1962 Houston Colt .45s season

1962 Houston Colt .45s
League	National League
Ballpark	Colt Stadium
City	Houston, Texas
Record	64–96 (.400)
League place	8th
Owners	Craig F. Cullinan Jr., Roy Hofheinz
General managers	Paul Richards
Managers	Harry Craft
Television	KTRK (Al Helfer, Gene Elston, Guy Savage)
Radio	KPRC (AM) (Al Helfer, Gene Elston, Loel Passe)
1963 →

The 1962 Houston Colt .45s were an expansion team in American Major League Baseball's National League, and 1962 was the first season in franchise history. Harry Craft was Houston's first manager. The .45s finished eighth among the National League's ten teams with a record of 64–96, 36+1⁄2 games behind the league champion San Francisco Giants.

Offseason

• September 11, 1961: Rusty Staub was signed as an amateur free agent by the Colt .45's.^[1]
• October 13, 1961: Al Cicotte was purchased by the Colt .45s from the St. Louis Cardinals.^[2]
• March 24, 1962: Dave Philley was signed as a free agent by the Colt .45s.^[3]
• March 24, 1962: Dave Philley was traded by the Colt .45s to the Boston Red Sox for Tom Borland.^[3]
• Prior to 1962 season: J. C. Hartman was acquired by the Colt .45s from the Houston Buffaloes as part of a minor league working agreement.^[4]

Expansion draft

The Colt .45s were one of two teams added to the National League before the 1962 season, the other being the New York Mets. This brought the number of teams in the NL to ten, matching the 1961 expansion of the American League.

Regular phase

$75,000 per player

• Eddie Bressoud, infielder, San Francisco Giants
• Bob Aspromonte, infielder, Los Angeles Dodgers
• Bob Lillis, infielder, St. Louis Cardinals
• Dick Drott, pitcher, Chicago Cubs
• Al Heist, outfielder, Chicago Cubs
• Román Mejías, outfielder, Pittsburgh Pirates
• George Williams, infielder, Philadelphia Phillies
• Jesse Hickman, pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies
• Merritt Ranew,^[5] catcher, Milwaukee Braves
• Don Taussig,^[6] outfielder, St. Louis Cardinals
• Bobby Shantz, pitcher, Pittsburgh Pirates
• Norm Larker,^[7] infielder, Los Angeles Dodgers
• Sam Jones, pitcher, San Francisco Giants
• Paul Roof, pitcher, Milwaukee Braves
• Ken Johnson, pitcher, Cincinnati Reds
• Dick Gernert, infielder, Cincinnati Reds
• Ed Olivares, infielder, St. Louis Cardinals
• Jim Umbricht, pitcher, Pittsburgh Pirates
• Jim Golden, pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers

Premium phase

$125,000 per player

• Joey Amalfitano, infielder, San Francisco Giants
• Turk Farrell, pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers
• Hal Smith, catcher, Pittsburgh Pirates
• Al Spangler, outfielder, Milwaukee Braves

1961 minor league affiliates

The Colt .45s and Mets were established on October 17, 1960, giving them time to acquire professional minor-league players, sign amateur free agents (there was no MLB first-year player draft until 1965) and enter into working agreements with minor league affiliates during the 1961 season. Houston had formal working agreements with two minor league baseball teams in 1961:

Level	Team	League	Manager
A	Jacksonville Jets	Sally League	Tom Saffell and Dixie Howell
D	Salisbury Braves	Western Carolinas League	Alex Cosmidis

The first game

April 10, Colt Stadium, Houston, Texas

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chicago	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	5	0
Houston	1	0	4	0	0	0	3	3	X	11	13	2
W: Shantz (1–0)  L: Cardwell (0–1)
HRs: Mejias (2), Smith (1), Banks (1)

Opening Day lineup ^[8]

14	Bob Aspromonte	3B
21	Al Spangler	CF
25	Román Mejías	RF
10	Norm Larker	1B
23	Jim Pendleton	LF
8	Hal Smith	C
11	Joey Amalfitano	2B
18	Don Buddin	SS
42	Bobby Shantz	P

^[9]

Regular season

The Colt .45s started their inaugural season on April 10, 1962, with an 11–2 win against the Chicago Cubs, highlighted by a three-run home run in the bottom of the third inning by Román Mejías.^[9] The .45s would go on to sweep the Cubs in their first three-game series at Colt Stadium. The team finished April with a 7–8 record, 4 games in front of the expansion Mets and only 5 games behind the National League leading Pirates and Giants.

