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When talking about
Colt Stadium, Astros player Rusty Staub described the ballpark as
any other player at the time would. Talking of the stadium he said,
"I don't care what ballpark they ever talk about as being the
hottest place on the face of the Earth, Colt Stadium was it." Home
of the Houston Colt .45’s, Colt Stadium was one known as one of the
hottest ballparks for both players and fans during its existence.
When MLB awarded the Houston area a National League franchise in
1960, the team needed a home until a planned dome stadium could be
built. They decided to construct a temporary stadium until the dome
stadium was built. A 33,000 seat, one tier ballpark was constructed.
Named Colt Stadium, the Colts played their first game at the stadium
on April 10, 1962. One tier of multicolored seats and bleachers
extended from the right field foul pole to home plate and around to
the left field foul pole. Additional seating was located in both
right and left field. The scoreboard made up part of the centerfield
wall. Colt Stadium was an awful place for baseball. The temperature
was always hot, even at night and mosquitoes were terrible. During a
doubleheader one Sunday, over 100 fans were sent to the first aid
room at Colt Stadium. While the Colts .45s played at Colt Stadium,
their new dome stadium, the Astrodome, was constructed beyond the
first base grandstand. The final game at Colt Stadium was on
September 27, 1964. In 1965, the Colts .45s were renamed the Astros
and moved across the parking lot into the
Astrodome. Colt Stadium remained standing for five years after
the Colt .45s left as it served mainly as a storage yard. Team owner Roy Hofheinz
had the entire stadium painted grey so it would not stand out in
aerial photos of the Astrodome. In the late 1960s Colt Stadium was
sold to a minor league Mexican team for $100,000. The stadium was
disassembled and moved to Torreon, Mexico. The stadium was moved
once again to Tampico, Mexico where it stills sits today and is part
of a public playground.
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