Houston Astros Trivia
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This Astros trivia quiz has 99 free questions with answers and runs from the franchise's birth as the Houston Colt .45s in 1962 through the Astrodome era, the rainbow uniforms, Nolan Ryan and Mike Scott, the Killer B's of the 1990s, the 2005 pennant, the analytics-driven rebuild under Jim Crane and Jeff Luhnow, and the modern powerhouse that reached seven straight ALCS and won it all in 2017 and 2022. It covers players, managers, ballparks, mascots, uniforms, records and the sign-stealing scandal. Early questions are fine for casual fans who know Altuve and Orbit; later ones reward people who remember who scored the team's first run, which manager won his first game with a no-hitter, and how many innings the 1968 marathon against the Mets went. Every answer was checked against encyclopaedia entries before publishing.
30 of 99 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What was the Houston franchise called when it entered the National League in 1962?
The Colt .45s
The Colt .45s spent three seasons in temporary, open-air Colt Stadium, where the heat, humidity and mosquitoes were fierce enough to make the case for an indoor ballpark.
Q 02Which other expansion team joined the National League alongside Houston in 1962?
New York Mets
New York Mets: both newcomers were stocked from the same expansion draft, yet Houston finished its first season ahead of the long-established Cubs as well as the Mets.
Q 03The Astros name, adopted for 1965, was a nod to what?
Houston's role in the space program
Houston's role in the space program, as home base for NASA's astronauts, gave the club its name, and the name spread to its new dome and to the artificial turf later laid there.
Q 04What was the Astrodome nicknamed when it opened in 1965?
The Eighth Wonder of the World
The Eighth Wonder of the World was the pride of team owner Roy Hofheinz, who kept a lavish private apartment inside it, tucked beside the outfield seats.
Q 05Why did the Astrodome switch to AstroTurf in 1966?
Its painted roof killed the grass
Its painted roof killed the grass: the skylights were coated so fielders could stop losing fly balls in the glare, and the 1965 season ended on dead turf and green-painted dirt.
Q 06Which Yankees star hit the first home run in the Astrodome, in its 1965 opening exhibition?
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle led off the game with the dome's first hit and later homered, yet the Astros won 2-1 in the 12th inning on a pinch-hit single by Nellie Fox.
Q 07How did the Astros finally win their 24-inning marathon in 1968?
An error
An error ended it: with the bases loaded in the 24th, a grounder skipped through shortstop Al Weis's legs, more than six hours after the first pitch.
Q 08Which Astros pitcher threw the Astrodome's first no-hitter in 1967 and another in 1969?
Don Wilson
Don Wilson's second came on May 1, 1969, one day after Cincinnati's Jim Maloney had no-hit the Astros: Wilson answered by no-hitting the Reds right back.
Q 09Which Hall of Fame second baseman did the Astros trade to Cincinnati in 1971?
Joe Morgan
Joe Morgan left the cavernous Astrodome and became the engine of the Big Red Machine, winning back-to-back MVP awards as the Reds took the 1975 and 1976 World Series.
Q 10What did the Astros' famous 1975 uniforms feature from the chest down?
Yellow, orange and red stripes
Yellow, orange and red stripes made the 'rainbow' jersey so unlike anything else in baseball that the Astros skipped road grays and wore it everywhere.
Q 11Which Alvin, Texas native did the Astros sign to baseball's first seven-figure annual contract?
Nolan Ryan
Nolan Ryan came home in November 1979 as the game's first million-dollar-a-year player, and in his first season the Astros won the first division title in their history.
Q 12Which Astros pitcher clinched the 1986 NL West with a no-hitter?
Mike Scott
Mike Scott did it to San Francisco with the split-finger fastball he had learned from Roger Craig, who by then was the Giants' manager and had to watch from the other dugout.
Q 13Whose 18th-inning home run won Game 4 of the 2005 NLDS for the Astros?
Chris Burke
Chris Burke's homer capped a comeback from 6-1 down in the eighth: a grand slam cut the Braves' lead to one, and a two-out solo shot in the ninth forced nine extra innings.