By June 2, with the second loss to the Pirates in Pittsburgh, the Colt .45s had fallen to 16 games behind the eventual National League Champion Giants, a deficit that no pre-wild card team had recovered from to make the post season.^[10] And, with an August 21 loss at the hands of the Phillies,^[11] the Houston Colt .45s were mathematically eliminated from the postseason with a 37-game deficit to the Dodgers with 37 games left.

To get an idea of how the first season was for Houston, look at the team's best pitcher, Richard "Turk" Farrell. A starter for the Colt .45s, he was primarily a relief pitcher when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. Turk lost 20 games in 1962, but had an ERA of 3.02. Turk was selected to both All-Star games that year.

There was a bright spot in the line up in 1962. Román Mejías, who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the expansion draft, was named the Colt .45s starting right fielder. It was in Houston that Mejías would play the best season of his career. While he played better the first half of the season, an injury slowed him the second half of the season. However, he still finished with a .286 batting average, 24 home runs, and 76 RBIs. His modesty and his hard play made him a fan favorite that year. Despite his good year, Mejías was traded to the Boston Red Sox in the fall of 1962.^[12]

Season standings

v t e National League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
San Francisco Giants	103	62	0.624	—	61–21	42–41
Los Angeles Dodgers	102	63	0.618	1	54–29	48–34
Cincinnati Reds	98	64	0.605	3½	58–23	40–41
Pittsburgh Pirates	93	68	0.578	8	51–30	42–38
Milwaukee Braves	86	76	0.531	15½	49–32	37–44
St. Louis Cardinals	84	78	0.519	17½	44–37	40–41
Philadelphia Phillies	81	80	0.503	20	46–34	35–46
Houston Colt .45s	64	96	0.400	36½	32–48	32–48
Chicago Cubs	59	103	0.364	42½	32–49	27–54
New York Mets	40	120	0.250	60½	22–58	18–62

Record vs. opponents

1962 National League record v t e Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Team	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MIL	NYM	PHI	PIT	SF	STL
Chicago	—	4–14	7–11	4–14	8–10	9–9	10–8	4–14	6–12	7–11
Cincinnati	14–4	—	13–5	9–9	13–5	13–5	8–10	13–5	7–11	8–10
Houston	11–7	5–13	—	6–12	7–11	13–3–1	1–17	5–13	7–11	9–9–1
Los Angeles	14–4	9–9	12–6	—	10–8	16–2	14–4	10–8	10–11	7–11
Milwaukee	10–8	5–13	11–7	8–10	—	12–6	11–7	10–8	7–11	12–6
New York	9–9	5–13	3–13–1	2–16	6–12	—	4–14	2–16	4–14	5–13
Philadelphia	8–10	10–8	17–1	4–14	7–11	14–4	—	7–10	5–13	9–9
Pittsburgh	14–4	5–13	13–5	8–10	8–10	16–2	10–7	—	7–11	12–6
San Francisco	12–6	11–7	11–7	11–10	11–7	14–4	13–5	11–7	—	9–9
St. Louis	11–7	10–8	9–9–1	11–7	6–12	13–5	9–9	6–12	9–9	—

Notable transactions

• May 7, 1962: Bobby Shantz was traded by the Colt .45s to the St. Louis Cardinals for John Anderson and Carl Warwick.^[13]
• June 26, 1962: Bob Cerv was purchased by the Colt .45s from the New York Yankees.^[14]
• July 30, 1962: Bob Cerv was released by the Colt .45s.^[14]

