Houston Astros Baseball Team ~ Sports Memorabilia and Gift Items

Astros Baseball

The same professional baseball team has been playing in Houston, Texas since its inception except that it was originally called the Colt .45s in 1962. Sports memorabilia and gift items shown in this hub reflect the current name of Houston Astros as it became known ever since the name change in 1965.

Few baseball teams have stayed in one city their entire time of existence as has this team.

Of course, given the nature of how professional sports are played, the team players come and go as they are traded or drafted between the teams.

Astrodome and AstroTurf

Most baseball aficionados know of the Houston Astros if for no other reason than the fame of the Astrodome which became home to the Astros in 1965.

The Astrodome was the very first domed sports stadium in America.

Many people associate everything being "bigger and better in Texas"...at least proud Texans do , and the Astrodome became noteworthy in that respect.

It was awe inspiring for its day and time! It was a circular building that was 18 stories tall and covered 9 1/2 acres. It was a multi-purpose stadium used for not only baseball, but football and other sporting events as well as the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and other entertainment functions. Seats were movable to some extent to make appropriate use of the space depending upon how it was being utilized at the time.

The Astrodome was considered by many people to be the "8th Wonder of the World."

Soon it was found to be difficult to keep natural grass growing under those domed conditions even though there were skylights in the dome, so an artificial looking grass dubbed AstroTurf was utilized. That happened in 1966.

Stadiums

The fledgling team called the Colt .45s first played their baseball games in what was called Colt Stadium.

Along with the name change to Houston Astros, the Astrodome serviced their needs from 1965 to the year 2000 when a brand new sports stadium called Enron Field was built on the east side of downtown Houston on the grounds of the old Union Train Station.

With Enron's sad demise, and after a bit of scrambling, a local company purchased the naming rights.

The current sponsor and name of this modern stadium is now called Minute Maid Park, but the train theme has been continued.

Every time the Astros hit a home run, the train is put into use and travels along a wall high up above the outfield.

One has to know that the people rooting for the Astros like to see that train in motion as much as possible!

Minute Maid Park has a retractible roof so that fans can experience the best of all worlds when it comes to climactic conditions. The roof is open to the fresh air and sunshine when possible but can also shelter people from excessive heat or cold or rainy conditions.

 Astros and Astronauts

For those who may have wondered about the name Astros, it seems a very fitting name since so much of the United States astronaut program has been centered in and around Houston, Texas.

Hall of Famers

Starting with Nellie Fox who played for when the team was still known as the Colt .45s, these other players have joined that rarified ranking of being honored by being named to the Hall of Fame while representing the Houston Astros at some point during their careers:

Nolan Ryan

Robin Roberts

Don Sutton

Joe Morgan

Leo Durocher

and Eddie Mathews.

Houston Astros

Ownership of this professional baseball team has been transferred a few times through the years and the current majority owner since 1993 is Drayton McLane, Jr. with Coca Cola (owner of Minute Maid) being a minority partner.

While only making it to the World Series in 2005 and then losing to the Chicago White Sox, they have had definite highlights by winning their division titles three years in a row from 1997 to 1999.

Under McLane's ownership the Houston Astros have the 4th best overall record of all the major league baseball teams (according to Wikipedia) only trailing the Yankees, Braves and Red Sox.

That is something in which fans of the Astros can be proud!

Some of their more recent celebrated "stars" are Jeff Bagwell, an all-time home run leader and Craig Biggio, one of the best of the Astros players.

National League Baseball

The Houston Astros are one of the 6 teams in the Central Division, the other teams being the Chicago Cubs; Cincinnati Reds; Milwaukee Brewers; Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals.

The West and East Divisions each have 5 member teams in the National League.

Each year the best team of the National League faces off with one of the best of 14 member teams of the American Baseball League for the World Series which is the ultimate prize.

The Houston Astros hope to capture the title of World Series champion one of these years!

Major changes taking place...

Starting in 2013 the Astros will be playing in the American League West instead of the National League Central.

Jim Crane is now the new owner of the Astros having paid some 600 million dollars plus to Drayton McLane for the team and he has made some immediate changes for people attending Astros games. He is now allowing people to bring food and water into the stadium and has also lowered ticket prices. This is a welcomed accommodation to the die-hard fans of the Astros as he will be reshaping the team and building the team from within for the future. Uniform colors, logos and even a possible name change are all being considered. We wish only the best for Mr. Crane and our Houston professional baseball team. 

Hope you enjoyed this brief introduction to the Houston Astros baseball team. Some terrific sports memorabilia and gift items are available online if you want some Astros mementos for yourself or to give as gifts. Go Astros!