anybody remember those stunt shows and smash up derby's they used to have? i remember my dad taking me to those all the time. I still remember at one stunt show the main stunt was the "five story free fall fire jump"....some motorcycle guy drove off a ramp from the grey level ( i think) and down to the field then was supposed to jump some cars on fire....well if i remember correctly, they had trouble starting the fire...then the motorcycle guy got impatient and went ahead and performed the stunt. the crew wasn't prepared for him to go yet, and after he completed his jump (minus the fire)...he crashed into the door in the corridor beyond center field because it wasn't opened all the way. I was 8 when the we welcomed home the Oilers after their loss to Pittsburgh, and hearing bum say next year we are going to kick the sumbitch in was awesome. Rockets victory pep rally was awesome too.
I remember waiting in the ridiculous restroom lines, and then having to use those long metal things that everybody pees in(I forgot what their called).
Weird. I know I'm getting senile , but that's not how I remember Foamers. The way I remember it, there was a little red light above the clock on the scoreboard that lit up on even numbered minutes during certain innings or sometimes the entire game. If an Astro hit a home run while the light was on, it was free beer for the house during the rest of that inning. Falstaff...mmmmm....uuuugh! And they would give beer to ANYONE, regardless of age. How do I remember this? My Dad had season tickets (second level...first base side) at the time, beginning around 1973 or 1974...I was like somewhere around age 10-13. He held the season tickets through the 1970s and 1980s until the 1986 playoffs. I just think he couldn't take it anymore after that last game against the Mets! When it happened, as soon as the ball landed in the bleachers, my Dad would yell TAKE OFF!! at me, and I would dash to the beer stand, and bring back a whole freaking tray of beer. I remember that cuz one time while taking it back, I slipped on some spilled beer, the tray went flying, and I got an instant beer-bath. I think they may have later changed foamers to include strikeouts....since the Astros weren't hitting too many home runs at the time!
I suspect many will think I am making this stuff up... July 31, 1983 - the summer after my senior year in high school I was waiting in line at the Dome overnight to buy Doobie Brothers tickets the following morning. Late that night, me and six friends climbed to the top of the Houston Astrodome. It wasn't that hard. We started in one of the entrance areas. It was fenced over, and we could climb that to reach the "brick area" There was a ledge we had to get around to reach that brick area. The brick area has openings between the bricks, so climbing that was like climbing a ladder. It was very high though, so pretty scary. I haven't seen the dome probably in ten years, but I remember that it looks like the "dome part" and the "brick part" meet. They don't. There was a wide flat area at the top of the bricks, and the bottom of the dome was a bit above that. Again, this was a long time ago, and the details are a bit fuzzy. We had to crawl under some AC units to get to a point where we could access the dome. The curve of the dome is not that steep, probably less steep than the roof of most homes. We walked up the dome and reached the light at the top. That light was about 2 feet tall, about 1 foot across. I stole an orange flag while I was up there. I lost it several years ago in college. I saw many high school and pro football games in the dome. I saw the Osmonds and Sonny and Cher et. al. at the rodeo there. I saw Sugar Ray Leonard box there. The thrill shows/destruction derbys were always cool. I also was there when Bum promised to "kick the door in next year". Climbing it though is my greatest memory.
