What happened today in team history?
1961 – Contest in put on for name change
A contest is put on by the city to decide the new name of the Houston baseball team. The contest lasts the whole month and entries are accepted by the Houston Sports Association. By the end of the contest, William Neder, an insurance agent, won and the Colt .45s were born.
1975 – Don Wilson and his son tragically pass
While in their home in Houston, 29-year-old pitcher Don Wilson and his son passed from carbon monoxide poisoning after Wilson fell asleep in his car, killing his son as well who was asleep in his bed. A nine-year vet, Wilson had a 3.15 ERA in 245 starts with nearly 1300 strikeouts and a 7.6 H/9.
2002 – Naming troubles begin
After the massive financial scandal that left Eron, the company the stadium was named after at the time, bankrupted, as well as many Houston-area residents, the team filed a motion with the court over their 30-year naming agreement they signed with the company back in 1999.
2024 – Uncle Mike hangs them up
After nine years, Michael Brantly calls it quits and announces his retirement from baseball. Spending the last five years of his career with the Astros, Brantley was a part of the 2022 team that won the World Series. In those five years in Houston, he played a huge part in the offense, retiring a .305 batting average with the team and earning two All-Star nods along the way.
What else happened on this day?
1999
MLB announces a new award named after the home run king, Hank Aaron. The award will be given out to the best hitter in each league in a respective year.
2002
Despite plans being made of contracting the MLB, it is announced that those plans are withdrawn for the upcoming season.