Houston Astros-this Houston, Texas based Major League Baseball team is amongst the six teams of the National League’s Central Division. A five-pointed red star and the scripted word “Astros” make the logo of the team. The silver, white, gray and black colors of the uniforms of Houston Astros are simply eye-catching. 

History of The Houston Astros

The club was known as Houston Colt.45’s during 1962-64. Houston Colt .45’s played its debut match on April 10, 1962 against the Chicago Cubs and reserved a stunning 11-2 victory. In spite of their honest efforts, they couldn’t go beyond ninth slot during 1962-64. 

In 1965, while playing at Houston Astrodome, the team became popular with the name “Astros”. It was also the first team to play indoors. The reason why Astros decided to play indoors was first of all extremely hot summers in Texas. The rival teams of the Astros found it hard to swallow their consecutive 10-games victory and blamed them of conditioning the air to favor Astros. However, with a record of 65-97 the Astros could only make it to the ninth slot and the same trend followed for the next few years. 

The record 84-69 statistics lead the team to 2^nd position in 1972, which was the best record of the team in the 70s. The first title came to the Houston Astros in 1980 when they smashed the Los Angeles in a one-game playoff, with a 93-70 victory in the National League West Division.  In the same year, they also qualified in the National League Championship Series for the first time but couldn’t get the title. They were able to retain the National League West Division title in 1981. Year 1983 blessed the Houston Astros with an 85-77 victory, which was the third highest in the history of Houston Astros. 

During the time period of 20 years, Houston Astros grabbed 5 division titles from 1984 till 2003. The team picked up the National League wild card in 2004 and then also defeated the Atlanta Braves in 5 games in the National League Division Series to qualify for the National League Championship Series. Unfortunately, St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Astros in 7 games in National League Championship Series. 

The Hall of Fame of the Houston Astros consists the names of great Astros such as Robin Roberts, Joe Morgan, Don Sutton and Nolan Ryan. Some of the retired numbers from the Houston Astros were Mike Scott #33, Jim Umbricht #32, Don Wilson #40 and Nolan Ryan #34. 

Stadium History of Houston Astros

Colt Stadium was the first place where the team began playing between 1962-64. The first match was played in April 1962. The Colts shifted to Astrodome in 1965 and continued to play there till 1999. By then, the Colts were renamed to Houston Astros. It was April 9, 1965 when the Astros played the first match at Astrodome. It was an exhibition match played against the Yankees.  

By the mid 1990's, both the Astros and the Oilers felt a severe requirement of separate stadiums. It was October 9, 1999 when the Astros played at Astrodome for the last time. The Minute Maid Park is the home for the Astros since 2000. The Minute Maid Park is like a “crown jewel” for baseball. This ballpark comprises of a retractable roof and natural grass.