Roster

1962 Houston Colt .45s
Roster
Pitchers 39 John Anderson 30 Bob Bruce 33 George Brunet 31 Al Cicotte 36 Dick Drott 43 Turk Farrell 34 Dave Giusti 35 Jim Golden 36,40 Ken Johnson 39 Russ Kemmerer 31 Don McMahon 42 Bobby Shantz 33 Dean Stone 44 Bobby Tiefenauer 32,45 Jim Umbricht 36 George Witt 46 Hal Woodeshick		Catchers  9 Jim Campbell  7 Merritt Ranew  8 Hal Smith Infielders 11 Joey Amalfitano 14 Bob Aspromonte 27 Pidge Browne 18 Don Buddin 19 Ernie Fazio 17 Dick Gernert 16 Billy Goodman 18 J. C. Hartman 10 Norm Larker 15 Bob Lillis 26 Johnny Temple 19 George Williams		Outfielders  4 Jim Busby 17 Bob Cerv 22 Ron Davis 22 Al Heist 25 Román Mejías 23 Jim Pendleton 24 Dave Roberts 21 Al Spangler 20,24 Don Taussig 20 Carl Warwick 24 Johnny Weekly		Manager  1 Harry Craft Coaches  2 Jimmy Adair (First base)  3 Bobby Bragan (Bullpen)  4 Jim Busby (Third base)  5 Cot Deal (Pitching)  6 Lum Harris (Third base)

