«
»

Original 1962 Colt .45s Down to 19 Survivors

Bobby Shantz, 4/10/1962 Threw 1st Pitch in Houston MLB History Won 1st Game In Houston MLB History

Bobby Shantz, 4/10/1962
Threw 1st Pitch in Houston MLB History
Won 1st Game In Houston MLB History

The 11/21/2015 death of former Houston Colt .45 pitcher Ken Johnson has brought sharp attention to a number of us the fact that all of these figures from the early years of major league baseball in Houston have been disappearing all around us at accelerating rates with the passage of time.  After all it’s been a half century, plus one year, since Ken Johnson performed the amazing feat of losing the only nine inning no hitter by a single pitcher in baseball history – and it’s now been 53 years since our city began its foray into the big leagues as the Houston Colt .45s.

The following is a chart which accounts for all 43 of the men who spent time on the roster of the 1962 original Colt .45s. It breaks them down through 10 pitchers, 3 catchers, 12 infielders and 11 outfielders. Those figures added up to the 43 members of the club’s original year player group – and does not include the names of some more famous Colts of the Jimmy Wynn and Larry Dierker ilk who came to Houston after 1962.

This table is totally focused on the first 1962 originals who went out there and established our initially tenuous hold on Houston’s right to call itself a major league city. There were some good players on that club, they just weren’t old enough or young enough to put it all together as a team in 1962, but, look at the bright side. – In spite of having to start out with a bunch of young guys we found drowning in a baseball pool – and a few random other 0lder guys who signed on even though some of their baseball wheels were already falling off, the original Houston Colt .45s were still good enough to finish ahead of their brother expansion club buddies, the New York Mets, and the Chicago Cubs.

The chart is easy enough to follow. If a player is still alive, his age is shown in the “Age in 2015” column. The 19 ages you find belong to the player on tat same horizontal line. Interesting to note: At age 90, Bob Cerv and Bobby Shantz are the two oldest living 1962 alumni. Ernie Fazio is the youngest alum at 73.

These life and death facts were double-checked at both Baseball Almanac and Baseball Reference, the two dot-com giants in our baseball statistical sky. I also checked these figure with the independent work that Darrell Pittman has done on this same subject at Astros Daily and found that we were in complete agreement on the recorded state of things reported and known:

Of the 43 original 1962 Colt .45s, 24 are now deceased and 19 survive. And, as we all know, that’s going to really change at an accelerated rate in the next ten years, but keep in mind your personal recollection of all these guys if you’ve been around long enough to have seen them – or even read about their accomplishments. – Bobby Shantz, for example, will always be remembered as the first guy to throw a major league pitch in behalf of Houston – and who among us elder fans shall ever forget the day that Roman Mejias had at the plate in that same very first opening game.

Remember. Enjoy. Share. And do what you can to preserve your memories of Houston’s first major leaguers. Every man on this list is deserving of your supportive statements and actions.

