The 1963 Houston Colt .45s season was the second season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, a member of the National League (NL) based at Colt Stadium, The Colt .45s entered the season having finished their inaugural season with a 64–96–2 record, qualifying for eighth place and games behind the NL pennant-winning San Francisco Giants.
On April 9, pitcher Turk Farrell made his only Opening Day start for the Colt .45s, who hosted the San Francisco Giants but were defeated, 9–2. Colt .45s starting pitchers established a franchise record by registering five contests with a game score of 90 or higher. One such outing was by Don Nottebart, who pitched the first no-hitter in franchise history on May 17, by which Houston defeated the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 4–1. This no-hitter was also just the second in major league history to have been thrown by an individual pitcher which did not result in a shutout.
Pitcher Hal Woodeshick was selected to represent the Colt .45s at the MLB All-Star Game, his lone career selection.
The Colt .45s finished with a record of 66–96, in ninth place and 33 games behind the NL pennant and World Series-winning Los Angeles Dodgers.
First baseman Rusty Staub was selected to the Topps All-Star Rookie Team, the first Colt 45s rookie so named.
Offseason The expansion Colt .45s concluded their inaugural season with a record, ranking in eighth place in the National League (NL), games behind the NL pennant-winning San Francisco Giants. The team drew 924,456 patrons, ranking seventh in the National League. Right-hander Turk Farrell became the first All-Star in franchise history, while left-hander Bobby Shantz earned the first Gold Glove Award.
November 1, 1962: Joe Morgan was signed as an amateur free agent by the Colt .45s. November 26, 1962: Conrad Cardinal was drafted by the Colt .45s from the Detroit Tigres in the 1962 first-year draft. November 26, 1962: Ellis Burton was drafted by the Colt .45s from the Milwaukee Braves in the 1962 rule 5 draft. November 26, 1962: Don Taussig was drafted from the Colt .45s by the Milwaukee Braves in the 1962 minor league draft. November 30, 1962: Joey Amalfitano was traded by the Colt .45s to the San Francisco Giants for Manny Mota and Dick LeMay. November 30, 1962: Norm Larker was traded by the Colt .45s to the Milwaukee Braves for Jim Bolger, Don Nottebart, and Connie Grob. March 28, 1963: Hal Haydel, Dick LeMay and Merritt Ranew were traded by the Colt .45s to the Chicago Cubs for Dave Gerard and Danny Murphy.Hal Haydel at Baseball Reference
Regular season Summary Broadcaster Harry Kalas made his major league debut in 1963 with Houston, replacing Al Helferrceived and working alongside Gene Elston and Loel Passe.Reed, Robert. A Six-Gun Salute: An Illustrated History of the Colt .45s. Houston, Texas: Gulf Publishing Co., 1999.
April
+ Opening Day starting lineup Player Position 11 Ernie Fazio Second baseman 21 Al Spangler Left fielder 3 Pete Runnels First baseman 20 Rusty Staub Right fielder 14 Bob Aspromonte Third baseman 27 Howie Goss Center fielder 9 Jim Campbell Catcher 15 Bob Lillis Shortstop 13 Turk Farrell Starting pitcher Venue: Colt Stadium • San Francisco 9, Houston 2 Sources:
The Colt .45s hosted the San Francisco Giants on Opening Day, as right-hander Turk Farrell, Houston's most accomplished pitcher during their inaugural season, made the start. However, the Giants' bats were well-tuned, as Orlando Cepeda and Willie Mays both took Farrell deep, and piled on four runs in the second. The Giants proceeded to swat 17 hits as Farrell surrendered five runs over three innings. Later, Willie McCovey and Felipe Alou each "touched 'em all" off George Brunet. Al Spangler led the Colts hitters with three hits. Rusty Staub, making his major league debut in right field for the Colts, turned in a memorable performance. During the bottom of the sixth, Staub netted both his first hit and run batted in (RBI) when he diced a single to right field off Giants starter Jack Sanford to bring home Spangler. Later, during the top of the ninth, Staub threw out Jim Davenport attempting to take second after hitting a single. However, the Giants emerged triumphant, 9–2, handing Farrell the loss. Spangler and Bob Aspromonte remained the only holdovers from Houston's first Opening Day starting lineup.
On April 12, Farrell pitched a 12-inning complete game, his only outing going the distance in extra innings. Farrell surrendered four and two base on balls while whiffing 11.
Bob Bruce's one-hitter On April 26, right-hander Bob Bruce one-hit the Cincinnati Reds. Bob Lillis and Al Spangler delivered one run batted in (RBI) each to pace Houston's offense for a 2–0 victory. Both starters lasted to earn the complete game, with Bruce (1–1) edging Jim Maloney (2–1) for a game score of 90.
In the bottom of the first, Spangler singled in Pete Runnels for the first tally of the contest. In the bottom of the seventh, Lillis singled in Rusty Staub for the Colts' second run. Bruce issued a base on balls to the Reds' Marty Keough leading off the ninth. With two out, Don Blasingame coaxed another walk to place runners on first and second for the Reds' biggest scoring threat of the contest. However, Bruce got Vada Pinson to ground into an unassisted out to first for the final out of the contest and seal the Colts' victory.
This was the first shutout in club history that resulted in one hit or fewer, the fourth with a game score of 90 or above, and first complete game in franchise history pitched in nine innings or fewer that resulted in a game score of 90 or above.