Game log

Houston Colt .45s 1962 Regular Season Game Log
April 1962 (7–8) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 April 10 Cubs 11–2 Shantz (1–0) Cardwell (0–1) – 25,271 1–0 2 April 11 Cubs 2–0 Woodeshick (1–0) Hobbie (0–1) Farrell (1) 20,336 2–0 3 April 12 Cubs 2–0 Stone (1–0) Curtis (0–1) – 7,838 3–0 4 April 13 @ Phillies 2–3 Hamilton (1–0) Farrell (0–1) – 12,633 3–1 5 April 14 @ Phillies 0–3 Mahaffey (2–0) Johnson (0–1) – 2,732 3–2 6 April 17 @ Mets 5–2 (11) Golden (1–0) Moford (0–1) Tiefenauer (1) 3,191 4–2 7 April 18 @ Cubs 2–3 (10) Ellsworth (1–0) Farrell (0–2) – 3,318 4–3 8 April 19 @ Cubs 6–0 Stone (2–0) Cardwell (0–3) – 3,835 5–3 9 April 21 Phillies 1–3 McLish (1–0) Johnson (0–2) Baldschun (1) 21,841 5–4 10 April 22 Phillies 3–4 Owens (1–1) Giusti (0–1) Baldschun (2) 13,130 5–5 11 April 24 Cardinals 4–3 Woodeshick (2–0) Jackson (2–1) – 19,335 6–5 12 April 25 Cardinals 5–5 (17) – – – 17,265 6–5 13 April 26 Cardinals 2–3 Gibson (1–1) Johnson (0–3) – 15,129 6–6 14 April 27 Braves 1–2 Shaw (2–1) Shantz (1–1) – 16,160 6–7 15 April 28 Braves 3–9 Butler (1–0) Giusti (0–2) – 22,501 6–8 16 April 29 Braves 3–2 Farrell (1–2) McMahon (0–1) – 21,050 7–8
May 1962 (12–19) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 17 May 1 @ Cardinals 4–6 Washburn (2–0) Stone (2–1) Bauta (1) 4,924 7–9 18 May 2 @ Cardinals 1–4 Gibson (2–1) Johnson (0–4) – 7,880 7–10 19 May 3 @ Cardinals 0–4 Simmons (4–0) Giusti (0–3) – 6,436 7–11 20 May 4 @ Braves 7–4 Bruce (1–0) Hendley (2–2) Farrell (2) 7,811 8–11 21 May 5 @ Braves 5–6 (12) Curtis (1–2) Woodeschick (2–1) – 4,920 8–12 22 May 6 @ Braves 2–3 Spahn (3–3) Golden (1–1) – 12,635 8–13 23 May 6 @ Braves 9–1 Farrell (2–2) Willey (0–2) – 12,635 9–13 24 May 7 Dodgers 9–6 Tiefenauer (1–0) Richert (1–1) – 19,170 10–13 25 May 8 Dodgers 6–9 (10) Perranoski (2–0) Tiefenauer (1–1) Roebuck (1) 17,483 10–14 26 May 9 Dodgers 2–9 Podres (2–2) Richert (1–1) – 12,684 10–15 27 May 10 Dodgers 2–6 Drysdale (5–1) Bruce (1–1) – 15,076 10–16 28 May 11 Giants 7–0 Farrell (3–2) Perry (2–1) – 19,003 11–16 29 May 12 Giants 0–11 Marichal (6–2) Woodeshick (2–2) – 26,311 11–17 30 May 13 Giants 2–7 Sanford (4–2) Johnson (0–5) – 19,879 11–18 31 May 15 @ Dodgers 7–10 Perranoski (3–0) Tiefenauer (1–2) – 18,675 11–19 32 May 16 @ Dodgers 2–5 Moeller (2–3) Farrell (3–3) Roebuck (3) 16,075 11–20 33 May 17 @ Dodgers 4–2 (10) Roebuck (2–0) Tiefenauer (1–2) – 17,639 11–21 34 May 18 @ Giants 3–2 (10) Johnson (1–5) Sanford (4–3) – 18,544 12–21 35 May 19 @ Giants 2–10 McCormick (1–1) Witt (0–1) Larson (3) 16,701 12–22 36 May 20 @ Giants 6–5 Bruce (2–1) Marichal (7–3) Farrell (3) 40,932 13–22 37 May 20 @ Giants 4–7 Pierce (6–0) Woodeshick (2–3) – 40,932 13–23 38 May 21 Mets 3–2 Golden (2–1) Mizell (1–2) – 16,317 14–23 39 May 22 Mets 3–2 Farrell (4–3) Hook (3–3) – 11,980 15–23 40 May 23 Reds 2–0 Johnson (2–5) Purkey (7–1) – 9,266 16–23 41 May 24 Reds 0–5 Jay (6–4) Witt (0–2) – 8,570 16–24 42 May 25 Pirates 3–4 (13) Face (2–1) Tiefenauer (1–4) Sturdivant (1) 11,350 16–25 43 May 26 Pirates 2–0 Golden (3–1) Friend (4–6) – 13,909 17–25 44 May 27 Pirates 2–7 Law (2–1) Johnson (2–6) – 11,793 17–26 45 May 28 @ Reds 6–9 Jay (7–4) Farrell (4–4) – 8,979 17–27 46 May 30 @ Cubs 8–6 (14) Giusti (1–3) Schultz (3–2) – 17,842 18–27 47 May 30 @ Cubs 10–6 McMahon (1–1) Elston (2–2) – 3,722 19–27
