A Demographic Homage to the Original Colt .45s

1962 Houston Colt .45s
An Inventory of Whose Left

Like the rest of us, our favorite baseball heroes and teams of the past are governed by the same rules of mortality that apply to us all. The following is little more than a tabular accounting of the original 1962 Houston Colt .45 roster on who is till with us and who has passed on. With the ready help of Baseball.Reference and of those ongoing stats they maintain on all of baseball – including the help supplied by the researching soldiers of SABR, the data of Baseball Reference.Com is about as up-to-date and complete as we have so far learned how to gather and make it readily available by team roster.

The following table chart tracks the birth and living/dead status of all 43 men who spent any active playing time on the roster of the original 1962 National League expansion club we all remember as the Houston Colt .45s. Unless someone died overnight on the morning of this writing, 10/22/14, this data is as up-to-date as we can bring it to you. Here’s the chart for the 1962 Houston Colt .45s, Dead or Alive Status, for their Roster of 43 Players, As Examined through the Morning of Oct. 22, 2014, with help of Baseball Reference.Com.

1962 HOUSTON COLT .45S: A TABULAR DEPICTION OF THE LIVING AND DEAD:

PLAYER	POS	BORN	2014 AGE	DIED	DEATH AGE
Hai Smith	C	12/07/30	84	Living	—-
Norm Larker	1B	12/27/30	—	03/12/07	76
Joey Amalfitano	2B	01/23/30	80	Living	—-
Bob Lillis	SS	06/02/30	84	Living	—-
Bob Aspromonte	3B	06/19/38	76	Living	—-
Al Spangler	OF	07/08/33	81	Living	—-
Carl Warwick	OF	02/27/37	77	Living	—-
Roman Mejias	OF	08/09/30	84	Living	—-
Jim Pendleton	OF	01/07/24	—	03/20/96	72
Merritt Ranew	C	05/10/38	—	10/18/11	73
Billy Goodman	INF	03/22/26	—`	10/01/84	58
J.C. Hartman	SS	04/15/34	80	Living	—
Pidge Browne	1B	03/21/29	—	06/03/97	68
Johnny Temple	2b	08/08/27	—	01/09/94	66
Don Buddin	SS	05/05/34	—	06/30/11	77
Jim Campbell	C	06/24/37	77	Living	—
Al Heist	OF	10/05/27	—	10/02/06	78
Dave Roberts	UTIL	06/30/33	81	Living	—
Bob Cerv	OF	05/05/25	89	Living	—
John Weekly	OF	06/14/37	—	11/24/74	37
Dick Gernert	1B	09/28/28	86	Living	—
Don Taussig	OF	02/19/32	82	Living	—
Ron Davis	Of	10/21/41	—	09/05/92	50
Ernie Fazio	INF	01/25/42	72	Living	—
Jim Busby	OF	01/08/27	—	07/08/96	69
George Williams	2B	10/23/39	—	05/14/09	69
Turk Farrell	P	04/08/34	—	06/10/77	43
Bob Bruce	P	05/16/33	81	Living	—
Ken Johnson	P	06/16/33	81	Living	—
Jim Golden	P	03/20/36	78	Living	—
Hal Woodeschick	P	08/24/32	—	06/14/09	76
Dave Giusti	P	11/27/39	75	Living	—
Dean Stone	P	09/01/30	84	Living	—
George Brunet	P	06/08/35	—	10/25/91	56
Don McMahon	P	01/04/30	—	07/22/87	57
Jim Umbricht	P	09/17/30	—	04/08/64	33
Russ Kemmerer	P	11/01/31	83	Living	—
Bobby Iiefenauer	P	10/10/29	—	06/13/00	70
Bobby Shantz	P	09/26/25	89	Living	—
Dick Drott	P	07/01/36	—	08/16/85	49
Red Witt	P	11/09/31	—	01/30/13	81
John Anderson	P	11/23/29	—	12/20/98	69
Al Cicotte	P	12/23/29	—	11/29/82	52

Check for what is mainly of interest to you, but here are few basic observations, for starters:

1) 21 of 43 (49%) are still living

2) Bob Cerv and Bobby Shantz are the oldest surviving Colts, in that order, at age 89.

3) Ernie Fazio is the youngest survivor at age 72.

4) At age 33, Jim Umbricht was the youngest original Colt .45 to die.

