08/04/2006
Cranks, Rooters & Fans to host "Colt .45s Exhibit" tonight
By: Mike Jones , Sports Editor

What: Free Colt .45s baseball memorabilia exhibit (several former players will be on-hand)

When: Tonight, 6:30 p.m.

Where: Cranks, Rooters & Fans in The Woodlands (across water from Sam's Boat on I-45 northbound feeder road just south of Woodlands Parkway)
Baseball fans and supporters of Houston teams will have a fun opportunity tonight, when Cranks, Rooters & Fans in The Woodlands displays a "Colt .45s Exhibit."

The Houston Astros, who were originally the Colt .45s, had early fan favorites in Larry Dierker, Norm Miller, Jimmy Wynn, Bob Aspromonte, Al Spangler and Johnny Edwards.
Those players are expected to be in attendance tonight at the memorabilia store, which is located across the water from Sam's Boat off the northbound I-45 feeder road just south of Woodlands Parkway.

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"The Texas Baseball Hall of Fame recently moved its headquarters to Houston and doesn't have a structure so they came to us," said Cranks, Rooters & Fans owner Paul Bohannon. "They liked what we'd done in the past and asked us about it. This is their first event and we worked with them pulling the exhibit together. It was very nice. There are some very interesting pieces."

Those items include a Nellie Fox used Colt .45s bat, as well as one of the travelling suits the team had to wear.

"The players rebelled over wearing them," said Bohannon. "It was a blue cowboy suit with orange striping on it. They wore a cream-colored shirt with orange pinstripes in baseball stitching and an orange tie. They also had a cowboy belt with a Colt .45 on it and wore blue boots with orange stitching. The team also issued them a replica Colt .45. When they arrived in a town and got off the plane, they all put their guns up and fired them. We have a picture picture of the team getting on the plane for their first trip."

The Astros contributed the "Jimmy Wynn Seat" to the exhibit, which is the seat in the Astrodome where Wynn hit the first home run into the upper deck. The Astros also sent along one of the space helmets the groundskeepers wore.

Recent Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Gene Elston, the longtime Houston broadcaster, is also expected to be at the event.

For more information about the exhibit and more events sponsored by the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame, visit its Web site at www.TBHOF.org. Those interested in attending the Colt .45s exhibit in The Woodlands are asked to RSVP at www.cranksrootersfans.com.




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