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1966 Houston Astros season

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1966 Houston Astros
LeagueNational League
BallparkAstrodome
CityHouston, Texas
Record72–90 (.444)
League place8th
OwnersRoy Hofheinz
General managersTal Smith
ManagersGrady Hatton
TelevisionKTRK-TV
RadioKPRC (AM)
(Gene Elston, Loel Passe, Harry Kalas)
← 1965
1967 →

The 1966 Houston Astros season was the fifth season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their second as the Astros, fifth in the National League (NL), and second at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season with a 65–97 record, in ninth place and 32 games behind the NL pennant and World Series-winning Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 1965 season was the first for Grady Hatton as manager, the third in franchise history, having replaced Lum Harris. On April 12 at Dodger Stadium, Robin Roberts made the Opening Day start for Houston, who were defeated by Los Angeles, 3–2.

Though this was the second season for the Astrodome in operation, it was the first with the playing surface of AstroTurf installed.[1] The infield portion was installed in March,[2][3][4][5][6] and the outfield was ready for play on July 19.[7][8][9] The Astros' first-round draft pick in the amateur draft was pitcher Wayne Twitchell, at third overall.

Second baseman Joe Morgan and pitcher Claude Raymond represented the Astros at the MLB All-Star Game, the first career selection for both. Morgan was the first player in franchise history to be named starter to the mid-season event; however, he missed the game due to injury.

The Astros concluded the season with a record of 72–90 (.444), in eighth place and 23 games behind the Dodgers, who repeated as NL pennant-winners. At the time, the 72 wins represented more than Houston had won in any of their first four seasons of play.

Offseason

[edit]

Summary

[edit]

The Houston Astros concluded the 1965 campaign with a 65–97 (.401) record, ranking ninth in the National League (NL), 32 games behind the NL pennant and World Series-winning Los Angeles Dodgers.[10] The 97 defeats represented a club record, one more than the 96 losses during each of the team's first three years of play.[a] This remained the club record until 2011.[11] On April 12, 1965, the Astros hosted the Philadelphia Phillies for the first regular-season game at the Astrodome, but were shut out, 2–0.[12] On July 8, rookie second baseman Joe Morgan became the first player in team history to collect six hits in a single game.[13]

Transactions

[edit]

Regular season

[edit]

Summary

[edit]

April—May

[edit]
Opening Day starting lineup
Uniform Player Position
20 Lee Maye Left fielder
16 Sonny Jackson Shortstop
24 Jimmy Wynn Center fielder
21 Dave Nicholson Right fielder
18 Joe Morgan Second baseman
14 Bob Aspromonte Third baseman
17 Chuck Harrison First baseman
7 John Bateman Catcher
38 Robin Roberts Pitcher
Venue: Dodger Stadium • Los Angeles 3, Houston 2

Sources:[17][18]

At Dodger Stadium for Opening Day, the Astros dropped a 3–2 decision to Los Angeles. Lee Maye hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the third off Claude Osteen, and Chuck Harrison added a run batted in (RBI)-single in top of the ninth; however, Osteen went the distance to secure the victory. Ron Fairly factored in all three runs for Los Angeles, slashing a pair of RBI singles and a sacrifice fly. Houston starter Robin Roberts surrendered two runs—one earned—over seven innings to take the loss.[19]

Courtesy of Jimmy Wynn's single on May 5, Joe Morgan scored the walk-off run to allow the Astros to obtain their 13th win in 13 innings. Hence, the Astros prevailed, 4–3, over the Chicacgo Cubs. Though both game's starting pitchers, Turk Farrell and Bill Faul, bore uniform number 13, neither stayed in long enough to receive a decision for the win.[20]

June

[edit]

On June 2, the Astros recorded the first-ever 20-hit game in franchise history,[b][21] as Houston entered the 12th inning tied 3–3 with the Cincinnati Reds, and rallied to forge nine hits to defeat the Reds, 11–4. Rusty Staub collected two hits in the inning, starting with a single and finished off with a double.[22] Joe Morgan coaxed five base on balls to score a run, Sonny Jackson collected four hits while scoring twice, and Dave Nicholson collected four RBI.[23] This was the third four-RBI bout of Nicholson/s career,[24] Morgan's only five-walk game,[25] and Jackson's first-career four-hit game.[26]

Pitcher Dave Giusti turned in an all-around contribution for the Astros on June 12, tossing a complete game over the Cubs to lead an 8–4 win. At the plate, he doubled and went 3-for-3. John Bateman, Rusty Staub and Dave Nicholson all homered for Houston.[27] It was Giusti's second three-hit game at the plate on the season.[28]

