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1965 Houston Astros season

Field	Value
name	Houston Astros
season	1965
league	National League
ballpark	Harris County Domed Stadium
city	Houston, Texas
record
league_place	9th
owners	Roy Hofheinz
general_managers	Paul Richards
managers	Lum Harris
television	KTRK-TV
radio	KPRC (AM)
(Gene Elston, Loel Passe, Harry Kalas)
prev_season	1964 Houston Colt .45s season

(Gene Elston, Loel Passe, Harry Kalas) |}} The 1965 Houston Astros season was the fourth season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, a member of the National League (NL). Now rebranded as the Astros and having relocated to The Astrodome, the club were known for their first three season as the Colt .45s and were based at Colt Stadium. The Astros entered the 1965 season with a 66–96 record, having finished the previous year in ninth place and 27 games behind the NL pennant and World Series-winning St. Louis Cardinals.

The 1965 season was the first and only full season for Lum Harris as manager, the second in franchise history, having replaced Harry Craft late during the previous year. On April 12, Bob Bruce made the Astros' Opening Day starter, who hosted the Philadelphia Phillies, but were defeated, 2–0.

In the first-ever MLB amateur draft, the Astros' first round selection was shortstop Alex Barrett at fourth overall. Rookie second baseman Joe Morgan established club records on July 8 with six hits—tying the major league record—and 13 total bases for a single game, during a 9–8 defeat to the Milwaukee Braves over 12 innings. Pitcher Turk Farrell represented the Astros at the MLB All-Star Game, his fifth career selection.

The Astros concluded the season with a record of 65–97, a third consecutive in ninth place and 32 games behind the NL pennant and eventual World Series-champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The 97 losses represented a franchise-worst record for Houston at the time, which was one more than the 96 losses the club had for each of their first three seasons of existence. It later matched by the 1975 and 1991 teams, and exceeded in 2011 with 106 losses.

Following the season, Morgan was chosen as The Sporting News NL Rookie Player of the Year—the first Astro be so recognized—and for the Topps All-Star Rookie Team. Hence, Morgan also became the first Astro to be recognized for a full-season award not specific to one position.

Offseason

On December 1, The Houston club changed its nickname from Colt .45s to Astros. The move resulted from objections by the Colt Firearms Company to the club's sales of novelties bearing the old nickname. Despite the trademark issues, the "Astros" nickname matched the futuristic ambiance of the revolutionary domed stadium. The nickname was also appropriate since Houston was, by then, the home of NASA's astronaut program. The scoreboard retained subliminal references to the old nickname, as it featured electronically animated cowboys firing pistols, with the "bullets" ricocheting around the scoreboard, when an Astros player would hit a home run. Early on, the groundskeepers also wore astronaut spacesuits to promote that futuristic image.

Astrodome

The venue was designed as a defense against the oppressive heat and humidity of the Houston summer. Loosely based on the classic Roman Colosseum, the Astrodome was dubbed the Eighth Wonder of the World. As with many stadiums of that era, such as RFK Stadium and Shea Stadium, the Astrodome was a multi-purpose stadium, designed for both football as well as baseball.

Besides its roof, the Astrodome was revolutionary for a number of other reasons, accentuated by accoutrements not prior-featured or rarely seen at sports facilities. Every seat in the venue was theatre-style, the first stadium so configured. Additionally, it was one of the first stadiums allocated with luxury seats and club seating, at the time a relatively new concept in sports venues. It also had an "exploding scoreboard", which would show various animations after a home run or a win, as well as messages and advertising.

Inaugural exhibition game at the Astrodome

On April 9, the former Houston Colt .45s took the field and officially became the Houston Astros. They inaugurated indoor baseball in the Astrodome with a 2–1 exhibition win over the New York Yankees. President Lyndon B. Johnson, one of 47,876 total guests in attendance, became the seventh U.S. president to have attended the inaugural game for a stadium. Texas governor John Connally, flanked by National League president Warren Giles and Tamaulipas governor Praxedis Balboa, tossed the ceremonial first pitch.

The Astros' Turk Farrell threw the game's official first pitch and baseball indoors was underway. and run scored. During the third inning, catcher Ron Brand smoked a triple for the home team's first hit in their new stadium. Player-coach Nellie Fox, another future Hall of Famer, furnished the first walk-off hit at the Astrodome to settle the contest outright in the bottom of the 12th inning.

Notable transactions

January 31, 1965: Bob Watson was signed as an amateur free agent by the Astros.

Regular season

Summary

1969}}, set a number of club records in 1965.

