MONDAY

As I looked out the tenth-floor window in the hospital, I noticed I could see the Astrodome. It made me reflect on my first visit to the Astrodome with my family in 1965. I don’t think I could have been any more excited than seeing “The 8th Wonder of the World.” It looked like a big alien spaceship. It was not my first major league game because my uncle had taken my cousin and me to Colt 45 Stadium the year before. In reflecting back, I thought of my most enjoyable moments in the Dome.

At the top of the list was the 1968 Houston vs UCLA basketball game in which Elvin Hayes led the Cougars to an upset of UCLA’s 77-game winning streak. Lou Alcindor had to wear a patch over his damaged eye. It was the first college game to be played in a large stadium and it was packed with excitement. I got to go because the president of the City School System which operated Lake Charles High had a box in the Dome that sat twenty people. The varsity basketball team was treated to the trip.

Of all the Astro games I attended, the 22-inning affair that lasted to 1am is my fondest memory. The Dodgers had to resort to playing Fernando Valenzuela at first base in the later innings while the Astros had to put SS Craig Reynolds in left field. We left In the 20th inning because my kids were sleeping in their seats. It was a Saturday night with a 2pm game on Sunday which we had tickets for. Many of the players slept in the dressing room.

The most exciting two games I have seen were in 1980 and 1986 when the Astros played the Phils and Mets in the playoffs. I saw Kevin Bass strike out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th to lose one of the games but saw Billy Hatcher hit a home run that hit the foul pole and sent the crowd into hysteria in another game. Very disappointing losses in both series.

I remember standing on a picnic table in center field and watching Sandy Kofax pitch from ground level. I think they closed off that area the next year so fans could not sit and picnic in the outfield. I would say that Sandy pitched a no-hitter, but I really don’t remember.

I have to say that going to the Astrodome for an Indoor Track Meet in 1969 was an eye-opener seeing a 300-meter wooden track. Teammates like Bobby and Dickie Morgan, Fanahan McSweeny, Johnny Brassell, and Roy Felder had good meets. My memory is fading, but I feel like it was a great experience.

My final experience was in 1999 when my son and I went down to the Astrodome to see two state football championship games. My wife and I worked at Garland High and our team was playing Katy for the championship. This 100-year-old school had the same support, pride, and traditions that my old high school had. It had gone through some rough times after the 1960’s, but it became an International School (IB)in 1994 when my wife was recruited to teach the very best students in a city of 250,000. The football program was rebuilt and all the old fans from the 50’s and 60’s would attend pep rallies and fill up the stadium. They had several state titles, but no one thought it was possible to get back to that level. We won and the students went crazy.

The game before ours was PNG with QB Dustin Long vs Art Briles coached Stephenville. His son Kendall was the quarterback and the Dome was packed with purple and red. I don’t remember who won, but I am a big PNG fan. Kendall is one of the top OC’s in college football today.

The Dome just sits there dying on the vine, but full of memories. Please do something with it and save this historical building.