June 1962 (13–14) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 48 June 1 @ Pirates 4–8 Face (3–1) Golden (3–2) – 14,961 19–28 49 June 2 @ Pirates 2–9 Law (3–1) Farrell (4–5) – 11,703 19–29 50 June 3 @ Pirates 10–6 Tiefenauer (2–4) Sturdivant (3–3) McMahon (1) 24,282 20–29 51 June 3 @ Pirates 10–3 Johnson (3–6) McBean (5–2) – 24,282 21–29 52 June 5 Braves 7–1 Bruce (3–1) Piche (3–1) – 11,593 22–29 53 June 6 Braves 3–6 Burdette (3–4) Golden (3–3) – 11,569 22–30 54 June 7 Braves 3–2 McMahon (2–1) Spahn (6–6) – 14,818 23–30 55 June 8 Dodgers 3–4 (13) L. Sherry (4–2) McMahon (2–2) – 15,877 23–31 56 June 9 Dodgers 13–1 Bruce (4–1) Williams (6–2) – 11,908 24–31 57 June 10 Dodgers 3–9 Drysdale (10–3) Golden (3–4) – 30,027 24–32 58 June 10 Dodgers 7–9 Moeller (5–4) Woodeshick (2–4) Perranoski (7) 30,027 24–33 59 June 11 Mets 1–3 Jackson (3–7) Farrell (4–6) – 8,920 24–34 60 June 12 Mets 3–2 Johnson (4–6) Anderson (3–6) – 7,344 25–34 61 June 14 Mets 10–2 Bruce (5–1) Hook (4–7) – 10,761 26–34 62 June 15 @ Dodgers 2–0 Golden (4–4) Drysdale (10–4) – 22,709 27–34 63 June 16 @ Dodgers 4–1 Farrell (5–6) Podres (3–6) – 51,530 28–34 64 June 17 @ Dodgers 2–6 Roebuck (4–0) Johnson (4–7) L. Sherry (5) 47,397 28–35 65 June 19 @ Giants 6–4 Giusti (2–3) O'Dell (7–6) Farrell (4) 18,749 29–35 66 June 20 @ Giants 9–5 Stone (3–2) Miller (3–2) McMahon (2) 10,430 30–35 67 June 22 @ Mets 0–2 Jackson (4–8) Farrell (5–7) – 11,484 30–36 68 June 22 @ Mets 16–3 Golden (5–4) B. Miller (0–5) – 11,484 31–36 69 June 23 @ Mets 2–13 Hook (5–8) Johnson (4–8) – 6,425 31–37 70 June 25 @ Phillies 3–4 Green (2–2) Woodeshick (2–5) – 8,087 31–38 71 June 26 @ Phillies 0–2 Hamilton (5–5) Farrell (5–8) – 18,707 31–39 72 June 26 @ Phillies 4–6 Mahaffey (9–8) Golden (5–5) – 18,707 31–40 73 June 29 Reds 0–4 O'Toole (6–9) Johnson (4–9) – 7,612 31–41 74 June 30 Reds 7–3 (7) Bruce (6–1) Maloney (2–3) – 9,758 32–41
July 1962 (5–24) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 75 July 1 Reds 1–6 Jay (11–7) Golden (5–6) – 6,666 32–42 76 July 2 Pirates 2–4 Friend (8–8) Woodeshick (2–6) Face (14) 11,760 32–43 77 July 3 Pirates 2–5 Haddix (7–3) Johnson (4–10) Face (15) 10,729 32–44 78 July 4 Pirates 0–7 Law (7–3) Bruce (6–2) – 20,005 32–45 79 July 4 Pirates 3–4 Francis (5–5) Golden (5–7) Face (16) 20,005 32–46 80 July 6 @ Reds 2–0 Woodeshick (3–6) Jay (11–8) – 15,871 33–46 81 July 7 @ Reds 1–10 Purkey (14–2) Johnson (4–11) – 6,936 33–47 82 July 8 @ Reds 8–12 Maloney (4–3) Farrell (5–9) – 18,332 33–48 83 July 8 @ Reds 11–12 (13) O'Toole (8–9) Farrell (5–10) – 18,332 33–49 84 July 11 @ Phillies 1–6 Mahaffey (11–9) Woodeshick (3–7) – 3,441 33–50 85 July 12 @ Pirates 4–6 McBean (9–5) Golden (5–8) – 14,784 33–51 86 July 13 @ Pirates 0–4 Friend (9–9) Farrell (5–11) – 15,376 33–52 87 July 14 @ Pirates 2–4 Law (8–4) Bruce (6–3) - 7,343 33–53 88 July 15 Cubs 5–4 Woodeshick (4–7) Buhl (6–7) McMahon (3) 6,907 34–53 89 July 15 Cubs 1–4 Ellsworth (5–13) Johnson (4–12) – 6,907 34–54 90 July 17 Phillies 0–3 Hamilton (6–7) Kemmerer (0–1) Baldschun (9) 8,115 34–55 91 July 17 Phillies 2–8 McLish (6–2) Farrell (5–12) Bennett (1) 8,115 34–56 92 July 18 Phillies 2–6 Green (3–2) Bruce (6–4) – 5,140 34–57 93 July 19 Phillies 2–6 Short (5–6) Woodeshick (4–8) Baldschun (10) 5,017 34–58 94 July 20 Cardinals 4–3 Farrell (6–12) McDaniel (2–5) – 15,422 35–58 95 July 21 Cardinals 0–7 Jackson (9–8) Kemmerer (0–2) – 17,742 35–59 96 July 21 Cardinals 7–3 Johnson (5–12) Simmons (8–6) Golden (1) 17,742 36–59 97 July 22 Cardinals 1–3 Gibson (13–6) Bruce (6–5) McDaniel (11) 8,685 36–60 98 July 23 Giants 1–5 Bolin (6–0) Woodeshick (4–9) – 12,096 36–61 99 July 24 Giants 1–3 Sanford (13–6) Farrell (6–13) Larsen (6) 11,289 36–62 100 July 25 Giants 2–3 O'Dell (12–8) Golden (5–9) Miller (14) 12,344 36–63 101 July 27 @ Cubs 1–5 Ellsworth (6–14) Woodeshick (4–10) – 6,111 36–64 102 July 29 @ Cubs 2–4 Koonce (9–3) Golden (5–10) Cardwell (2) 10,334 36–65 103 July 29 @ Cubs 3–1 Farrell (7–13) Hobbie (3–10) – 10,334 37–65
August 1962 (12–19) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 104 August 1 @ Braves 0–3 Shaw (12–8) Woodeshick (4–11) – 10,829 37–66 105 August 2 @ Braves 3–0 Farrell (8–13) Burdette (8–7) – 8.338 38–66 106 August 3 @ Cardinals 8–3 Johnson (6–12) Gibson (13–8) McMahon (4) 11,853 39–66 107 August 4 @ Cardinals 0–2 Washburn (10–5) Bruce (6–6) – 9,390 39–67 108 August 5 @ Cardinals 7–4 Kemmerer (1–2) McDaniel (2–6) McMahon (5) 14,954 40–67 109 August 5 @ Cardinals 4–7 Toth (1–0) Woodeshick (4–12) – 14,954 40–68 110 August 6 Reds 0–1 (13) Klippstein (4–2) McMahon (2–3) – 8,507 40–69 111 August 7 Reds 0–3 Jay (17–9) Johnson (6–13) – 6,523 40–70 112 August 8 Reds 0–4 Nuxhall (2–0) Bruce (6–7) Brosnan (8) 7,350 40–71 113 August 9 Reds 3–7 O'Toole (12–12) Woodeshick (4–13) – 5,196 40–72 114 August 10 Braves 6–7 Spahn (12–11) Brunet (0–1) Raymond (5) 7,047 40–73 115 August 11 Braves 1–3 Shaw (14–8) Farrell (8–14) Raymond (6) 14,630 40–74 116 August 12 Braves 8–5 Bruce (7–7) Burdette (9–8) Kemmerer (1) 4,902 41–74 117 August 14 Cardinals 4–3 (10) McMahon (3–3) Gibson (14–9) – 9,604 42–74 118 August 15 Cardinals 3–1 Woodeshick (5–13) Washburn (10–6) Kemmerer (2) 8,843 43–74 119 August 16 Cardinals 1–3 Jackson (10–10) Farrell (8–15) – 9,159 43–75 120 August 17 Cubs 3–2 Kemmerer (2–2) Anderson (2–6) – 6,539 44–75 121 August 18 Cubs 2–1 Brunet (1–1) Koonce (9–6) – 12,243 45–75 122 August 18 Cubs 5–6 Elston (4–7) McMahon (3–4) Cardwell (4) 12,243 45–76 123 August 19 Cubs 3–4 Buhl (9–9) Woodeshick (5–14) Anderson (4) 4,543 45–77 124 August 20 @ Phillies 1–7 