1963 Houston Colt .45s season
| 1963 Houston Colt .45s | |
|---|---|
| League | National League |
| Ballpark | Colt Stadium |
| City | Houston, Texas |
| Record | 66–96 (.407) |
| League place | 9th |
| Owners | Roy Hofheinz |
| General managers | Paul Richards |
| Managers | Harry Craft |
| Television | KHOU (TV) (Gene Elston, Guy Savage, Loel Passe) |
| Radio | KPRC (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 May 17, Don Nottebart pitched the first no-hitter in franchise history when 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
- November 1, 1962: Joe Morgan was signed as an amateur free agent by the Colt .45s.[1]
- November 26, 1962: Conrad Cardinal was drafted by the Colt .45s from the Detroit Tigers in the 1962 first-year draft.[2]
- November 26, 1962: Ellis Burton was drafted by the Colt .45s from the Milwaukee Braves in the 1962 rule 5 draft.[3]
- November 26, 1962: Don Taussig was drafted from the Colt .45s by the Milwaukee Braves in the 1962 minor league draft.[4]
- November 30, 1962: Joey Amalfitano was traded by the Colt .45s to the San Francisco Giants for Manny Mota and Dick LeMay.[5]
- November 30, 1962: Norm Larker was traded by the Colt .45s to the Milwaukee Braves for Jim Bolger, Don Nottebart, and Connie Grob.[6]
- March 28, 1963: Hal Haydel, Dick LeMay and Merritt Ranew were traded by the Colt .45s to the Chicago Cubs for Dave Gerard and Danny Murphy.[7]
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]
On May 17, Don Nottebart pitched the first no-hitter for an expansion team when Houston defeated Philadelphia by a score of 4–1.[10]
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.[11]
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.[12]
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.[13]
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. Further, Aspromonte replicated the act exactly one year later when he clubbed another grand slam in 1964.[14]
Season standings
| 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 |
| 66 | 96 | .407 | 33 | 44–37 | 22–59 | |
| New York Mets | 51 | 111 | .315 | 48 | 34–47 | 17–64 |
Record vs. opponents
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 | |||
| 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
- April 2, 1963: Ellis Burton was purchased from the Colt .45s by the Cleveland Indians.[3]
- April 4, 1963: Manny Mota was traded by the Colt .45s to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Howie Goss and cash.[5]
Roster
| 1963 Houston Colt .45s | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
|
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 | 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
- MLB All-Star—reserve pitcher: Hal Woodeshick[16]
- Topps All-Star Rookie Team—first baseman: Rusty Staub
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Oklahoma City
References
- ^ Joe Morgan at Baseball Reference
- ^ Conrad Cardinal at Baseball Reference
- ^ a b Ellis Burton at Baseball Reference
- ^ Don Taussig at Baseball Reference
- ^ a b Manny Mota at Baseball Reference
- ^ Norm Larker at Baseball Reference
- ^ Hal Haydel at Baseball Reference
- ^ Reed, Robert. A Six-Gun Salute: An Illustrated History of the Colt .45s. Houston, Texas: Gulf Publishing Co., 1999.
- ^ Barron, David "Phillies announcer Kalas dies after collapsing in booth" Houston Chronicle, Monday, April 13, 2009
- ^ 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
- ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 2, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 2". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
- ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 3, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 3". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
- ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 9, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 9". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
- ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 11, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 11". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
- ^ Geisler Young, LLC –. "1963 Houston Colt .45s Roster by Baseball Almanac". Archived from the original on March 23, 2009. Retrieved April 19, 2009.
- ^ "1963 All-Star Game". Baseball Almanac.