What happened today in team history?
1966 – First game on turf
Future Hall of Famer Don Sutton helped lead the Houston Astros to a 6-3 win in the first ever game played on artificial turf. The entire infield of the stadium was carpeted in an artificial grass that later would be dubbed as “Astroturf”.
1972 – Joe Morgan returns
After a massive eight-player trade sent future Hall of Famer Joe Morgan to the Cincinnati Reds, he makes his return in a game against the Astros and takes a loss, with Houston coming out on top 8-4, spoiling the homecoming.
1998 – Biggio enters Houston’s record books
In a game against the Montreal Expos that saw Houston get the win thanks to a ninth-inning homer, Craig Biggio scored his 891st run of his career. This run passed Cesar Cedeno’s franchise record and pleased Biggio at the top of the list for runs.
2006 – Astros return to .500 on the franchise
After making their first World Series the season before, a 13-12 win over the Milwaukee Brewers brings the team to 10-4 on the season and returns the franchise to .500 in their history. After 40-years they are finally even sitting at 3,507-3,507.
What else happened on this day?
1923
On a day that will go down in history, the New York Yankees open up Yankee Stadium to a massive crowd of over 74,000 and treat their fans to a 4-1 win over the Boston Red Sox.
1950
For the first time, the Los Angeles Dodgers get their game called by a 27-year-old Vin Scully. Their game against the Philadelphia Phillies would be the beginning of what turned into a 67-year career.
1958
In front of 78,672 people, the Dodgers played their first game at the famous LA Coliseum, beating the San Francisco Giants 6 – 5. The Dodgers would play here until 1961, when they got a new stadium built for themselves.
1960
41-year-old Ted Williams became the first player in MLB history to hit a home run in four different decades, going yard in the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s.