May On May 10, Turk Farrell struck out a then-club record 13 hitters, supplanting his own (July 20) and Ken Johnson's (August 14) 12-whiff outings from the previous year. Both Farrell and Chicago Cubs starter, Glen Hobbie, went the distance as the Colts prevailed, 4–1. Farrell spun a two-hit, no walk performance for a game score of 92. At the plate, Farrell singled in Howie Goss for the go-ahead run. Rusty Staub collected three hits and two RBI. Moreover, this was Farrell's first two-hit complete game, representing a career-best. Farrell was later tied by Bob Bruce on May 26, 1965, and surpassed by Mike Cuellar on June 25, 1966.
On May 12, Bob Aspromonte hit his first career walk-off home run, during the bottom of the tenth inning off Bob Buhl to decide a 2–1 victory for Houston over the Chicago Cubs. This was the first of two walk-off home runs Aspromnonte hit against Chicago this season, with the latter on June 11.
Don Nottebart's no-hitter
On May 17, Don Nottebart pitched the first no-hitter for an expansion team when Houston defeated Philadelphia by a score of 4–1.Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 143, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, In his masterpiece, Nottebart surrendered three walks and struck out eight.
Twenty-year old catcher John Bateman was Nottebart's batterymate. The historic contrest transpired at Colt Stadium before 8,223 fans.
Right fielder Carl Warwick, with a 4-for-4 day at the plate, finished just a double away from hitting for the cycle. During the bottom of the first, Warwick took Jack Hamilton deep for his second home run of the season. In the bottom of the fourth, Warwick scorched a ground ball single to right field off Hamilton. Warwick singled again in the sixth prior to being erased on a Pete Runnels groundball force out. His final hit of the day was a triple to center field against Ryne Duren.
The lead set by Warwick's home run maintained at 1–0 until the top of the fifth inning, when Don Demeter smoked a ground ball through the legs of J. C. Hartman, who was charged with an error. Demeter jetted to second, whom Clay Dalrymple sacrificed to third. Don Hoak then looped a short fly to Howie Goss just behind second base. Demeter then raced home, as Goss' throw to Bateman was off-target, allowing Demeter to score Philadelphia's only run easily and eliminate the shutout bid.
In the bottom of the sixth, Goss atoned for the uncompetitive throw with a three-run drive deep to left that put the Colts in the lead for good, 4–1.
Nottebart maintained the no-hitter and got the complete game with the only blemish being the unearned run in the fifth. In addition, the effort earned a game score of 90. Remarkably, this was the second no-hitter in the major leagues since 1950 to have been thrown by an individual pitcher which was also not a shutout, following Bob Feller's gem on July 1, 1951, when he led the Cleveland Indians to a 2–1 triumph over the Detroit Tigers.
Nottebart's outing was the fifth (and final) on the season that featured a game score of 90 or higher by a Colts starting pitcher, which set a franchise record—in just the 37th contest of the season.
Houston's subsequent no-hitter was fabricated by Nottebart's rotation-mate, Ken Johnson, less than one year later on April, 23, 1964. Also remarkable was that Johnson's no-hitter paralleled Nottebart's in that it was also achieved without a shutout effort.
Rest of May On May 22 and 24, Al Spangler became the first player in team history to record four hits each over consecutive games.
June In the 17th inning on June 2, Astros catcher Jim Campbell delivered the game-winning single for a 3–1 score versus the Milwaukee Braves.
On June 3, Colts pitcher Turk Farrell took a no-hitter into the seventh inning versus the Los Angeles Dodgers, while Rusty Staub slugged his first career home run against Don Drysdale. As "revenge" for being exposed in the expansion draft, Farrell tossed a two-hit, 2–1 masterpiece to garner the complete game victory and outduel Drysdale, who fanned 13. Staub's blast, which also scored Carl Warwick, accounted for Houston's only tallies.
The first Sunday night game in National League history took place on June 9 at Colt Stadium. The Colt .45s hosted the San Francisco Giants and won, 3–0, to sweep the series. The night games were played as a result of the suffocating heat during day games in the 1962 season.
A little leaguer, recovering in Houston from a lightning strike, received a promise on June 11 from Colt .45s infielder Bob Aspromonte that he would hit a home run. Not only did Aspromonte deliver the home run later that day against the Cubs, but he did so by hitting the first walk-off grand slam in franchise history, as well as his first career grand slam, and the first of three he would swat against the Cubs. The Colts' first runs of the contest crossed the plate in the sixth inning, when Rusty Staub and Howie Goss hit consecutive run-scoring singles, plating Davis and Aspromonte, respectively. In the top of the ninth inning, Dick Bertell led off with a triple off Colts starter Ken Johnson. Johnson next issued a walk to Aspromnote's older brother, Ken, who was Johnson's final batter faced. Hal Woodeshick relieved and surrendered a game-tying single to Don Landrum, resulting in a blown save (4). With the scored tied 2-all in the bottom of the tenth inning, Aspromonte hit the grand slam from a Lindy McDaniel offering, scoring Bob Lillis, Ernie Fazio, and Brock Davis. Woodeshick recovered to toss two shutout innings and earn the victory (6–2). Moreover, Aspromonte replicated the grand slam event exactly one year later in 1964 a seminal moment during the fifth inning which provided the margin for a 5–3 triumph over the Cincinnati Reds.
July On July 4, Jim Campbell hit the only grand slam of his career, off Reds starter Joey Jay during the bottom of the eighth inning to snap a 2–2 tie. The score remained 6–2 for a victory the Colts, the second game of a doubleheader. Turk Farrell (6–6) hurled shutout innings in relief to obtain the decision. Campbell's grand slam sealed a sweep of the doubleheader.