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To: SIer formerly known as Joe B. who wrote (1776)	6/27/2007 1:56:29 PM
From: Neeka	Respond to of 14270

The Colts????? Did they turn into another team? I vaguely remember that name.

To: SIer formerly known as Joe B. who wrote (1776)	6/27/2007 1:59:07 PM
From: SIer formerly known as Joe B.	Respond to of 14270

Yeah, they became the Astros en.wikipedia.org New venue, new name On April 9, 1965, the Houston Colt .45s became the Houston Astros and inaugurated indoor baseball in the Astrodome. Houston Astros Logo, 1965-1974The Sporting News Official Baseball Guide for 1965 had this to say about why the team was renamed: "Late in the year 1964 the Harris County Domed Stadium was officially named the Astrodome after the Houston club changed its nickname, December 1, from Colt .45s to Astros. The move resulted from objections by the Colt Firearms Company to the club's sales of novelties bearing the old nickname." Regardless of trademark issues, "Astros" was a good fit for the futuristic ambiance of the revolutionary domed stadium and also since Houston was by then the home of NASA's astronaut program. The scoreboard retained subliminal references to the old nickname, as it featured electronically animated cowboys firing pistols, with the "bullets" ricocheting around the scoreboard, when an Astros player would hit a home run. Early on, the groundskeepers also wore astronaut spacesuits to promote that futuristic image. As a condition of their entry in the National League, the Astros committed to building a new domed stadium, designed as a defense against the oppressive heat and humidity of the Houston summer. The result was the Astrodome. Loosely based on the old Roman Colosseum, the Astrodome was like no venue that had come before it, and it was dubbed the Eighth Wonder of the World. As with many stadiums of that era, such as RFK Stadium and Shea Stadium, the Astrodome was a multi-purpose stadium, designed for both football and baseball. However, because it was enclosed, it could also be used for events traditionally held in indoor arenas, such as basketball, concerts and political conventions, allowing outdoor-sized crowds in an indoor venue. Besides its roof, the Astrodome was revolutionary for a number of other reasons. It was one of the first stadiums to have individual, theatre-type seats for every seat in the venue. Additionally, it was one of the first stadiums to have luxury seats and club seating, at the time a relatively new concept in sports venues. It also had an "exploding scoreboard", which would show various animations after a home run or a win, as well as messages and advertising. The Astrodome was also one of the first stadiums in the country to use an artificial playing surface. The creation of an artificial surface came across based on necessity. Originally the Astrodome had a grass field and a transparent roof. However, during the 1965 season, players and fans complained about the glare on the field which detracted from the game. As a result, the roof was painted black. This solved the glare problem but killed off the grass. As a solution the Astros deployed a product from Monsanto Corporation called AstroTurf, a surface that could be used in any condition, and a surface that was, compared to grass, low maintenance. The surface did prove resilient to routine game play and was relatively safe, resulting in a number of colleges and pro teams switching to artificial surface fields. Additionally, AstroTurf made possible a number of other domed stadiums, such as the Superdome, the Carrier Dome, and the Pontiac Silverdome.