The Original 43 Men Who Filled the Roster of the 1962 Houston Colt .45s /

LIST # UNIF # PITCHERS (17) BIRTHDATE AGE IN 2015 DEATH DATE
01 39 John Anderson 1932-11-23 1998-12-20
02 30 Bob Bruce 1933-05-16 Age 82
03 33 George Brunet 1935-06-08 1991-10-25
04 31 Al Cicotte 1929-12-23 1982-11-29
05 36 Dick Drott 1936-07-01 1985-08-16
06 43 Turk Farrell 1934-04-08 1977-06-10
07 34 Dave Giusti 1939-11-27 Age 76
08 35 Jim Golden 1936-03-20 Age 79
09 36,40 Ken Johnson 1933-06-16 2015-11-21
10 39 Russ Kemmerer 1931-11-01 2014-12-08
11 31 Don McMahon 1930-01-04 1987-07-22
12 42 Bobby Shantz 1925-09-25 Age 90
13 33 Dean Stone 1930-09-01 Age 85
14 44 Bobby Tiefenauer 1929-10-10 2000-06-13
15 32,45 Jim Umbricht 1930-09-17 1964-04-08
16 36 George Witt 1930-11-09 2013-01-30
17 46 Hal Woodeshick 1932-08-24 2009-06-14
CATCHERS (3)
18 9 Jim Campbell 1937-06-24 Age 78
19 7 Merritt Ranew 1938-05-10 2011-10-18
20 8 Hal Smith 1930-12-07 Age 85
INFIELDERS (12)
21 11 Joey Amalfitano 1934-01-23 Age 81
22 14 Bob Aspromonte 1938-06-19 Age 77
23 27 Pidge Bowne 1929-03-21 1997-06-03
24 18 Don Buddin 1934-05-05 2011-06-30
25 19 Ernie Fazio 1942-01-25 Age 73
26 17 Dick Gernert 1928-09-28 Age 87
27 16 Billy Goodman 1926-03-22 1984-10-01
28 18 J.C. Hartman 1934-04-15 Age 81
29 10 Norm Larker 1930-12-27 2007-03-12
30 15 Bob Lillis 1930-02-02 Age 85
31 26 Johnny Temple 1927-08-08 1994-01-09
32 19 George Williams 1929-10-23 2009-05-14
OUTFIELDERS (11)
33 4 Jim Busby 1927-01-08 1996-07-08
34 17 Bob Cerv 1925-05-05 Age 90
35 22 Ron Davis 1941-10-21 1992-09-05
36 22 Al Heist 1927-10-05 2006-10-02
37 25 Roman Mejias 1930-08-09 Age 85
38 23 Jim Pendleton 1924-01-07 1996-03-20
39 24 Dave Roberts 1933-06-30 Age 82
40 21 Al Spangler 1933-07-08 Age 82
41 20,24 Don Taussig 1932-02-19 Age 83
42 20 Carl Warwick 1937-02-27 Age 78
43 24 Johnny Weekly 1937-06-14 1974-11-24

____________________

 

eagle-0range

Tags:

This entry was posted on November 25, 2015 at 5:27 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

6 Responses to “Original 1962 Colt .45s Down to 19 Survivors”

  1. Wayne Roberts's avatar Wayne Roberts Says:
    November 25, 2015 at 12:44 pm | Reply

    Wow. These are the guys that catalyzed my love of the game. I take great delight in pointing out to my Cubs fans friends that their crummy franchise couldn’t even beat out the Colts in 1962. Regardless of the wretched history of Houston teams (in all sports) we will always have that in our column. Thought provoking blog. Good job and happy Thanksgiving to you and your readers.

    • Bill McCurdy's avatar Bill McCurdy Says:
      November 25, 2015 at 1:10 pm | Reply

      Thank you, Wayne – and may God (as you understand Him to be) Bless you and yours on this one special day per year that we formally dedicate to our everyday need for gratitude,

  2. Rick B.'s avatar Rick B. Says:
    November 25, 2015 at 2:57 pm | Reply

    As Satchel Paige said, “Don’t look back. Something might be gaining on you.”

    Or, as the poet Andrew Marvell wrote, “But at my back I always hear / time’s winged chariot hurrying near.”

    You’re right, Bill, we should be thankful every day.

  3. Tom Hunter's avatar Tom Hunter Says:
    November 25, 2015 at 3:24 pm | Reply

    Thanks for the list, Bill. I was glad to see Dean Stone is still with us at age 85. He pitched the last game of the inaugural three-game series against the Cubs on April 12, 1962–a three-hit complete-game shutout to beat the Cubs, 2-0, and sweep the series. It was the first major league baseball game I attended. I’m thankful for the memories of that day.

  4. Ralph Ebuoy's avatar emmettmcauliffe Says:
    November 25, 2015 at 4:46 pm | Reply

    There are 19 Browns left as well. I had to double check, but I believe that all 19 played in the seasons 1951 to 1953 (although some go back as early as 1948, such as Ned Garver, and 1949 Roy Sievers).

    ps Dave Roberts from the ’62 Colt .45s was technically signed to the Browns organization in October 1953, before the transfer was made to Clarence Miles/Baltimore. If you ever see him at an old-timers event, I would appreciate you asking him if he has any consciousness of being a Browns property for a month.

  5. david almendarez's avatar david almendarez Says:
    April 26, 2016 at 8:45 pm | Reply

    Thanks for the great memories to all those players to that first team!!!

Leave a comment