Houston City Beat – Episode 2

Welcome to Houston City Beat, I’m Lisbet Marquez. We are so glad you can join us today. We are going to visit a newly renovated hotel in the Houston Energy Corridor and see all their new and wonderful amenities. Baseball season is upon us and we will take a look back when the Houston Astros had their first-ever Opening Day at a brand new Astrodome on the latest edition of Astrotalk. You’ll also see the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo just wrapped up another great and successful show with almost 2.5 million people in attendance. Mike Acosta and I went to the Rodeo’s BBQ Cookoff that kicked off festivities at NRG Park. Let’s take a look back at the sights and sounds of that night, which included a new experience into the world of deep fried foods for yours truly! 

About Holiday Inn Express 

We recently visited the Holiday Inn Express in the Houston Energy Corridor along the west side of Houston in Katy. This hotel has just undergone extensive renovations that have brought new amenities that not only appeal to those visiting our area, but also provide opportunities for those of us locally who might need a place to hold their next event! Let’s take a look. 

April 12, 1965 was a big day for baseball in Houston, Texas. People from just about anywhere were fascinated with the new and revolutionary Astrodome where Houston culture, Texas heritage, and American innovation came together.  

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR) 

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR) is an annual event held in Houston, Texas since 1932. As the largest livestock show and rodeo in the world, HLSR consists of a variety of family-friendly activities, such as carnival rides, livestock shows, featuring various breeds of cattle, horses, sheep, and swine, rodeo events, live concerts, and educational events. The event also features a wide variety of cultural and culinary experiences, such as the Bar-B-Que Cook-Off, which is the world’s largest barbecue competition. The event is usually held in March and April and attracts more than two million visitors each year. 

About Astrotalk 

Baseball season is once again upon us and in this edition of Astrotalk our very own Mike Acosta takes us back to 1965 when the Houston Astros played their first-ever Opening Day in the Astrodome.

April 12, 1965, was a big day for baseball in Houston, Texas. People from just about anywhere were fascinated with the new and revolutionary Astrodome where Houston culture, Texas heritage, and American innovation came together. This was Opening Day for the 1965 season. Houston played for three seasons just a few hundred feet away on the north side of the Astrodome as the Colt .45s. On this night the team emerged for the first time in a regular season game as the Houston Astros.

Inspired by the innovation of NASA’s manned spacecraft center in Houston, team president and Astrodome visionary Roy Hofheinz wanted a new name that looked towards the future. Something that would blaze new trails. Nineteen of America’s astronauts tossed the first pitch from behind the Astros dugout and were presented with lifetime gold passes from Warren Giles, president of the National League in a pregame ceremony. The Astros also retired #32 in honor or the late Jim Umbricht. The tall right-handed pitcher passed away just a year before after a battle with cancer.

Also making a debut on Opening Day with a pregame comedy sketch was TV celebrity Bill Dana, who was hired by the Astros as the first-ever team mascot.

As for the game, the Philadelphia Phillies won 2-0 and Richie Allen hit the first regular season home run in the Astrodome (a two-run shot) in the third inning off Houston starter Bob Bruce. Philadelphia starter Chris Short pitched a complete game, striking out 11 Astros batters and earning the win.

The Astros’ schedule took them on the road after playing a single Opening Day game. During that time the Astros’ front office painted the skylights of the Astrodome, which had produced an enormous amount of glare in the daytime. Fortunately, Opening Day, 1965 was a night contest.

We want to thank our sponsors Organized For Me, InfoVine, Fun Faces, and Big City Website. At Houston City Beat we are proud of the city that we live in, where there’s so many wonderful things happening in our communities and together, we have the pulse of one, and there’s just something about that beat! Houston City Beat! For Mike Acosta, I’m Lisbet Marquez, thank you for joining us!

This segment of Houston CIty Beat is brought to you by Big City Website. Visit them online today at BigCityWebsite.com for all your web building, content writing, and SEO needs.

Organized For Me: Organizedforme.com
Infovine: Infovine.com
Fun Faces: FunFaces.fun
Big City Website: bigcitywebsite.com 

Contributing Writer: Mike Acosta, Executive Producer @Houston City Beat
Host: Lisbet Marquez, Founder @Houston City Beat