Baseball was
played in Houston as early as 1861 when the Houston Base Ball Club was
formed. The Houston Stonewalls triumphed over the Galveston Robert E.
Lees on April 21, 1868 at the San Jacinto Battleground in the first
game reported in the local newspaper. For two decade after that,
amateur base ball clubs flourished in Texas towns, following a trend
that led to the formation of professional base ball clubs in the East
by 1871.In 1888, the local sport went "professional" and adopted the name "baseball" as Houston was a founding member of the Texas League with its team the Houston Red Stockings.
For the next decade, the Houston team enjoyed some competitive success, winning pennants in 1889, 1892 and 1896. However, the team and the league was less successful financially, and the league folded on July 5, 1899.
Professional
baseball returned to Houston in 1903 as the new South Texas League was
formed. The revitalized team also began play about this time in their
new ball park, called the Ball Park. Located in the Fourth Ward about
seven blocks south of Buffalo Bayou from the Sabine Street bridge, the
Ball Park was situated on land that previously was the farm and home of
Houston mayor John D. Andrews, who served from 1841-1842. After his
death, the tract lay undeveloped for many years while the Fourth Ward
developed around it. The Ball Park, at the corner of Andrews Street and
Heiner Street, was situated on the southern edge of the San Felipe
District, the foremost black community of the city, but it was also
near the grandiose homes of prominent citizens along the streets
extending south of town. Today, the site is under Interstate 45 and the
Reliant Energy substation near
Jefferson Avenue.Houston rejoined the Texas League in 1907, and two years later, the club took the name Buffaloes, or Buffs, which remained with them for the next fifty-three years. The team continued to have winning seasons and they won pennants in 1905, 1909, 1910, 1912 and 1913.
The local support for the baseball team was sufficient enough that in 1923 the St. Louis Cardinals purchased the controlling interest of the club. The legendary Branch Rickey made the Houston Buffs one of the premier clubs in his famous farm system.
On April 11,
1928, the Houston Buffs played the first game in their new 11,000 seat
stadium on Calhoun Road which the Commissioner of Baseball Kenesaw
Mountain Landis, who attended opening day, called "The finest minor
league baseball park in America." Today, the site is occupied by the
Fingers Furniture Company store.In 1962, Houston joined Major League Baseball's National League. The Houston Colt .45's opened in a temporary stadium on South Main Street prior to emerging for the 1965 season in the Astrodome as the Houston Astros. Since 2000, the Houston Astros have played at Minute Maid Park (nee Enron Field), initially dubbed the Ball Park at Union Station, on Texas Avenue at Crawford Street.
Go Astros!