Baseball History: The Astrodome

It was billed as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.”

Originally known as the Harris County Domed Stadium, what would soon be called the Houston Astrodome opened for business in 1965.

Mickey Mantle is credited with having the first indoor home run, which occurred in an exhibition game on April 9 as his New York Yankees beat Houston 2-1.

The first official indoor game in baseball history was on April 12 as the newly christened Astros fell to the Philadelphia Phillies 2-0. Houston changed its name from the Colt 45s to Astros to coincide with the new stadium.

Richie Allen’s two-run homer in the third inning was the only offense in the contest as his blast was off Bob Bruce in the season opener.

The National League Rookie of the Year in 1964, Allen would go one to hit 20 homers and drive in 85 runs in 1965 as he made the first of seven all-star appearances in his 15-year career. He was also the 1972 American League Most Valuable Player with the Chicago White Sox.

Chris Short tossed a complete game four-hitter for the Phillies to earn the victory.

A two-time all-star, Short posted an 18-11 record with a 2.82 ERA in 1965.

Bruce pitched for nine years in the big leagues and went 9-18 with the Astros in 1965.

Too Much Rain

Perhaps the most unique moment in the history of the Astrodome was when a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates was “rained out” on June 15, 1976.

More appropriately, it could be referred to as a “rain in” because there was flooding in the area and the teams along with a few fans were able to get into the dome.

A few days later, the teams were rained out in Pittsburgh two days in a row, which led to the Astros and Pirates playing three doubleheaders that season.

All-Star Games

The Astrodome was the site of the major league all-star game in 1968 and 1986.

In the first game, Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants was the MVP in the NL’s 1-0 victory. He singled in the first inning and scored as teammate Willie McCovey grounded into a double play.

In 1986, future Houston pitcher Roger Clemens won the game as a member of the Boston Red Sox and was named the MVP as the the AL won 3-2.

Post-Season

Houston made the post-season six times before leaving the Astrodome in 1999.

The Astros were 5-8 in contests played at home in 1980, 1981, 1986, 1997, 1998 and 1999.

Perhaps the best game in the playoffs came in the 1986 NL Championship Series.

The New York Mets, who went on to win the World Series that year, clinched the NL flag with a 7-6 victory over the Astros in 16 innings in the sixth game.

Houston led 3-0 after the first inning, while the Mets waited until the top of the ninth to tie the contest and send it to extra innings.

Both teams scored in the 14th frame to make it 4-4.

In the 16th, Ray Knight put the Mets on top with a RBI single and then he later scored on a wild pitch. Lenny Dykstra‘s run-scoring single proved to be the most important tally of the contest to give the Mets a 7-4 advantage.

RBI singles in the bottom of the inning by Billy Hatcher and Glenn Davis had the Astros on the comeback trail, but they would fall short.

Other Events in Indoors

In addition to baseball, the Astrodome has been the home of the Houston Oilers (1968 to 1996) along with being the site of the famous 1968 college basketball game between UCLA and Houston that featured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then known as Lew Alcindor, and Elvin Hayes.

The “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match between Billy Jean King and Bobby Riggs took place in 1973, while the venue has also hosted boxing, pro basketball and concerts and rodeos.