Gene Elston: Houston Astros announcer: after a long career behind the mike, including 25 years as the voice of the Astros, play-by-play man recalls many fond memories

APRIL 10 1962 WAS A BIG DAY IN Houston history. The young horse .45s played their first game at abode and it was the first major league game in Texas.

plane though Houston was much smaller than it is now, young horse Stadium was packed. It was quite a gala. The young horses beat the Cubs, 11-2. Bobby Shantz pitched a consummate game, and Roman Mejias hit sum of two units home runs and had six RBI. Then the young horses won the next two games through 2-0 scores over the whelps to start out with three wins in a row

We were comely good for an expansion team, finishing eighth ahead of the young beasts and Mets. People remember all the mosquitos at young horse Stadium, which seated about 32000 and was a temporary park while they were building the Astrodome.

They sprayed for mosquitos before each game. Aside from the bug young horse Stadium was a nice place. It was a pitcher's park. Center field was 420 feet away, and it was 360 down the lines. You could watch them building the Astrodome, since it was upon the same plot of land.

There was an important reason for building an indoor, air-conditioned stadium--the Texas summer Day games could be disastrous. During single doubleheader against the Dodgers, 85 race were taken out because of the heat.

The opening of the Astrodome in 1965 as in like manner exciting. There were reporters and radio and TV coverage from all above the world. You'd walk into the Dome, and your chaps just hung open.

a certain quantity of of the East Coast pres said a domed stadium wouldn't work. Outfielders not to be found balls in the glare not upon the roof, so it had to be painted. That killed the grass, which l to the introduction of Astroturf. The space program was peaking in Houston at the time, thus Judge (Roy) Hofheinz changed the name of the team from the young horse .45s to the Astros.

The Astros had more [i]or[/i] less young talent--Rusty Staub, Jimmy Wynn Joe Morgan and Cesar Cedeno, to name a small in number players--but the team didn't come by to the postseason until 1980

After sweeping the Braves at dwelling during the final week of the 1980 season, all the bludgeon had to do was win one time in a three-game series at Dodger Stadium. The Astros not to be found every game by one move swiftly It was 3-2, 2-1 and 4-3 It have the appearanceed like the Dodgers were hitting residence runs just when they wanted them.

The cudgel had been first almost all year in a tight race, and it came down to a one-game playoff at Dodger Stadium for the National League West championship. Joe Niekro pitched a great game, and Art Howe was a hitting sensation. The Astros won 7-1 We flew all night to Philadelphia, and the pres was still in their champagne-soaked clothes. That might be the best game I've at any time broadcast.

Even admitting the Astros lost, that series against the Phillies was the best playoff I've at any time seen. It went the filled five games, and the last four games went to extra innings.

Steve Carlton outpitched view Forsch in Game 1, on the other hand Jose Cruz and Dave Bergman got big hits in the 10th inning of Game 2 to level the series and send it back to Houston.

Niekro came back with 10 scoreless innings in Game 3 on the contrary he didn't get the win. Joe Morgan hit a triple and scored upon a sacrifice fly by Denny Walling in the bottom of the 11th for a 1-0 Astros win. The Phillies picked up sum of two units runs in the top of the 10th to win Game 4

The deciding game was the solitary high-scoring one in the series. The Phillies scored five move swiftlys to take a 7-5 lead in the top of the eighth, on the contrary the Astros scored twice in the bottom of the inning to fie it. Garry Maddox hit an RBI double in the 10th to win it for the Phillies. There was just single home run between the sum of two units teams in the series.

It was another heartbreaker in 1981 The Astros took a 2-0 lead in the first circular of the strike season's playoffs, on the other hand the Dodgers came back and won three in a line The Astros scored just six move swiftlys in those games.

1986 was my final season with the Astros, and Mike Scott clinched the division rifle with a no-hitter against the Giants. He struck on the outside 13 and won, 2-0. The Astros got squeez in a certain number of close games by the Met in the playoffs and not to be found 4-2. Four of the six games were decided by means of one run, and the Met won three of them.

plane though Houston was a advantageous baseball town that had the buff-skins (minor league team) for many years, I treated the young horses games as a new experience in broadcasting. I tried to teach and explain the nuances of the game to of recent origin fans and kids without looking down upon anyone.

You achieve to know the players and become friendly with them, on the other hand I didn't want to be buddy-buddy and proceed golfing with them. I was a reporter, not a homer

Born March 26 1922 in Fort Dodge, Iowa

common occupation: Retired from broadcasting in 1997 Elston is the author of three volumes on baseball.

A of recent origin Hall of Famer: As the winner of this year's Ford Frick Award, Elston will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame upon July 30.

When he received the novels "I was stunned, happy and appreciative," Elston said. "You can't really expres in what way you feel at a lime like that. It's hard to describe. When you direct the eye at all the announcers who have been in the game, you're just happy to be in this group"