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Houston received one of the National League's two new expansion franchises in 1962, and the "Colt 45s" became the first Major League team based in a former Confederate state. Their original home, Colt Stadium, was one of those short-lived "mystery" stadiums associated with abrupt relocations and expansions, like Sick's Stadium in Seattle or Seals Stadium in San Francisco. Like Jarry Park in Montreal, Colt Stadium was a rudimentary, featureless single-deck ballpark with symmetrical outfield and straight fences, and was only a temporary stop-gap facility pending construction of what became known as the Astrodome. It was distinguished only by its very long field dimensions. For some odd reason, probably to save construction costs, there was no roof to protect fans from the extremely hot south Texas afternoons. In this respect, it was just like Arlington Stadium.
Not only was Colt Stadium hot, it was also plagued by mosquitos, adding to the fans' misery. These factors explain why average attendance for games in 1963 and 1964 fell to less than 9,000, the worst in the National League. Perhaps because of the paltry fan support, the new Houston team consistently finished near the bottom of the National League for the first few years of its existence, just ahead of the Mets. The difficulty in attracting fans to such an unbearable venue accentuated the need to finish construction of the climate-controlled Astrodome right next door, on the southeast side. The "Colt 45s" moved out of Colt Stadium after the 1964 season and moved into the space-age Astrodome, changing their name to fit their new home. In the early 1970s Colt Stadium was dismantled and moved to the twin cities of Torreson-Gomez Palacio, in northern Mexico.
SOURCES: Lowry (2006), www.ballparks.com , baseball-reference.com, astrosdaily.com
