The Houston Astros have been a franchise for a pretty long time, not as long as other historic franchises but 56 years and counting is still something. The franchise began in 1962 when Houston was awarded an expansion team. Owners Craig F. Cullinan Jr. and Roy Hofheinz named the team the Colt 45s.
However, that didn’t last too terribly long and the franchise switched its name from the Colt 45s to the Astros in 1965. As the Colt 45s, the team struggled in three seasons going 196 – 288. After switching to the Astros, the team has gone 4,298 – 4,323.