The Houston Astros have found much success in recent years after a pretty rough first half-century of the franchise, most recently winning the World Series in 2017, and with a young and talented roster, the Astros expect to be contenders for much of the near future. This wasn’t always the case with the Astros though, which were founded in Houston in 1962 as a National League expansion team called the Houston Colt .45s. In 1965, the franchise was renamed the Houston Astros to pay homage to Houston’s role in the U.S. space program. After playing in the National League for 51 years, the Astros moved into the American League in 2013, becoming a member of the AL West Division.
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Astros History
The then-Colt .45s spent their first three seasons playing at Colt Stadium while the Astrodome was being built. The Astrodome, the first domed sports stadium ever built, opened in 1965 and became the home of the Houston Astros for the next four decades. In 2000, the Astros moved into Minute Maid Park in downtown Houston, where they remain to this day. The ballpark was Houston’s first retractable-roof stadium and was known for Tal’s Hill, or the Grassy Knoll, a 90-foot incline in the outfield until it was leveled to add more seating and concessions in 2016.
Pennants
In 2017, the Houston Astros finally won their franchise’s first, and thus far only, World Series with a 4-3 series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The World Series championship is also the first one won by a team from the state of Texas. The Astros had made the World Series once earlier in 2005 when it represented the National League in a 4-0 sweep by the Chicago White Sox. The Astros have won a total of eight division titles, with two coming in the AL West (2017 and 2018), four coming in the NL Central and two in the NL West. The Astros also made the playoffs as a Wild Card team three times, the most recent coming in 2015.
Hall of Famers
One of the more revered Astros in franchise history is Jeff Bagwell, who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2017. The first baseman spent his entire 15-year career with Houston and leads the team in career home runs with 449. Bursting onto the scene in 1991 by winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award, Bagwell also was named to four All-Star teams and earned NL MVP honors in 1994, while also winning his first of three Silver Slugger awards, the Gold Glove and leading the NL in RBIs that season. Bagwell was also part of the squad that took Houston to its first World Series appearance in 2005.
Alongside Bagwell, for the 2005 World Series was fellow Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, who spent his 19 years in the major leagues all with the Astros and is the only player to be named an All-Star at both the catcher and second base positions. A seven-time All-Star, Biggio finished with 668 doubles, which rank the most by a right-handed hitter and fifth all time. He finished his career with 3,060 hits, 291 home runs, 1,171 RBIs and 414 stolen bases.
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