It would certainly be great if the Astros could go all out to arrange one last roll call for the surviving 21 men who made up our original major league team who are still with us, but that path may be fraught with travel expenses and the other big fact that some of these older guys who live far away may not travel so well these days. Still, it would be more than a nice gesture to see the club reach out to memorialize some of these far away people while they are still alive. The Walk of Fame at Minute Maid Park is certainly a nice tribute to the club’s total history, but it would also be great to do something special for guys like Bobby Shantz, the first starter in Houston’s MLB history, and Roman Mejias, the first Houston MLB player to have two homers in a single game – that just happened to also leave the park in local our club’s first major league game in history.

Let’s at least kick the idea around about what might be fitting and possible. In the end, it will always come down to this one wisdom about the fulfillment of possible options (the ones that aren’t controlled by compulsions and addictions): “Where there’s a will there’s a way. Where there’s no will, there’s no way.”

Happy Hump Day, everybody!

Tags: 1962 Houston Colt .45s

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7 Responses to “A Demographic Homage to the Original Colt .45s”

Neil Miggins Says:
October 22, 2014 at 2:51 pm | Reply
Bill I took my sons to the exhibit on the port of Houston the other day at the Julia ideson downtown library building.

It was very worthwhile, and I thought of you as it included information on the neighborhoods around the channel including Pecan Park, Magnolia gardens and meadowbrook. Right up your alley!

Here are a few snapshots.

Neil

>
Rick B. Says:
October 22, 2014 at 2:59 pm | Reply
I like your idea, Bill, and I hope the Astros consider it. I emailed the Astros a few years back and asked if they had ever considered a nod to the Houston Buffs at any time; I thought that some sort of ceremony during a game or series against the Cardinals would be quite fitting. I received a response that, reading between the lines, said ‘thanks, but we don’t think so.’
It’s a shame, because it’s always nice to see teams give a nod to the past. I know that the KC Royals do a lot to acknowledge the KC Monarchs of the old Negro Leagues. I was also in attendance at a Round Rock Express game in 2009 at which thye acknowledged the long-defunct Austin Senators who had been Texas League champs and had won another championship against a squad from Mexico City in 1959. That ’59 Senators team never received championship rings, so the RR Express gave rings to the dozen surviving members of the team who attended to commemorate that season. They also pulled off a marketing coup by offering Senators t-shirts and caps in their team store – maybe that’s what it would take to appeal to the Astros (the thought of some additional $$$, that is).
emmettmcauliffe Says:
October 22, 2014 at 11:25 pm | Reply
if anyone gets the address Dave Roberts, if you could please let the St. Louis Browns fan club have knowledge of it. We would try to like to get him to one of the annual reunion luncheons, because he was the last Browns prospect ever signed.
Mark W. Says:
November 1, 2014 at 2:51 pm | Reply
I don’t know how I missed this column Bill, but I’m glad I saw it today. This is of special interest to me. It may take some private philanthropy to make something like this happen, but as you note, travel for a lot of these fellows likely is off the radar screen now. Still, it would be sooo nice to do something to commemorate them. I had the idea of some canny journalist making the rounds of all their addresses to interview each one of them and write up short bios of their careers and lives and tuck them into a retro-looking brochure or booklet, not unlike the programs you depict in this article or perhaps even better, a retro-repro of the original “Here Come the Colts” brochure.
Robert Band Says:
December 15, 2014 at 7:31 pm | Reply
Bill it is with great sadness that i let you know that Russ Kemmerer passed away on Dec 8, 2014 at the age of 84….he can be removed from the list of those that are still with us…he would have enjoyed a reunion with the others and even attended the 100 year celebration for the Red Sox a couple of years ago at the age of 82….I married the daughter he had while playing for the Colt 45’s…he will truly be missed
- Bill McCurdy Says:
  December 15, 2014 at 7:49 pm | Reply
  Robert –
  
  The news that your father-in-law, Russ Kemmerer, has died is sad news, but thank you for bringing it to our attention.
  
  Rest in Peace, Russ Kemmerer!
Mark W. Says:
December 15, 2014 at 7:52 pm | Reply
Robert, I offer my condolences to you and your wife on the loss of this wonderful man, who’s life you hopefully will celebrate as a blessing for years to come. Here is a note I submitted to the Baseball Players passing forum:

“He sold his book from his home and listed his phone number somewhere so you could call him to order it. When I called, he answered – and talked to me for at least a half hour, telling me baseball stories and asking me questions. He signed his book, and I’m assuming he packaged it and mailed it himself. I didn’t think it was more than a few years ago, but he dated his signature 11/2003. How I did enjoy, and remember, that conversation! You don’t come away from an experience like that the same.”