With the Astros hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 22, a record-setting 55.988 fans witnessed Sandy Koufax take on the Houston Astros. Though Koufax led the Dodgers to a 5–2 win, Astros outfielder Jimmy Wynn provided the audience with some thrills as he went 4-for-4 with a home run and two doubles.[29] This attendance record stood for 22 years.[30]

Mike Cuellar's 15-strikeout game

[edit]
Mike Cuellar, c. 1972, with Baltimore, established single-season club records for earned run average (ERA) and, in 1967, strikeouts (tied).[c][31]

During pregame batting practice drills on June 25 before playing the St. Louis Cardinals, Lee Maye's line drive struck Astros infielder Joe Morgan on the knee, fracturing it. He would miss the next 40 games including his first All-Star Game.[32] Batting .319 prior to the injury, Morgan became the first player in franchise history to be named starter at the All-Star Game on June 28.[33] During Morgan's absence, the Astros performed to a record of 11–29 (.275).[34][35]

However, the Astros' on-field performance—including that of starter Mike Cuellar—temporarily averted the impact of losing of their star second baseman. Cuellar became the first Astros pitcher to register 15 strikeouts in an outing.[36] Cuellar started his outing off with a whiff of Lou Brock. Phil Gagliano drew a base on balls, but Cuellar picked him off first, and retired the Redbirds in order in the first.[37]

Sonny Jackson hit a leadoff inside-the-park home run for Houston, his second inside-the-parker in five days.[38] In the bottom of the fourth, Rusty Staub scored when Bob Aspromonte's grounder was misplayed for a 2–0 Astros' lead.[37]

In the top of the second, Cuellar fanned Orlando Cepeda and Mike Shannon. The following inning, he whiffed Ray Washburn and Brock again. In the third, Cuellar K'd Curt Flood. In the fifth, Cuellar got Dal Maxvill and Pat Corrales via the punchout.[37]

In the top of the sixth, Flood singled home Gagliano for St. Louis' first run. However, each out was obtained by Cuellar striking out the side. In the seventh, Cuellar again struck out the side, this time retiring all three batters in order. Cuellar's final strikeout was of Tim McCarver looking to the polish off the contest.[37]

Morgan's replacement, Bob Lillis scored an insurance run on Jackson's misplayed grounder to second base. The Cardinals added another run, but Cuellar escaped any further Cardinals tallies.[37]

The pivotal defensive play of the contest transpired with out in the top of the eighth. Mike Shannon flied out into a double play to center fielder Dave Nicholson, who rifled an assist to nab Julián Javier at home plate. Jimmy Wynn also recorded an outfield assist, of Lou Brock at third base. The Astros record stood at 38–32 (.543).[37]

A career-high in strikeouts for Cuellar,[39] his outing broke the club record of 13 strikeouts, achieved twice, by Turk Farrell on May 10, 1963, and by Bob Bruce, on May 26, 1965. This remained the franchise record until Don Wilson tallied 18 punchouts on July 14, 1968.[36] Cuellar retained the club record for left-handers until Randy Johnson struck out 16 on August 28, 1998.

July

[edit]

In the sweltering 104 °F (40 °C) Great Plains on July 10, Cuellar shut down the Cardinals' bases-loaded rally with none out in the eighth, then finished off the contest by inducing a double play ground ball from Jimy Williams to preserve Houston's 6–5 victory.[40] Rusty Staub homered twice and drove home four. Though Orlando Cepeda and Dal Maxvill had four hits apiece to spearhead St. Louis' 16 hits total, the team stranded 15 runners on base.[41]

Houston concluded the first half of the 1966 season with a 45–40 (.529) record, occupying fifth place of 10 National League clubs, and 8 games behind the league-leading San Francisco Giants.[42] Hence, the Astros entered the All-Star break with a winning record for the first time in club history,[43] after having absorbed 96 or more losses in each of their first four seasons.[11]

August

[edit]

Jim Wynn's season ended abruptly on August 1 when he collided into the outfield wall at Connie Mack Stadium in the bottom of the tenth inning, fracturing his left arm. Wynn was chasing a fly ball that Dick Allen had hit; instead, it resulted in a game-winning, inside-the-park home run for Allen and the Philadelphia Phillies.[44][45]

