Roy Hofheinz
- Founder and Former Owner (1962-1976)
There would be no franchise without Roy Hofheinz. Roy Hofheinz, also referred to as “The Judge,” grew up in Beaumont, Texas and graduated from University of Houston Law School in . From there, he would begin a long career of Texas politics. Hofheinz served as a Texas state representative, Harris County Judge and eventually Mayor of Houston. Hofheinz would later join a group of Houston businessmen with the intentions of bringing baseball to Houston.
It wasn’t until 1960 that the National League granted an expansion franchise to Hofheinz’s group, allowing the Houston Colt 45’s to begin play in the 1962 season. Interestingly, the Houston Colt .45s beat the Chicago Cubs 11-2 in their ’62 debut on the 50th birthday of “The Judge”. Additionally, Hofheinz was instrumental in the project to construct the “8th Wonder of the World”, the Astrodome. Roy Hofheinz passed away 1982 after continuing his legacy of bringing massive entertainment projects to Houston, following his success of bringing Houston it’s first franchise.