History of the Colt 45's

The Houston Colt 45s were among the original eight teams to join Major League Baseball in 1962. The team was founded by entrepreneur and oilman Roy Hofheinz, who wanted to bring major league baseball to his home state of Texas. The team played their first game on April 10th against the Chicago Cubs at Colt Stadium near downtown Houston.

Although they suffered a few losing seasons during their early years, it didn't take long for the Colt 45s to become a competitive force in MLB. In 1965 they won their first National League Pennant behind star players such as Joe Morgan and Rusty Staub. Unfortunately, they fell short against Mickey Mantle’s New York Yankees that year but still made history as the youngest expansion franchise ever to make it into an MLB World Series (at just 3 years old).

In 1966, after only four seasons playing at Colt Stadium due to its small capacity size (just over 32000), ownership decided it was time for bigger digs. Hence, construction began on what would be known as Astrodome ––the world’s first indoor domed stadium––which opened up two years later with seating for over 50 thousand fans! It wasn’t until this point that people started referring to them by their new name: “Astros." With all these changes underway came plenty more success both on-and-off field, from making back-to-back playoff appearances between 1980 -1986 under manager Bob Lillis and winning five division titles throughout those exact six-season spans, all while becoming fan favorites among baseball lovers everywhere!

Fast forward nearly 60+years since inception, and you can see how much this organization has grown not only within itself but also around its surrounding community—from helping out city charities & fundraising events alongside other local businesses/organizations or even hosting special pregame activities like "Kids Run The Bases" post every Sunday home game—it is no wonder why Astros fans are so loyal & passionate about supporting there beloved hometown team each season!