On August 11, outfielder Lee Maye achieved his first five-hit game as a member of the Astros, during the first contest of a doubleheader.[46] Bob Aspromonte walloped a grand slam, during the second inning off former teammate Robin Roberts. Chuck Harrison doubled and tripled. However, Randy Hundley hit for the cycle with three runs batted in for the Chicago Cubs to lead a defeat of Houston, 9–8.[47]

Dave Giusti spun a career-best one-hit, no-walk shutout masterpiece on August 13, whiffed four,[28] and earned a game score of 89. Giusti (12–9) outdueled Juan Marichal (17–5) to lead a 3–0 triumph over the Giants. The lone blemish on Giusti's effort was a Cap Peterson single in the second inning. During the top of the fourth, Bob Aspromonte singled in Joe Morgan to open the scoring. Ron Davis hit his first home run, and Lee Maye added an RBI single.[48] Meanwhile, Sonny Jackson filched his 37th base to establish a new National League report.[40]

Sonny Jackson golfed his third inside-the-park home run of the season on August 19 versus Cincinnati, establishing a club record. The speedster Jackson became the first Astro to hit three inside-the-park demolitions in one season.[38] He also amassed his fourth four-hit contest of the season,[26] Jackson and Rusty Staub each had two RBI, and Staub drove Jackson in for the walk-off victory.[49] Starter Larry Dierker tossed his first career double-digit strikeout performance with 11.[50]

On August 21, Giusti tallied career-highs of both six RBI and two doubles at the plate,[28] while, on the mound (13–10), fired his second shutout in under 10 days to lead an 11–0 drubbing of Cincinnati. Meanwhile, Aspromonte tripled, and a trio of Astros position players each secured doubles (Dave Nicholson, Chuck Harrison, and Joe Morgan).[51]

On August 26, an infuriated Cubs manager Leo Durocher ripped out the dugout phone from off the wall and heaved it onto the Astrodome field.[40] To polish off the contest, Aspromonte exacerbated Durocher's misery by connecting for a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth off Cal Koonce, vaulting Houston to a dramatic 7–4 triumph. Aspromonte's sixth career grand slam—all with Houston[52]—it was the first-ever walloped at the Astrodome.[53] His third career walk-off home run overall, this was Aspromonte's second via the grand slam, and all three blasts had come at the expense of the Cubs.[54] Southwestern Bell restored the dugout apparatus the following day and the Astros apportioned Durocher the bill.[40]

Cuellar spun his first major league shutout on August 29, silencing the Pittsburgh Pirates by a verdict of 2–0,[55] while authoring a brilliant five-hit, 12-strikeout performance. Center fielder Ron Davis tripled in Dave Nicholson and Bob Lillis off Pirates starter Bob Veale during the top of the fifth to account for all of the tallies. Cuellar earned a game score of 88.[56]

Aspromonte established a club record with 28 RBI over a calendar month in August, surpassing 21 attained by former teammates Román Mejías (May 1962) and Walt Bond (June 1964). On the month, Aspromonte bit .259 with two triples and seven home runs.[d][57]

September

[edit]

On September 5 and 6, John Bateman became the second player in team history to record four hits each over consecutive games, succeeding Al Spangler on May 22 and 24, 1963.[e][58]

Bob Watson landed his major league debut on September 9 as a pinch hitter against Los Angeles, his one and only plate appearance in the majors that season.[59]

On September 16, Chuck Harrison hit his first Major League grand slam,[60] Sonny Jackson assembled a career-best five-hit game,[26] while Ron Davis collected a double among four hits as Houston triumphed over Philadelphia, 6–4. Harrison launched his blast in toe of the fourth inning off Chris Short to give Houston a 4–3 lead. He also doubled. Cuellar (11–9) reaped a complete game victory.[61] It was Jackson's fifth bout of the season of four safeties or more.[26]

Mike Cuellar slugged his first career home run on September 28,[39] helping himself to become the winning pitcher (12–10) in a 3–2 decision over Cincinnati.[62]

Twenty-one year old right-hander Don Wilson made his major-league debut on September 29 at Crosley Field,[63] during which he attained key milestones on the mound and in the batter's box, including his first major league win and first hit. Wilson assumed the third inning in relief of Bob Bruce, and the first batter, Leo Cárdenas, singled. However, Càrdenas was immediately retired on a double play, when Wilson handled Joe Nuxhall's bunt attempt, and flipped it to shortstop Sonny Jackson for the twin-killing. Wilson fanned Art Shamsky in the bottom of the fourth for his first major league strikeout, but later surrendered his first home run to Shamsky in the bottom of the seventh inning, a two-run blast. By then, Houston already had mounted a 3–0 lead courtesy of home runs by Chuck Harrison and Aaron Pointer. Immediately following Pointer's home run in the top of the seventh, Wilson doubled off Nuxhall for his first major league hit. He totaled six innings on the mound with seven strikeouts. In the bottom of the ninth, Turk Farrell retired the Reds in order, closing out a 3–2 Houston victory for his second save of the season and to preserve the win for Wilson. This was Houston's 70th win of the season,[64] the first time they had reached that threshold, during their fifth season of play.[11]

