The
NEVADA DUSTERS
The Story of a Major League Baseball Franchise
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Dusters @ Colt .45's
April 4-6, 1962
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"Hudson's Folly"
When, in early 1961, Conn Hudson announced his intention to build a major league ballpark on 187 acres of land he owned along Horizon Ridge southeast of Las Vegas, most people thought he was being eccentric, if not foolish, since at the time he had not been successful in acquiring a baseball franchise. Hudson did not ask for, nor did the city consider, a bond issue to help finance the structure; the $14,200,000 price tag was paid out of the oil millionaire's own pocket. In 1962 it was commonly referred to as "Hudson's Folly."
Completed in late 1961, Horizon Field had a grandstand consisting of two major decks. The lower deck extended down the first and third base lines and, in the latter case, wrapped around to left center field. The upper deck extended down the first and third base lines with a section of bleachers in right center field. At the southern, open end was the center field scoreboard. Through the open southern end fans could see not the lights of Vegas but rather an expanse of desert plain and distant mountains. The park's capacity was 42,200. The field was bluegrass. Original dimensions were 325 ft. (left), 367 ft. (left center), 412 ft. (center), 377 ft. (right center), and 335 ft. (right). The wind, which often reached 10-15 mph, usually came from the south, blowing in from the open end of the park, down the left field side, and swirling around and up the right field side.
Hudson commissioned Emil Praeger, who had previously designed Dodger Stadium, as the project's chief architect. Horizon Field was completed in December 1961 and the first game played there occurred on April 1, 1962.
 Nevada Dusters @ Houston Colt .45's
April 4-6, 1962
Colt Stadium, Houston, TX
DL: Clete Boyer (3B), 13 days, strained finger. Johnny Blanchard (C), 6 days, strained elbow ligament.
TRADE OFFERS:
--Boston Red Sox offered Carroll Hardy (OF) for Hector Lopez (OF) or Donn Clendenon (1B-AAA). DECLINED.
--Los Angeles Angels offered Bobby Trevino (CF), Frank Leja (P) and Dick Simpson (OF) for Hector Lopez (OF) and Johnny Blanchard (C). DECLINED.
--Minnesota Twins offered Joe Nossek (OF) for Johnny Blanchard (C). DECLINED.
--Los Angeles Angels offered Tom Satriano (3B/C) for Hector Lopez (OF) or Johnny Blanchard (C). DECLINED.
--Washington Senators offered Hank Allen (OF) for Hector Lopez (OF). DECLINED.
Houston Colt .45's Game 1 starting lineup
Al Spangler (LF), Jim Busby (CF), Billy Goodman (3B), Norm Larker (1B), Hal Smith (C), Don Buddin (SS), Walt Williams (RF), Joey Amalfitano (2B), Dick Drott (SP)
 [April 4, Game 1]
In January ground had been broken for the Astrodome, future home of the Houston franchise, and the first domed stadium in the majors. But for now games continued to be played at Colt Stadium, a field where there was very little breeze and very many mosquitoes. That didn't seem to bother the Dusters, who cruised to an 8-0 victory behind superb pitching by Joe Horlen (1-3, 6.62 with the Chicago White Sox in '61). Horlen allowed five hits in the first shutout for the Dusters. Nevada scored four runs in the second thanks to a two-run double by Vic Power and a fielding error by Houston third baseman Billy Goodman. In the 6th two Dusters hit homers in the same frame for the first time -- a solo shot by Johnny Schaive and a two-run blast to right center by Lee Maye. Power was 3-for-5 with three RBIs on the day, while Maye was 2-for-5 with two ribbies. Schaive had his best day at the plate so far -- 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Ben Naylor's one regret was that he pulled Horlen in the 9th after the starter gave up two singles, bringing Jim Brewer in from the bullpen to shut the Colt '45's down. "I probably should have let Joe stay in for a complete game," admitted Nails.
Lineup: Power, Maye, Williams, Adair, Tresh, Hubbs, Camilli, Schaive, Horlen
Record: 3-1
Dusters 8, Colt .45's 0
[April 5, Game 2]
It hadn't escaped Conn Hudson's notice that the expansion Houston club had drawn an average of over 32,000 fans to its first four home games, more than twice what the Dusters had attracted to Horizon Field in its first home series. Tony Cloninger got his second start -- and was touched for five runs on seven hits in just four innings of work. Jim Constable and Bobby Locke worked the last four frames and allowed three more runs on five more hits. The worst offender was Houston third baseman Billy Goodman, who went 3-for-5 with three RBIs. The Dusters scored in the 1st when Lee Maye stretched a single into a double, stole third, and scored on a Billy Williams grounder. They added two more in the 5th, which tied the game at 3, but Houston broke it open in the next frame with three runs on four hits. Houston starter Bob Bruce notched his second win in as many starts. Mack Jones, who made his first appearance on the Nevada starting lineup, playing center field in place of Tom Tresh, went 0-for-3 with a walk. Nevada's 4.91 team ERA was the worst in either league.