Opening Day

PHI 2, HOU 0 • Win: Short • Loss: Bruce
Attendance: 48,546

During a pre-game ceremony on Opening Day and at the regular-season opening ceremony of the Astrodome, April 12, 1965, the Astros officially retired jersey number 32 in honor of former Colt .45s pitcher Jim Umbricht. Umbricht had died on April 8, 1964, following a battle with cancer and having returned to play for Houston the season earlier, in 1963. Aged 33 years old, his jersey number was the first to be retired by the team.

The Astrodome hosted a standing-room-only attendance of 48,546. Distinguished guests included Commissioner Ford Frick, National League President Warren Giles (also at the first exhibition game), and a contingent of NASA personnel, who witnessed baseball's tribute to the Space Age through the Astrodome. There, the Houston Astros hosted the Philadelphia Phillies. Twenty-two of the 24 NASA astronauts were in attendance, and, for the ceremonial first pitch, each simultaneously tossed to one of 22 members of the Astros.

The Phillies etched themselves as the victors in the Astrodome's regular-season christening, 2–0, spearheaded by a fantastic shutout masterpiece by starter Chris Short. He limited baseball's Spacemen to four hits, while fanning 11 for a game score of 88. Philadelphia's Tony Taylor stroked a double leading off the contest for the first regular-season safety in the history of baseball indoors. Meanwhile, the Astros' Bob Bruce hurled seven innings with just two runs surrendered to take a tough loss. Dick Allen slugged a two-run home run to give Philadelphia their first tallies in the top of the third inning. Joe Morgan swatted a single leading off the bottom of the fourth for Houston's first regular-season base hit in their new environs.

Rest of April

On April 15, Jimmy Wynn drilled the first home run for Houston known as the Astros, a two-run game-tying blast in the top of the ninth off Jack Fisher at Shea Stadium. However, in the bottom of the tenth inning, Bobby Klaus cranked a Claude Raymond offering for a walk-off home run deep to left field and decide a 5–4 the New York Mets victory.

Bob Aspromonte blasted the home team's first home run at the Astrodome on April 24 during the bottom of the sixth off Vern Law of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The next inning, Wynn also took Law deep.

May

On May 8, Joe Morgan connected for his first major league home run, to deep right at Wrigley Field. The blast occurred in the top of the sixth inning off Lindy McDaniel of the Chicago Cubs, extending the Astros' lead to 8–5.

For the first time, on May 22, ABC's broadcast of the Major League Baseball Game of the Week featured the Astrodome. Viewers were thrilled by a massive Willie Mays home run that propelled the San Francisco Giants over the Astros to win the contest, 10–1. On May 23, the Giants, able to leverage a three-run, inside-the-park home run—a result of the ball getting caught in the roof of the Astrodome—won, 5–2, over Houston. This was the final game as a Houston Astro for starter Ken Johnson, who received news after the contest that had been traded to the Milwaukee Braves for outfielder Lee Maye.

Due to pop flies routinely misjudged as induced by the glare through the roof of the Astrodone, clear glass panes costing about $20,000 were installed on May 24. Consequently, these conditions created inadequate lighting to sustain the grass, which led to the installation of AstroTurf the following season.

Bpb Bruce struck out a then-club record 13 on May 26, tying Turk Farrell's effort on May 10, 1963. Bruce surrendered five hits and three runs in a complete game as the Astros triumphed over the Cincinnati Reds, 8–3. Jimmy Wynn homered and tripled, wound up just a double short of hitting for the cycle, and knocked in four runners. This record remained until June 25, 1966, when Mike Cuellar fanned 15.

June

With the scored tied 2–2 on June 4 going into the ninth inning, Houston Astros catcher Ron Brand connected for a three-run homer into the left field bleachers off Bob Gibson for the decisive runs in an Astros' 5–2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. After 140 relief appearances, on June 6, Claude Raymond made the first of seven starts over his major league career. He tossed a complete game against the Cardinals. holding them to just seven hits and one run as the Houston won, 10–1.

Joe Morgan's six-hit game

On July 8, rookie second baseman Joe Morgan established clubs records with six hits and 13 total bases, including two home runs, and also collected three RBI and four runs scored at Milwaukee County Stadium. The six hits tied the major league record for one game. His feats carried through Astros through an eventual 12-inning, 9–8 loss to the Milwaukee Braves. This was the first multi-home run game of Morgan's career, with both drives courtesty of Tony Cloninger offerings.