On September 30, 20-year-old Larry Dierker took a perfect game into the ninth inning versus the New York Mets, while navigating a scoreless tie. Eddie Bressoud led off the bottom of the ninth for the Mets with a double to left field, ending both the perfect game and no-hit bid. While facing the next hitter, Ron Hunt, Dierker threw a wild pitch, allowing Bressoud to advance to third base. Hunt then singled to right field to score Bressoud and earn New York a walk-off victory. Mets starter Jack Fisher (11–14) also stayed through the entire game, garnering the shutout and victory. Dierker (10–8) received an eight-inning complete game defeat and game score of 80.[65] Per the Elias Sports Bureau, through 2024, this bout remains the longest bid for a perfect game in Astros franchise history.[66]

Performance overview

[edit]

The Astros concluded the season with a 72–90–1 (.445) record, in eighth place and 23 games behind the Dodgers in the National League, who repeated as the NL pennant-winners.[67] Though the Astros finished with a 45–40 (.529) record in the first half, they stumbled to a 27–50–1 (.353) showing over the season's final half.[35] Still, the 72 victories represented an improvement by seven from the year prior, also establishing a then-team record, during their fifth season of play. The Astros matched this threshold again in 1968, prior to surpassing that landmark in 1969 with their first-ever .500 record and 81 wins.[11]

The Astros hammered 112 home runs, just the second instance in club history to reach the century mark (105 during the inaugural campaign of 1962). This stood as the club record until the 1970 iteration left the park 129 times.[68]

Left-hander Mike Cuellar set single-season club records for earned run average (ERA, 2.22).[30] In 1981, Nolan Ryan (1.69) and Bob Knepper (2.18) surpassed Cueller for ERA;[30][69] Knepper also overtook the franchise record for left-handers.[f][70]

Having increased his grand slam total on August 26, Bob Aspromonte's six grand slams established Houston's franchise record, which stood until surpassed by Carlos Lee on July 25, 2011.[71]

With 49 stolen bases, Sonny Jackson tied the Major League rookie record established by Rollie Zeider of the Chicago White Sox in 1910.[g][72] Further, Jackson claimed the franchise record from Jim Wynn, who had pilfered 43 just the season prior. In 1969, Joe Morgan tied the record. Three years later, in 1972, César Cedeño procured 55 to usurp the club record.[h][73]

Season standings

[edit]
National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Los Angeles Dodgers 95 67 .586 — 53‍–‍28 42‍–‍39
San Francisco Giants 93 68 .578 1½ 47‍–‍34 46‍–‍34
Pittsburgh Pirates 92 70 .568 3 46‍–‍35 46‍–‍35
Philadelphia Phillies 87 75 .537 8 48‍–‍33 39‍–‍42
Atlanta Braves 85 77 .525 10 43‍–‍38 42‍–‍39
St. Louis Cardinals 83 79 .512 12 43‍–‍38 40‍–‍41
Cincinnati Reds 76 84 .475 18 46‍–‍33 30‍–‍51
Houston Astros 72 90 .444 23 45‍–‍36 27‍–‍54
New York Mets 66 95 .410 28½ 32‍–‍49 34‍–‍46
Chicago Cubs 59 103 .364 36 32‍–‍49 27‍–‍54

Record vs. opponents

[edit]
1966 National League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD NYM PHI PIT SF STL
Atlanta — 7–11 10–8 14–4–1 7–11 14–4 11–7 7–11 8–10 7–11
Chicago 11–7 — 6–12 5–13 8–10 8–10 5–13 6–12 6–12 4–14
Cincinnati 8–10 12–6 — 4–14 6–12 10–7 10–8 8–10 7–10 11–7
Houston 4–14–1 13–5 14–4 — 7–11 7–11 7–11 4–14 6–12 10–8
Los Angeles 11–7 10–8 12–6 11–7 — 12–6 11–7 9–9 9–9 10–8
New York 4–14 10–8 7–10 11–7 6–12 — 7–11 5–13 9–9 7–11
Philadelphia 7-11 13–5 8–10 11–7 7–11 11–7 — 10–8 10–8 10–8
Pittsburgh 11–7 12–6 10–8 14–4 9–9 13–5 8–10 — 7–11 8–10
San Francisco 10–8 12–6 10–7 12–6 9–9 9–9 8–10 11–7 — 12–6
St. Louis 11–7 14–4 7–11 8–10 8–10 11–7 8–10 10–8 6–12 —