Green (6–5) Farrell (8–16) – 14,601 45–78 125 August 21 @ Phillies 3–5 Mahaffey (17–10) Bruce (7–8) – 5,489 45–79 126 August 21 @ Phillies 4–7 Hamilton (7–11) Golden (5–11) – 5,489 45–80 127 August 22 @ Pirates 0–3 Sturdivant (6–3) Brunet (1–2) – 10,553 45–81 128 August 23 @ Pirates 0–4 Law (10–6) Johnson (6–14) – 10,742 45–82 129 August 24 @ Reds 2–4 Purkey (20–4) Woodeshick (5–15) – 18,879 45–83 130 August 25 @ Reds 6–7 Jay (20–10) Farrell (8–17) Brosnan (10) 12,680 45–84 131 August 26 @ Reds 2–1 Brunet (2–2) Maloney (8–5) – 25,808 46–84 132 August 26 @ Reds 6–4 McMahon (4–4) Wills (0–2) Umbricht (1) 25,808 47–84 133 August 28 @ Cardinals 4–2 Bruce (8–8) Broglio (10–7) McMahon (6) 9,510 48–84 134 August 29 @ Cardinals 3–2 Farrell (9–17) Gibson (15–10) – 8,295 49–84
September 1962 (15–12) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 135 September 1 @ Cubs 3–4 Ellsworth (8–17) McMahon (4–5) Schultz (3) 9,887 49–85 136 September 2 @ Cubs 3–1 McMahon (5–5) Buhl (10–10) – 13,088 50–85 137 September 3 Phillies 2–3 Mahaffey (18–11) Farrell (9–18) – 17,302 50–86 138 September 3 Phillies 3–5 Hamilton (8–11) Woodeshick (5–16) Bennett (3) 17,302 50–87 139 September 4 Phillies 4–1 Bruce (9–8) McLish (9–5) – 4,537 51–87 140 September 5 Pirates 5–3 Umbricht (1–0) Law (10–7) McMahon (7) 4,593 52–87 141 September 6 Pirates 4–3 Kemmerer (3–2) Face (8–7) – 5,196 53–87 142 September 7 Pirates 4–2 Golden (6–11) Jackson (8–18) McMahon (8) 6,208 54–87 143 September 8 Mets 4–3 Kemmerer (4–2) Anderson (3–17) – 1,638 55–87 144 September 8 Mets 6–5 (10) Umbricht (2–0) Craig (7–23) – 6,568 56–87 145 September 9 Mets 7–7 (8) – – – 3,630 56–87 146 September 12 Dodgers 0–1 Roebuck (10–0) Johnson (6–15) Perranoski (19) 28,669 56–88 147 September 14 @ Braves 1–3 Hendley (11–12) Farrell (9–19) – 5,505 56–89 148 September 15 @ Braves 8–9 Nottebart (2–2) Kemmerer (4–3) – 6,872 56–90 149 September 16 @ Braves 4–5 Burdette (10–9) McMahon (5–6) – 5,477 56–91 150 September 18 @ Mets 6–2 Johnson (7–15) Jackson (8–19) – 3,670 57–91 151 September 18 @ Mets 8–6 Drott (1–0) Foss (0–1) Umbricht (2) 3,670 58–91 152 September 20 @ Mets 7–2 Golden (7–11) Hook (8–18) Kemmerer (3) 1,481 59–91 153 September 20 @ Mets 5–4 (12) Kemmerer (5–3) Daviault (1–5) – 1,481 60–91 154 September 21 Giants 5–11 Perry (3–1) Brunet (2–3) Miller (18) 12,180 60–92 155 September 22 Giants 6–5 Umbricht (3–0) Miller (4–8) – 17,125 61–92 156 September 23 Giants 3–10 O'Dell (19–13) Bruce (9–9) – 9,623 61–93 157 September 25 @ Dodgers 3–2 (10) Farrell (10–19) Roebuck (10–1) – 25,036 62–93 158 September 26 @ Dodgers 1–13 Podres (15–12) Brunet (2–4) L. Sherry (11) 25,813 62–94 159 September 27 @ Dodgers 8–6 Umbricht (4–0) Perranoski (6–5) – 29,855 63–94 160 September 29 @ Giants 5–11 Sanford (24–7) Johnson (7–16) Miller (19) 26,268 63–95 161 September 29 @ Giants 4–2 Bruce (10–9) Marichal (18–11) – 26,268 64–95 162 September 30 @ Giants 1–2 Miller (5–8) Farrell (10–20) – 41,327 64–96

