This date in Houston baseball history, fans got a glimpse of the future Houston Astros

Wide angle photography of Minute Maid Park Home Plate entrance prior to a baseball game between the Houston Astros and the Chicago Cubs, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016, in Houston. (AP Photo/Juan DeLeon)

 

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San Francisco Giants ace Juan Marichal pitched the only no-hitter of his Hall of Fame career against the Houston Colt .45s on June 15, 1963. The game ended up as a pitcher’s duel, as Colt .45s hurler Dick Drott gave up only one run on three hits and held future Hall of Famers Willie McCovey, and Orlando Cepeda hitless.

Marichal was throwing a perfect game with two outs in the fifth inning, until he gave up a walk to Al Spangler. Marichal gave up another walk to Bob Aspromonte in the seventh, but neither runner reached second base.

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Meanwhile, Dick Drott had a quality start, giving up only one hit to future Hall of Famer Willie Mays in the first inning. He gave up only run of the game with two outs in the eighth inning. A leadoff double from Jim Davenport forced Drott into a jam. He successfully retired Matty Alou and Marichal, before giving up and RBI double to Chuck Hiller. Drott got the final out of the inning when Felipe Alou hit a foul popup to third baseman Aspromonte.

Marichal retired the Colt .45s in order in the ninth, including two strikeouts to close out the game, to notch his career milestone.

The Giants sat atop the National League standings at the time, just a half-game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals. Meanwhile, the Colt .45s were struggling to stay out of the league’s basement, just one game up on the New York Mets. The Colt .45s and the Mets had started out as expansion teams the year before, and were still struggling to find their footing in the competitive Senior Circuit.

See the full box score at Baseball Reference.

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