Notable transactions

[edit]

Roster

[edit]
1966 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Player stats

[edit]

Batting

[edit]

Starters by position

[edit]

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
C John Bateman 131 433 121 .279 17 70
1B Chuck Harrison 119 434 111 .256 9 52
2B Joe Morgan 122 425 121 .285 5 42
3B Bob Aspromonte 152 560 141 .252 8 52
SS Sonny Jackson 150 596 174 .292 3 25
LF Lee Maye 115 358 103 .288 9 36
CF Jimmy Wynn 105 418 107 .256 18 62
RF Rusty Staub 153 554 155 .280 13 81

[75]

Other batters

[edit]

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Dave Nicholson 100 280 69 .246 10 31
Ron Davis 48 194 48 .247 2 19
Bob Lillis 68 164 38 .232 0 11
Félix Mantilla 77 151 33 .219 6 22
Jim Gentile 49 144 35 .243 7 18
Ron Brand 56 123 30 .244 0 10
Bill Heath 55 123 37 .301 0 8
Norm Miller 11 34 5 .147 1 3
Gene Freese 21 33 3 .091 0 0
Brock Davis 10 27 4 .148 0 1
Aaron Pointer 11 26 9 .346 1 5
Joe Gaines 11 13 1 .077 0 0
Nate Colbert 19 7 0 .000 0 0
Dave Adlesh 3 6 0 .000 0 0
Greg Sims 7 6 1 .167 0 0
Julio Gotay 4 5 0 .000 0 0
Bob Watson 1 1 0 .000 0 0

[75]

Pitching

[edit]

Starting pitchers

[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Mike Cuellar 38 227.1 12 10 2.22 175
Dave Giusti 34 210.0 15 14 4.20 131
Larry Dierker 29 187.0 10 8 3.18 108
Bob Bruce 25 129.2 3 13 5.34 71
Robin Roberts 13 63.2 3 5 3.82 26
Chris Zachary 10 55.0 3 5 3.44 37

Other pitchers

[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Turk Farrell 32 152.2 6 10 4.60 101
Barry Latman 31 103.0 2 7 2.71 74

Relief pitchers

[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Claude Raymond 62 7 5 16 3.13 73
Jim Owens 40 4 7 2 4.68 32
Ron Taylor 36 2 3 0 5.71 29
Carroll Sembera 24 1 2 1 3.00 21
Gary Kroll 10 0 0 0 3.80 22
Aurelio Monteagudo 10 0 0 1 4.70 7
Frank Carpin 10 1 0 0 7.50 2
Don Lee 9 2 0 0 2.50 9
Don Arlich 7 0 1 0 15.75 1
Danny Coombs 2 0 0 0 3.38 3
Don Wilson 1 1 0 0 3.00 7
Jim Ray 1 0 0 0 inf 0

Awards and achievements

[edit]

Grand slams

[edit]
No. Date Astros batter Venue Inning Pitcher Opposing team Box
1 August 11[i] Bob Aspromonte Wrigley Field 2[ii] Robin Roberts Chicago Cubs [47]
2 August 26 Astrodome 9[iii] Cal Koonce [76]
3 September 16 Chuck Harrison[iv] Connie Mack Stadium 4[ii] Chris Short Philadelphia Phillies [61]
  1. ^ Game 1 of doubleheader
  2. ^ a b Tied score or took lead
  3. ^ Walk-off
  4. ^ 1st MLB grand slam

Pitching achievements

[edit]
Perfect game bid
Date Starting pitcher (IP) Relief pitcher(s) (IP) PG IP GS Catcher Batter Final Opponent Box
September 30, 1966 Larry Dierker (8) — 8[i] 80 Bill Heath Eddie Bressoud[ii] 0–1 New York Mets [65]
  1. ^ Perfect game and no-hit bids simultaneously ended on same play.
  2. ^ First batter of ninth inning.
Note: Includes those games started with 7 or more perfect innings.