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
Positional abbreviations: C = Catcher; 1B = First base; 2B = Second base; 3B = Third base; SS = Shortstop; LF = Left field; CF = Center field; RF = Right field

Pos	Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	Avg.	HR	RBI	SB
C	Hal Smith	109	345	32	81	14	0	.235	12	35	0
1B	Norm Larker	147	506	58	133	19	5	.263	9	63	1
2B	Joey Amalfitano	117	380	44	90	12	5	.237	1	27	4
3B	Bob Aspromonte	149	534	59	142	18	4	.266	11	59	4
SS	Bob Lillis	129	457	38	114	12	4	.249	1	30	7
LF	Al Spangler	129	418	51	119	10	9	.285	5	35	7
CF	Carl Warwick	130	477	63	124	17	1	.260	16	60	2
RF	Román Mejías	146	566	82	162	12	3	.286	24	76	12

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases

Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	Avg.	HR	RBI	SB
Jim Pendleton	117	321	30	79	12	2	.246	8	36	0
Merritt Ranew	71	218	26	51	6	8	.234	4	24	2
Billy Goodman	82	161	12	41	4	1	.255	0	10	0
J. C. Hartman	51	148	11	33	5	0	.223	0	5	1
Pidge Browne	65	100	8	21	4	2	.210	1	10	0
Johnny Temple	31	95	14	25	4	0	.263	0	12	1
Jim Campbell	27	86	6	19	4	0	.221	3	6	0
Don Buddin	40	80	10	13	4	1	.163	2	10	0
Al Heist	27	72	4	16	1	0	.222	0	3	0
Dave Roberts	16	53	3	13	3	0	.245	1	10	0
Bob Cerv	19	31	2	7	0	0	.226	2	3	0
Johnny Weekly	13	26	3	5	1	0	.192	2	2	0
Don Taussig	16	25	1	5	0	0	.200	1	1	0
Dick Gernert	10	24	1	5	0	0	.208	0	1	0
Ron Davis	6	14	1	3	0	0	.214	0	1	1
Ernie Fazio	12	12	3	1	0	0	.083	0	1	0
Jim Busby	15	11	2	2	0	0	.182	0	1	0
George Williams	5	8	1	3	1	0	.375	0	2	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player	G	GS	IP	W	L	ERA	R	ER	BB	K
Turk Farrell	43	29	241.2	10	20	3.02	91	81	55	203
Ken Johnson	33	31	197.0	7	16	3.03	100	84	46	178
Bob Bruce	32	27	175.0	10	9	4.06	92	79	82	135
Hal Woodeshick	31	26	139.1	5	16	4.39	84	68	54	82
Bobby Shantz	3	3	20.2	1	1	1.31	4	3	5	14

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player	G	GS	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	R	ER	BB	K
Jim Golden	37	18	152.2	7	11	1	4.07	84	69	50	88
Dave Giusti	22	5	73.2	2	3	0	5.62	49	46	30	43
George Brunet	17	11	54.0	2	4	0	4.50	31	27	21	36
Dean Stone	15	7	52.1	3	2	0	4.47	31	26	20	31
Red Witt	8	2	15.1	0	2	0	7.04	14	12	9	10
Dick Drott	6	1	13.0	1	0	0	7.62	12	11	9	10

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	R	ER	BB	K
Don McMahon	51	76.2	5	5	8	1.53	14	13	33	69
Bobby Tiefenauer	43	85.0	2	4	1	4.34	42	41	21	60
Russ Kemmerer	36	68.0	5	3	3	4.10	34	31	15	23
Jim Umbricht	34	67.0	4	0	2	2.01	19	15	17	55
John Anderson	10	17.2	0	0	0	5.09	12	10	3	6
Al Cicotte	5	4.2	0	0	0	3.86	4	2	1	4

Farm system

1962 minor league affiliates

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Oklahoma City 89ers	American Association	Connie Ryan
B	Durham Bulls	Carolina League	Lou Fitzgerald
C	Modesto Colts	California League	Fred Hatfield
D	Moultrie Colt .22s	Georgia–Florida League	Jim Walton

References

External links

• 1962 Houston Colt .45s season at Baseball Reference
• 1962 Houston Colt .45s season at retrosheet.org (Archived 2009-05-04)