This Astros trivia quiz has 50 free questions with answers and runs from the franchise's birth as the Houston Colt .45s in 1962 through the Astrodome era, the rainbow uniforms, Nolan Ryan and Mike Scott, the Killer B's of the 1990s, the 2005 pennant, the analytics-driven rebuild under Jim Crane and Jeff Luhnow, and the modern powerhouse that reached seven straight ALCS and won it all in 2017 and 2022. It covers players, managers, ballparks, mascots, uniforms, records and the sign-stealing scandal. Early questions are fine for casual fans who know Altuve and Orbit; later ones reward people who remember who scored the team's first run, which manager won his first game with a no-hitter, and how many innings the 1968 marathon against the Mets went. Every answer was checked against encyclopaedia entries before publishing.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What was the Houston franchise called when it entered the National League in 1962?
The Colt .45s
The name came from a fan contest won by William Irving Neder; the Colt .45 was 'the gun that won the West'.
Q 02Which other expansion team joined the National League alongside Houston in 1962?
New York Mets
The two clubs took turns picking unprotected players in an expansion draft after the 1961 season.
Q 03What did the team's new name, adopted for 1965, reflect?
Houston's role in the space program
The change was announced on December 1, 1964, as the domed stadium was rising nearby.
Q 04What was the Astrodome nicknamed when it opened in 1965?
The Eighth Wonder of the World
Officially it opened as the Harris County Domed Stadium; attendance boomed because people came just to see the building.
Q 05Why was AstroTurf invented for the Astrodome in 1966?
Grass would not grow after the roof panels were painted
The panels were painted to cut glare that had fielders losing routine pop flies, and the grass died.
Q 06Which legendary pitcher threw the Astrodome's first test pitches to see how breaking balls behaved indoors?
Satchel Paige
He was 58 at the time; the stadium's official opening day came two months later, April 9, 1965.
Q 07How many innings did the Astros' famous 1968 marathon against the Mets last?
24
After six hours, Bob Aspromonte's grounder got past Al Weis and Norm Miller scored the only run.
Q 08Which Astros pitcher threw the Astrodome's first no-hitter in 1967 and another in 1969?
Don Wilson
He died in 1975 at just 29; his number 40 was retired that April.
Q 09Which Hall of Fame second baseman did the Astros send to Cincinnati in the lopsided 1971 'Big Trade'?
Joe Morgan
Houston also sent Denis Menke, Jack Billingham, César Gerónimo and Ed Armbrister, getting Lee May, Tommy Helms and Jimmy Stewart back.
Q 10What did the Astros' famous 1975 'rainbow' uniforms feature from the chest down?
Yellow, orange and red stripes
The stripes were meant to look like a rocket's fiery trail; the team wore them home and away until 1980.
Q 11Which Alvin, Texas native did the Astros sign to baseball's first seven-figure annual contract?
Nolan Ryan
He threw his fifth career no-hitter as an Astro in 1981 and finished that season with a 1.69 ERA.
Q 12Which Astros pitcher clinched the 1986 NL West with a no-hitter?
Mike Scott
It remains the only time any division has been clinched that way; Scott won the Cy Young that year.
Q 13Which opponent did the Astros face in the dramatic 1986 NLCS?
New York Mets
Houston lost the series in six, missing the chance to send Scott out for a Game 7.
Q 21What was the quirky feature named for Tal Smith that was removed from the ballpark after 2016?
A center-field incline with a flagpole in play
Removing it let the team move the center-field wall in to 409 feet.
Q 22Which pitcher won a record seventh Cy Young Award with the Astros in 2004?
Roger Clemens
He was 42 that year; a year later he posted a league-low 1.87 ERA.
Q 23Who swept the Astros in their first World Series appearance in 2005?
Chicago White Sox
Roy Oswalt had been NLCS MVP; a dispute over whether the ballpark roof should be open marked the series.
Q 14Which two Hall of Famers led the 'Killer B's' of the 1990s and 2000s?
Bagwell and Biggio
Derek Bell and Sean Berry rounded out the original quartet; Lance Berkman later joined the club.
Q 15Which team originally drafted Jeff Bagwell before trading him to Houston in 1990?
Boston Red Sox
He went for reliever Larry Andersen, then won Rookie of the Year in 1991 and MVP in 1994.
Q 16In which year did Jeff Bagwell win the National League MVP award?
1994
That season was cut short by a strike, and Bagwell himself missed the end of it with a broken hand.
Q 17Craig Biggio is the only player to be an All-Star and win a Silver Slugger at which two positions?
Catcher and second base
He was the everyday catcher by 1990 before moving to second and later the outfield.
Q 18How many hits did Craig Biggio collect on the night he reached 3,000?
Five
He needed three and got five, becoming the 27th player to reach the mark — all with one team.
Q 19Biggio's career total of 285 in which category trails only Hughie Jennings in MLB history?
Times hit by pitch
He led the NL in getting plunked five times.
Q 20What was the Astros' downtown ballpark called when it opened in 2000?
Enron Field
After the energy company's collapse the name went to Minute Maid in 2002, and it was renamed Daikin Park in 2025.
Q 24Which businessman bought the Astros in 2011?
Jim Crane
Agreeing to move the club to the American League was a condition of the sale, and MLB gave him a $70 million concession for it.
Q 25In which season did the Astros begin play in the American League West?
2013
They had played in the NL West from 1969 and the NL Central from 1994.
Q 26What is the name of the Astros' lime-green, antennae-wearing mascot?
Orbit
He served from 1990 to 1999, was replaced by a character named Junction Jack, and returned in 2012 for the AL move.
Q 27What kind of animal was Junction Jack, the mascot introduced for the 2000 move downtown?
A rabbit
He had two unofficial relatives, Junction Julie and Junction Jesse.
Q 28In which country was Jose Altuve born?
Venezuela
He signed as an amateur free agent in 2007 and debuted in 2011.
Q 29In which year was Altuve named American League MVP?
2017
He led the majors with a .346 average and reached 200 hits for the fourth straight season.
Q 30How did Altuve end the 2019 ALCS against the Yankees?
A walk-off home run
It sent Houston to its third World Series, which it lost to Washington in seven games.