Awards

[edit]
1966 Houston Astros award winners
Name of award Recipient Ref.
Houston Astros Most Valuable Player (MVP) Rusty Staub [77]
MLB All-Star Game Starting second baseman Joe Morgan
Reserve pitcher Claude Raymond

Minor league system

[edit]
See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Oklahoma City 89ers Pacific Coast League Mel McGaha
AA Amarillo Sonics Texas League Buddy Hancken
A Durham Bulls Carolina League Chuck Churn
A Cocoa Astros Florida State League Joe Frazier
A Salisbury Astros Western Carolinas League Walt Matthews
A-Short Season Bismarck–Mandan Pards Northern League Tony Pacheco

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The Astros tied the team record for losses in 1975 and 1991.
  2. ^ The Astros next 20-hit game occurred on June 7, 1967, during which the Astros defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, 17–1. Criteria: For single games, from 1898 to 2026, for HOU, in the regular season, requiring hits ≥ 20, sorted by ascending date.
  3. ^ For single seasons, playing for HOU, in the regular season, requiring strikeouts ≥ 200, sorted by ascending season.
  4. ^ Later surpassed by Jimmy Wynn in June, 1969. Criteria: In the regular season, from 1898 to 2026, playing for HOU, for any choice in months, requiring runs batted in ≥ 28, sorted by greatest runs batted in.
  5. ^ Next accomplished for Houston by Wilbur Howard on August 23 and 24, 1975. Criteria: Longest streak of consecutive games, playing for HOU, in the regular season, requiring Hits ≥ 4, sorted by most games matching criteria.
  6. ^ For single seasons, throws LH, qualified for league ERA title, playing for HOU, in the regular season, sorted by ascending earned run average.
  7. ^ Jackson and Zeider were outpaced by Gene Richards (56) of the San Diego Diego Padres in 1977.
  8. ^ For single seasons, playing for HOU, in the regular season, requiring stolen bases ≥ 40, sorted by ascending season.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Astroturf planned for Houston field". Florence Times. Alabama. Associated Press. March 13, 1966. p. 18.
  2. ^ "Astroturf looks great, but..." Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. March 20, 1966. p. 2b.
  3. ^ "What's new? Astroturf". Toledo Blade. Ohio. Associated Press. March 21, 1966. p. 23.
  4. ^ "Zippered 'grass' big hit in Astrodome". Daytona Beach Sunday News-Journal. Florida. Associated Press. March 20, 1966. p. 1B.
  5. ^ Bledsoe, Terry (March 20, 1966). "Astrodome's synthetic grass gets 1st test with skids and bounces". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1, sports.
  6. ^ Rathet, Mike (March 21, 1966). "Brickbats starting to fly over Houston's Astroturf". Victoria Advocate. Texas. Associated Press. p. 8.
  7. ^ "Phils, Astros plan tonight on artificial grass". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. Associated Press. July 19, 1966. p. 23.
  8. ^ "Phil find Farrell, turf unfriendly". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. July 20, 1966. p. 3C.
  9. ^ "Astros clout Phils; Farrell leads way". Victoria Advocate. Texas. Associated Press. July 20, 1966. p. 8.
  10. ^ "1965 National League team statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 12, 2026.
  11. ^ a b c d "Houston Astros team history & encyclopedia". Baaseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
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  16. ^ "Gary Kroll stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  17. ^ "Houston Astros (2) vs Los Angeles Dodgers (3) box score". Baseball Almanac. April 12, 1966. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  18. ^ "1966 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  19. ^ "Houston Astros (0) vs Los Angeles Dodgers (3) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. April 12, 1966. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  20. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (May 5, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 5". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  21. ^ "Team batting game stats finder–baseball". Stathead. Sports Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  22. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 2, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 2". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  23. ^ "Houston Astros (11) vs Cincinnati Reds (4) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. June 2, 1966. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  24. ^ "Top performances for Dave Nicholson". Retrosheet. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  25. ^ "Top performances for Joe Morgan". Retrosheet. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  26. ^ a b c d "Top performances for Sonny Jackson". Retrosheet. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
  27. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 12, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 12". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  28. ^ a b c "Top performances for Dave Giusti". Retrosheet. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
  29. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 22, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 22". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  30. ^ a b c "Astros history – Timeline". MLB.com. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  31. ^ "Player pitching season & career stats finder–baseball". Stathead. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
  32. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 25, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 25". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  33. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 28, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 28". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  34. ^ "Joe Morgan 1966 batting game logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  35. ^ a b "1966 Houston Astros schedule". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
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