Bob Aspromonte

Robert Thomas Aspromonte, born June 19, 1938, was an American professional baseball third baseman who played in Major League Baseball in 1956 and from 1960 to 1971. He is most associated with the Houston Colt .45s, the newly formed expansion team for which he served as the regular third baseman through the franchise's first seven seasons, before it was renamed the Astros. Aspromonte was the first-ever batter for Houston. He was also the last Brooklyn Dodger to appear in a major league game, having come up through the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers organization. Over the course of his career he additionally played for the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he graduated from Lafayette High School. He is the younger brother of former major league player and manager Ken Aspromonte. After leaving the game, Aspromonte became a successful businessman in Houston, Texas. He was inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005 and elected to the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. In 2019, he was among the inaugural class of inductees to the Houston Astros Hall of Fame.