#175 Bob Aspromonte

Hey look, it's Aspro the Astro! Bob Aspromonte is just lucky that Charley Finley didn't own the Houston team, or he probably would have asked him to replace that "p" with a "t". In other news, this is officially the last Astros card I'll be posting for the 1965 set. Thank goodness. If I had to look at one more bare-headed portrait with the drab gray border and logo-less pennant, I think I would've gone mad.

Fun facts about Bob Aspromonte:

-Bob was born in Brooklyn, and signed with the hometown Dodgers in 1956.

-His older brother Ken roamed the infield for the Senators, Indians, and four other clubs (1957-1963), batting .249 in 475 career games.

-Bob played one game for the Dodgers in September of 1956 at age 18, then made it back to stay in 1960. His first home run was hit off of Lew Burdette on May 5, 1960.

-He was tabbed as a starting third baseman by the Houston Colt .45s after they took him in the expansion draft. Leading off for the club in their inaugural game on April 10, 1962, he went 3-for-4 with a walk, a steal, and three runs scored in an 11-2 rout of the Cubs. He's in the trivia books for the first base hit and the first run scored in franchise history.

-Bob had a reputation as a skilled defender at the hot corner. In 1962, he had a streak of 57 consecutive errorless games, a record at the time. He led National League third basemen in fielding percentage in 1964 (.973) and 1971 (.965).

-In 1964, Aspromonte batted .280 with career highs of 12 home runs and 69 RBI.

-On June 10, 1968, there was a national day of mourning following the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. Aspromonte and teammate Rusty Staub refused to play in that day's scheduled game, and were fined.

-Bob was traded to the Braves after the 1968 season, becoming the last of the original Colt .45s to leave the team. He spent two years in Atlanta and a season with the Mets before retiring in 1971. When he called it quits, he was the last of the Brooklyn Dodgers active in the major leagues.

-In parts of 13 seasons, he batted .252 with 60 home runs and 457 RBI.

-Aspromonte ran a Coors beer distributorship for many years, but is now retired. He still lives in Houston.