Former Houston Colt .45 dies

[Gabe]

Former Houston Colt .45 dies

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HOUSTON (AP) — Hal Woodeshick, an original member of the Houston Colt .45s, has died. He was 76.

Woodeshick, who worked mostly as a reliever, was 44-62 in 427 games in his 11-year career. He played for five different teams beginning in 1956 with Detroit. In 1962 he joined the Colt .45s — who were renamed the Astros in 1965 — and played in Houston until he was traded to St. Louis in the middle of 1965. .

He made the All-Star team in 1963 when he was 11-9 in 55 games with 10 saves and a 1.97 ERA. He held Houston’s record for career saves with 36 until Fred Gladding outdid the mark in 1970.

Tal Smith, Astros president of baseball operations, said: “Woody was one of the key components of the franchise in the early days. He was a closer when it wasn’t fashionable.â€

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Man, I remember going to the games to watch the Astros. They were awful but fun to watch because it was exciting to see the errors made. They had a guy in right field who would misjudge pop flies............so comical back in the days.