Lineup: Power, Maye, Williams, Adair, Jones, Hubbs, Camilli, Schaive, Cloninger
Record: 3-2
Colt .45's 8, Dusters 3
[April 6, Game 3]
Nevada's southpaw starter Steve Barber allowed four runs on seven hits in his first start, a loss to the Dodgers, and this time he allowed four runs on nine hits in 6.2 innings of work, collecting his second loss of the year as the Dusters fell to the Colt .45's by a score of 4-3. The game was tied at 1 until the bottom of the 4th, when Houston scored a pair of runs. Nevada tied it up again in the 7th when Tom Tresh hit his first homer, a solo blast to left-center, and pinch-hitter Billy Williams -- sitting this one out as Hector Lopez got the nod for left field -- doubled down the left field line to score Ken Hubbs. But in the bottom of the 7th a pair of singles and a wild pitch by Barber put Houston back in front by a run. "They played great defensive ball," said Naylor. "They turned four double plays at crucial points in the game, and that made the difference." Lee Maye, Tom Tresh and Ken Hubbs all went 2-for-3. It was the first series loss for the new franchise.
Lineup: Power, Maye, Lopez, Adair, Tresh, Hubbs, Camilli, Schaive, Barber
Record: 3-3
Colt .45's 4, Dusters 3
 Lee Maye (NEV)
Nevada Dusters financial update:
Revenue: $1.6M ..... Profit: $551K ..... Cash: $5.1M ..... Team Payroll: $20.8M
Series stats:
2Bs: Power, Maye (2), Williams
HRs: Schaive, Maye, Tresh
SBs: Adair, Maye, Hubbs
Runs: Power (2), Maye, Adair, Hubbs (3), Camilli, Schaive (3), Horlen, Tresh
RBIs: Power (4), Maye (4), Williams (2), Schaive (2), Adair, Tresh
News Wrap:
PIT signed free agent Wendell Magner (2B) for $18,000/1 yr.
PIT signed free agent Leon Simmons (P) for $18,000/1 yr.
BOS--Eddie Bressoud (SS), stretched knee ligament, five weeks
BOS--Don Schwall (P), shoulder separation, four weeks
SFG--Chuck Hiller (2B), hand stress fracture, two weeks
CIN--Moe Drabowsky (P), chipped knee cap, two weeks
Nevada Dusters at Houston Colt .45's
April 6, 1962
TOP OF THE FIRST
Ken Johnson takes the mound for the Colt .45's.
Vic Power singled up the middle. <--1>
Lee Maye doubled down the left field line. <32->
Hector Lopez popped up to short. <32->
Jerry Adair grounded to short, scoring a run. <3-->
Tom Tresh grounded to second. <3-->
1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the first, Nevada leads 1 to 0.
BOTTOM OF THE FIRST
Steve Barber takes the mound for the Dusters.
Jim Busby singled over the first baseman. <--1>
Don Taussig flied out to right. <--1>
Jim Busby was caught stealing second. <--->
Billy Goodman grounded to second. <--->
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the first, Houston trails 1 to 0.
TOP OF THE SECOND
Ken Hubbs singled to right-center. <--1>
Doug Camilli flied out to center field. <--1>
Johnny Schaive singled up the middle. <-21>
Steve Barber grounded to short for a double play (6-4-3). <-2->
0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the second, Nevada leads 1 to 0.
BOTTOM OF THE SECOND
Dick Gernert walked. <--1>
Hal Smith popped up to the shortstop. <--1>
Don Buddin singled up the middle. <-21>
Walt Williams struck out. <-21>
Joey Amalfitano popped up to the second baseman. <-21>
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
At the end of the second, Houston trails 1 to 0.
TOP OF THE THIRD
Vic Power lined out to left. <--->
Lee Maye walked. <--1>
Hector Lopez grounded to second for a double play (4-6-3). <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the third, Nevada leads 1 to 0.
BOTTOM OF THE THIRD
Ken Johnson grounded to second. <--->
Jim Busby doubled down the left field line. <-2->
Don Taussig grounded to third. <-2->
Billy Goodman singled through the right side, scoring a run. <--1>
Dick Gernert walked. <-21>
Hal Smith struck out. <-21>
1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
At the end of the third, the game is tied at 1.
TOP OF THE FOURTH
Jerry Adair grounded to first base. <--->
Tom Tresh singled to right. <--1>
Ken Hubbs grounded to third for a double play (5-4-3). <--->
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the fourth, the game is tied at 1.
BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH
Don Buddin lined out to the second baseman. <--->
Walt Williams walked. <--1>
Joey Amalfitano grounded to the shortstop. <-2->
Ken Johnson struck out. <-2->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
At the end of the fourth, the game is tied at 1.
