitter who threw right-handed,stood 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and weighed 170 pounds (77 kg).