Q 21Which pitcher won a record seventh Cy Young Award with the Astros in 2004?
Roger Clemens
Roger Clemens had retired after the 2003 World Series, but it lasted less than three months: he followed his friend Andy Pettitte home to Houston and went 18-4.
Q 22Who swept the Astros in their first World Series appearance in 2005?
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox ended an 88-year title drought, but the sweep was tighter than it sounds: the four games were decided by a total of six runs.
Q 23Which businessman bought the Astros in 2011?
Jim Crane
Jim Crane's new front office tore the roster down to rebuild through the farm system: 107 and 111 losses in its first two seasons, then a first championship within six years.
Q 14Which team originally drafted Jeff Bagwell before trading him to Houston in 1990?
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox, chasing a pennant, swapped the Boston-born minor leaguer for a 37-year-old reliever; he became a Hall of Famer in Houston, and the deal a cautionary tale for general managers.
Q 15What injury ended Jeff Bagwell's 1994 MVP season?
A broken hand
A broken hand, from a pitch that hit him days before the strike, looked costly, but the stoppage wiped out the rest of the season and he still took every first-place MVP vote.
Q 16Craig Biggio was the first player to be an All-Star at which two positions?
Catcher and second base
Catcher and second base: the Astros moved him out from behind the plate in 1992 to lengthen his career, and he made the All-Star team at his new position that same summer.
Q 17What happened on Craig Biggio's 3,000th hit?
He was thrown out
He was thrown out at second trying to stretch the single into a double, the first player ever retired on his 3,000th hit, and he still finished the night with five hits.
Q 18Craig Biggio's career total of 285 in which category trails only Hughie Jennings in MLB history?
Times hit by pitch
Times hit by pitch: Biggio called the bruises 'part of the game', wore an elbow pad, and passed Don Baylor's modern record in 2005 without once charging the mound.
Q 19What was the Astros' downtown ballpark called when it opened in 2000?
Enron Field
Enron Field took its name from a Houston energy giant that collapsed in scandal in 2001, so the Astros ended the deal and the name was gone after only two seasons.
Q 20Which quirk of the Astros' ballpark, named for executive Tal Smith, was removed after 2016?
A hill in center field
A hill in center field, with a flagpole standing in play on its slope: Tal's Hill was a nod to the old outfield incline at Cincinnati's Crosley Field.
Q 24Why did Houston switch leagues in 2013?
A condition of sale
A condition of sale: MLB wanted 15 clubs in each league, so the buyer was told the deal depended on Houston switching, and he was given a cut in the price for agreeing.
Q 25What is the name of the Astros' lime-green, antennae-wearing mascot?
Orbit
Orbit was dropped for a new mascot when the club left the Astrodome after 1999, then brought back 13 years later at the party that unveiled the team's new look for its move to the American League.
Q 26Which Astro hit five home runs to win the 2017 World Series MVP award?
George Springer
George Springer struck out four times in Game 1, then homered in four straight games and finished with five home runs, tying the record for a single World Series.
Q 27In which country was Jose Altuve born?
Venezuela
Venezuela: at an Astros tryout in his hometown, scouts sent the 16-year-old away for being too small, but he came back anyway and earned a $15,000 contract.
Q 28Who was runner-up for Jose Altuve's 2017 MVP award?
Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge, a rookie who had hit 52 home runs, drew only two first-place votes to 27 for the 5-foot-6 Altuve, who matched the shortest MVPs in history.
Q 29How did Jose Altuve end the 2019 ALCS against the Yankees?
A walk-off home run
A walk-off home run in Game 6 put Houston in the World Series, where, oddly, the home team lost all seven games and Washington took the title in Houston.
Q 30Which Cy Young winner, acquired by the Astros at the 2017 waiver deadline, won all five regular-season starts?
Justin Verlander
Justin Verlander's trade to Houston went through at the last second on August 31, days after Hurricane Harvey flooded Houston, and the city rallied behind the club all the way to a title.