Early July

Morgan scored his second career multi-home run game just two days after his record performance. On July 10, took Galen Cisco deep in the top of the fourth inning at Shea Stadium, and in the top of the ninth, Tug McGraw. His performance was instrumental in a 9–1 clobbering of the New York Mets.

MLB All-Star Game

Turk Farrell made the MLB All-Star Game, hosted at Metropolitan Stadium. His fourth selection as an Astro, this extended his own club record. Outfielder César Cedeño was chosen to four All-Star Game to match Farrell for the club record in the 1976 edition. This stood as club record until Craig Biggio would receive his fifth selection in the 1996 All-Star Game

Later July—August

During a span of eight outings initiated July 26, right-hander Dave Giusti retired 27 consecutive batters faced until August 14 to establish a club record. It remained as the club record 44 years until 2019 when surpassed by starting pitcher Justin Verlander, who accumulated 32. In 2022, Ryan Pressly also reached 32, which usurped Giusti for the club record for relief pitchers.

September

Hosting the Giants on September 13 at the Astrodome, Willie Mays crushed his 500th home run, and 47th of the season. Mays golfed a Don Nottebart offering deep to centerfield leading off the top of the fourth inning, depicted by Bob Stevens of the San Francisco Chronicle as a “monstrous, 440-foot blast into the centerfield bleachers.” At the time, the only hitters Mays had trailed were Babe Ruth (714), Jimmie Foxx (534), Ted Williams (521), and Mel Ott (511). The Giants scored three more times in the fourth, and behind a complete game effort from Juan Marichal, cruised, 5–1. Houston's only tally arrived via Jimmy Wynn's 21st home run in the bottom of the first inning.

Performance overview

The Astros concluded the 1965 epoch with a record, in ninth place of ten National League clubs, and 32 games behind the pennant-winning Los Angeles Dodgers. In their first year at the Astrodome, Houston smashed attendance records with 2,151,470, nearly tripling the showing of fans from the year prior, and the first time they had claimed both of either the one-million and two-million threshold of attendees. It would not be until 1980 that they reached the 2-million mark again.

However, the 97 defeats transformed into the franchise-worst record for Houston at the time, which surmounted the 96 losses the club had tallied in each of their first three seasons of existence. The 1975 and 1991 squads later equaled this record and, in 2011, the team overran the record with 106 losses.

Houston totaled 25 home runs at the Astrodome during their first year in their new stadium, compared with 72 on the road.

Morgan set club marks for at-bats (601), runs (100), hits (163) and triples (12) over a season. His 14 home runs established the club rookie record. Morgan also became the first Houston Astro to be selected as the NL Rookie Player of the Year by The Sporting News (TSN).

Meanwhile, Jim Wynn became Houston's first 40-stolen base bandit with 43, retaining the club record until Sonny Jackson pilfered 49 the following year.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

April 24, 1965: Don Larsen was traded by the Astros to the Baltimore Orioles for Bob Saverine and cash.
May 23, 1965: Ken Johnson and Jim Beauchamp were traded by the Astros to the Milwaukee Braves for Lee Maye.
June 14, 1965: Gus Triandos was purchased by the Astros from the Philadelphia Phillies.
July 10, 1965: Frank Thomas was purchased by the Astros from the Philadelphia Phillies.
August 20, 1965: Gus Triandos was released by the Astros.
September 1, 1965: Frank Thomas was traded by the Astros to the Milwaukee Braves for a player to be named later. The Braves completed the deal by sending Mickey Sinnerud (minors) to the Astros on September 11.

Roster

1965 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers

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	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	Avg.	HR	RBI	SB
C	117	391	27	92	6	3	.235	2	37	10
1B	117	407	46	107	17	2	.263	7	47	2
2B	157	601	100	163	22	12	.271	14	40	20
3B	152	578	53	152	15	2	.263	5	52	2
SS	124	408	34	90	12	1	.221	1	38	2
LF	108	415	38	104	17	7	.251	3	36	1
CF	157	564	90	155	30	7	.275	22	73	43
RF	131	410	43	105	20	1	.256	14	63	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
	100	229	21	52	8	1	.227	6	31	4
	81	227	22	55	11	1	.242	7	31	0
Eddie Kasko	68	215	18	53	7	1	.247	1	10	1
	45	142	15	28	3	1	.197	7	14	4
Al Spangler	38	112	18	24	1	1	.214	1	7	1
Gus Triandos	24	72	5	13	2	0	.181	2	7	0
	23	58	7	10	2	0	.172	3	9	0
Jim Beauchamp	24	53	5	10	1	0	.189	0	4	0
	15	45	2	9	4	0	.200	1	9	0
	21	41	3	11	2	0	.268	0	1	0
Dave Adlesh	15	34	2	5	1	0	.147	0	3	0
Sonny Jackson	10	23	1	3	0	0	.130	0	0	1
	11	15	2	3	0	1	.200	0	1	0
	8	9	0	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0
	2	6	1	2	0	0	.333	0	1	0
Jim Mahoney	5	5	0	1	0	0	.200	0	0	0
	4	4	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
	35	34	229.2	9	18	3.72	107	95	38	145
	33	29	208.1	11	11	3.50	94	81	35	122
	29	25	158.0	4	15	4.67	99	82	55	77
	26	19	146.2	7	8	3.50	69	57	37	109
	10	10	76.0	5	2	1.89	22	16	10	34
	8	8	51.2	3	2	4.18	25	24	11	28
	1	1	6.0	0	0	3.00	2	2	1	0
Don Larsen	1	1	5.1	0	0	5.06	3	3	3	1

