The Houston Astros joined the Major League in 1962 under the name, the Colt .45s. Throughout their history, the Astros have only made one trip to the World Series, during the 2005 season against the Chicago White Sox. In addition, the Astros have made it to post season play nine times in their history (won the Central Division four times, won the Western Division three times, two times National League wild card).Earning their name in a "Name that Team" contest, the Colt .45s were named after the popular gun of the same name.  Most of the team's players were leftovers from an expansion draft.  The newly formed New York Mets switched off with Houston picking players from this draft.  When the team was created, they began playing at Colt Stadium.  This was only temporary until the owners could begin building an indoor stadium that would protect fans from the Houston heat.  Colt Stadium did not have much protection for fans against the weather.  It would have been tough to sell Houston Astros tickets if the fans were directly in the hot Texas sun. 

In their first season, the Colt .45s finished 8^th among 10 teams. During the 1960s, the Colt .45s influenced the baseball world with their fashion trends; loud colors and long hair.   They became trendsetters in their uniforms, by changing to polyester with elastic waist bands and buttons instead of zippers. In 1964, pitcher Jim Umbricht died of cancer before opening day.  He had been the only pitcher in the first two seasons to have a winning season and was so popular among fans that they retired his number the following year. By 1965, the team moved into their new location; the Astrodome, an indoor venue.  This new venue got its name from Houston's significance to the U.S.'s space program, thus the Colt .45s changed their name to the Astros.  Fans referred to the Astrodome as "the eighth wonder of the world." Astros tickets sold briskly that first year.

Grass would not grow in the new stadium, so in the 1966 season, artificial turf was put into the stadium and since it was the Astrodome they called the new turf, "AstroTurf." The Astros finished in ninth place after their inaugural season in the Astrodome and finished ninth again the following season despite promising players. 

In 1966, fans set a home attendance record that stood for 22 years; 50,908 people on June 22nd.  Houston Astros tickets were hard to find that season.  A historic trade occurred between the Astros and the Cincinnati Reds that favored the Reds in 1971.  This trade created the Cincinnati Reds' Big Red Machine of the 1970s. Fans wondered why the Astros' general manager would give up so many key players for so little in return. Finally in 1972, the Astros finished in 2^nd place with their best record ever, 84-69.  It took until 1980 for the Astros to win their first major title when the Astros won the NL West.  The 1980s marked some exciting landmarks for the Astros.  Nolan Ryan pitched his 5^th no-hitter, a league record, in 1981. 1985 marked the 20^th anniversary of the Astrodome and the Astros won 2-1 on their opening day, defeating the Dodgers.  In 1986, the Astros won their 2^nd NL West title and pitcher Mike Scott won the Cy Young award making it the first ever for the Astros.  The Astros end their 1987 season with the 3^rd highest attendance in baseball and won their 2000^th game in 1988.By the 1990s, the Astros began to grow tired of playing in the Astrodome. 

Management considered selling the team to Washington D.C., but ended up selling the team to a Texan businessman in 1993.  The team got new uniforms and began winning back to back division titles in 1997, 1998, and 1999.  The new millennium brought the Astros to a new stadium.  Their new stadium had a train theme as it was built at the old train station, Union Station.  Originally the stadium's name was Enron Field, but later became Minute Maid Park.  In 2005, the Astros finally won their first pennant and made their first World Series appearance, but fell short to the Chicago White Sox.