I totally forgot about high school playoff games. Katy had three amazing games in the Dome that I attended (even more that I didn't). One was in 1992 against Clements when we went to the state quarterfinals. We were down 11 with a minute or so left. We scored a touchdown, recovered the onside kick, then threw a 55 yard touchdown on the very next play. The next was in 1994 against Beaumont Westbrook. Down 11 again with about two minutes left. We scored a touchdown, then kicked the onside kick. It ended up bouncing between both teams all the way back to about the 20 yard-line or so before Westbrook recovered (we had no timeouts). During the fight for the ball, a couple of our players and a couple of their players got in a little shoving match, then Westbrook's star QB came from behind and nailed one of our players in the head. He was ejected and Westbrook was given two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties that moved the ball to their own five. With their backup QB in the game for the first time, he fumbled the handoff to the RB and we recovered the ball in the endzone for the go-ahead touchdown. So, with about a minute left, they were driving down the field at will against our prevent. Coach puts in Rob Peters who really hadn't played defense in two years. First play he's in, interception to seal the victory en route to the State Finals. The best part was that Westbrook's parents were threatening to sue to stop our next game against Judson because of the ejection of the player. (Of course, in 1998, a lawyer at the law firm I was working at in Austin nearly tried to sue to enable Katy to play Midland Lee) The next was in 1997 when we upset the highly favored Longview Lobos that ended up putting us at #3 in the nation at the end of the year.
1993? Oilers leading 20-10 at the half of the divisional playoffs. There best chance to get to the Superbowl playing a game at home. Joe Montana realizes he is Joe Montana and gets the victory. The last NFL playoff game in dome, if I remember correctly.
I know you know that quarterback's name. I was at a High School Football game when Koy Detmer and San Antonio Mission(?) and their run and shoot offense got their a$$es stomped by Aldine's option and Eric Gray. Mission's fans had packed the first two levels and they were so disappointed.
You are right about the even numbered minutes, but I'm pretty sure it was a foamer when, in the top of the 7th an Astro pitcher recorded a strikeout, and if there was no strikeout then the foamer carried over to the bottom of the inning where a HR would get everyone free beer. I think once J.R. Richard made the big league club (1974) shortly after they did away with the foamer all together.
When the Rockets won their first championship, a friend and I drove over from Orange for the parade downtown. Afterward, we hung around Houston for a while and ended up sitting in the pavillion at the Astros game that night, I believe against the Padres. Jeff Bagwell his three home runs that night, including two in one inning. The guy sitting in front of me caught one of the home runs on the fly with his bare hands. On Sportscenter that night, they showed the highlight and you could see my red Rockets jersey right next to where the ball came down.
Astros clinch the division against the cubs in 1997. Game was could be heard/seen on the live ER that night. Hampy threw a complete game. Second would have to be Randy Johnson's first start at the dome. Dulles playoff games. Oilers vs. Bengals, first pro football game in 1997 as well. Oilers vs. Miami in what could have been the last football game ever at the Astrodome, but then they were made to stay another year.
Saw dozens of 'Stros games from mid '70 til they moved. Saw about 5 total Oilers games- vs. BROWNS (lost 7-40) OILERS vs. SEAHAWKS playoff won on kick from Tony Zendejas, OILERS vs. JETS playoff won, I think on kick also, a monday night game vs. CHICAGO, won 35-7 Carlson played Moon had broken rotator cuff... Saw the Game vs. LIONS where Barry Sanders broke the 10,000 yards rushing mark, Air McNair started the second half, almost won it for us... In 1986 I believe we hosted the MLB All-Star weekend, I saw Daryl Strawberry (coked up???) hit a homer in the home-run derby contest that hit a speaker suspended from the ceiling about 700 ft from the plate... the ball hit it while still going, it was not coming down yet... (yep, probably coked up) Several Rodeo concerts - Hank Williams, Jr. , K.C. & the Sunshine Band, CHicago, Clint Black, Ann Murray, Ronnie Milsap, Charlie Pride, The Statlers, Oakridge..lots of old school, and Color Me Badd w/Patti LaBelle... many more wierd mixtures I can'ty remember... I wish I'd seen Selena there. Dome Dogs were the best hot dog on the planet, and the more recent stuffed baked potatoes by Luther's BBQ were the best deal at any major sports venue ever. Saw som high-school playoffs, and some Uof H games too... Memories. And I just remembered after reading the Charlie Anderson article (see first post of thread) My dad was at the very first exhibition game with the Yankees and (Stros? of Colt .45's) anyway, he saw Mantle hit the first Homer (exhibition nonetheless) in the Dome.