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
	38	13	131.1	8	7	3	4.32	67	63	46	92
	33	7	96.1	7	4	5	2.90	35	31	16	79
Jack Lamabe	3	2	12.2	0	2	0	4.26	9	6	3	6
Chris Zachary	4	2	10.2	0	2	0	4.22	6	5	6	4
Jim Ray	3	2	7.2	0	2	0	10.57	9	9	6	7
Carroll Sembera	2	1	7.1	0	1	0	3.68	3	3	3	4

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
	50	71.1	6	5	8	3.28	28	26	29	53
	32	57.2	1	5	4	6.40	42	41	16	37
	25	56.0	1	4	2	3.54	24	22	21	46
	26	47.0	0	2	0	4.79	26	25	23	35
Ken MacKenzie	21	37.0	0	3	0	3.89	22	16	6	26
Hal Woodeshick	27	32.1	3	4	3	3.06	13	11	18	22
	7	8.0	0	0	0	3.38	3	3	3	3
Bruce Von Hoff	3	3.0	0	0	0	9.00	3	3	2	1
	1	1.0	0	0	0	0.00	0	0	0	0

Awards and honors

;Career honors

Houston Astros uniform number retired—No. 32 : Jim Umbricht, pitcher • In Houston 1962–1963 • 69 games

;Annual awards

Houston Astros Most Valuable Player (MVP): Jimmy Wynn
MLB All-Star Game—reserve pitcher: Turk Farrell
The Sporting News NL Rookie Player of the Year: Joe Morgan
Topps All-Star Rookie Team—second baseman: Joe Morgan

;NL batting leaders

Bases on balls: Joe Morgan (97—led MLB)

Minor league system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Oklahoma City, FRL Astros

;Awards

Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player (PCL MVP): Dave Roberts, OF
Texas League Most Valuable Player (TL MVP): Leo Posada, OF
Topps Minor League Player of the Year: Dave Roberts, OF

Notes

References

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de Luna, Marcy. (April 9, 2020). "Iconic Astrodome made its grand debut 55 years ago, became 'Eighth Wonder of the World'". [[Houston Chronicle]].
Hulsey, Bob. "This date in Astros history". Astros Daily.
"Bob Watson stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
(April 12, 1965). "Philadelphia Phillies (2) vs Houston Astros (0) box score". [[Baseball Almanac]].
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Ayers, Thomas. (March 15, 2021). "Jim Umbricht". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).
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(April 12, 1965). "Philadelphia Phillies (2) vs Houston Astros (0) box score". Baseball-Reference.com.
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Schwartzberg, Seth. (May 22, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 22". [[SB Nation]].
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(May 26, 1965). "Cincinnati Reds (3) vs Houston Astros (8) box score". Baseball-Reference.com.
Schwartzberg, Seth. (June 4, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 4". SB Nation.
Schwartzberg, Seth. (June 6, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 6". SB Nation.
McTaggart, Brian. (January 11, 2021). "Astros' best single-game hitting displays". [[MLB.com]].
"Houston Astros All-Star player register". Baseball-Refererence.com.
Van Doren, Kenny. (November 27, 2022). "Houston Astros season in review: Ryan Pressly". [[Sports Illustrated]].
Wolf, Gregory H.. (September 13, 1965). "Willie Mays clouts 500th home run". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).
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Greene, Nelson "Chip". (October 1, 2018). "September 15, 1985: José Cruz collects his 2,000th hit". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).
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"Gus Triandos stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com.
"Frank Thomas stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com.
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(March 25, 2014). "Scout's honor".

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