TOP OF THE FIFTH
Doug Camilli flied out to left. <--->
Johnny Schaive flied out to right field. <--->
Steve Barber popped up to third. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the fifth, the game is tied at 1.
BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH
Jim Busby walked. <--1>
Don Taussig struck out. <--1>
Billy Goodman doubled down the third base line, scoring a run. <-2->
Dick Gernert singled to center, scoring a run. <--1>
Hal Smith singled to center field. <-21>
Don Buddin grounded back to the pitcher, forcing the runner at second. <3-1>
Walt Williams popped up to second. <3-1>
2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
At the end of the fifth, Houston leads 3 to 1.
TOP OF THE SIXTH
Vic Power struck out. <--->
Lee Maye singled through the left side. <--1>
Hector Lopez singled down the right field line, advancing the runner to third. <3-1>
Jerry Adair grounded to second for a double play (4-6-1). <3-->
0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the sixth, Nevada trails 3 to 1.
BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH
Joey Amalfitano lined out to second. <--->
Ken Johnson grounded to third. <--->
Jim Busby grounded to third. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the sixth, Houston leads 3 to 1.
TOP OF THE SEVENTH
Al Spangler came in to play Left Field. <--->
Tom Tresh homered to left-center. <--->
Ken Hubbs singled in the right field gap. <--1>
Ken Hubbs stole second. <-2->
Billy Williams pinch hit for Doug Camilli. <-2->
Billy Williams doubled down the left field line, scoring a run. <-2->
Johnny Schaive grounded to first base. The runner was tagged out at third. <--1>
Steve Barber grounded to third, forcing the runner at second. <--1>
Vic Power grounded to second. <--1>
2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the seventh, the game is tied at 3.
BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH
Hawk Taylor came in to play Catcher. <--->
Al Spangler singled to left. <--1>
Billy Goodman grounded to third. <-2->
Dick Gernert popped up to second. <-2->
Steve Barber threw a wild pitch. <3-->
Hal Smith singled to right field, scoring a run. <--1>
Jim Brewer came in to pitch for the Dusters. <--1>
Don Buddin flied out to right field. <--1>
1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
At the end of the seventh, Houston leads 4 to 3.
TOP OF THE EIGHTH
Lee Maye grounded to second. <--->
Hector Lopez grounded to second. <--->
Jerry Adair lined out to short. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the eighth, Nevada trails 4 to 3.
BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH
Walt Williams flied out to right. <--->
Joey Amalfitano singled to left field. <--1>
Ken Johnson grounded to first, forcing the runner at second. <--1>
Jim Busby grounded to the shortstop. <--1>
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
At the end of the eighth, Houston leads 4 to 3.
TOP OF THE NINTH
Turk Farrell came in to pitch for the Colt .45's. <--->
Norm Larker came in to play First Base. <--->
Tom Tresh was hit by a pitch. <--1>
Ken Hubbs laid down a sacrifice bunt to third. <-2->
Hawk Taylor lined out to second. <-2->
Tom Tresh was doubled off second. <--->
COLT .45'S WIN: 4-3
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
Dusters (NEV) 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 10 0
Colt .45's (HOU) 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 x 4 10 0
NEVADA ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
V. Power (1B) 4 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 .417
L. Maye (RF) 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 .444
H. Lopez (LF) 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .417
J. Adair (SS) 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .261
T. Tresh (CF) 3 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 .500
K. Hubbs (2B) 3 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 .261
D. Camilli (C) 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .111
B. Williams (PH) 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .286
H. Taylor (C) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J. Schaive (3B) 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .294
S. Barber (P) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J. Brewer (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
TOTALS 31 10 1 3 1 3 1 1
2B: L. Maye (3), B. Williams (2)
HR: T. Tresh (1)
NEVADA ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
S. Barber 6.2 9 4 0 4 4 4 124 5.54
J. Brewer 1.1 1 0 0 0 0 0 14 0.00
TOTALS 8.0 10 4 0 4 4 4 138
HOUSTON ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
J. Busby (CF) 4 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 .385
D. Taussig (LF) 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .167
A. Spangler (LF) 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .211
B. Goodman (3B) 4 2 0 1 0 2 0 0 .480
D. Gernert (1B) 2 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 .100
N. Larker (1B) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
H. Smith (C) 4 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 .250
D. Buddin (SS) 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .150
W. Williams (RF) 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 .136
J. Amalfitano (2B) 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .238
K. Johnson (P) 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
T. Farrell (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
TOTALS 33 10 4 4 0 4 4 0
2B: B. Goodman (7), J. Busby (3)
HOUSTON ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
K. Johnson 8.0 10 1 1 3 3 1 81 5.54
T. Farrell 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 2.25
TOTALS 9.0 10 1 1 3 3 1 92
WP: K. Johnson (1-1)
LP: S. Barber (0-2)
SV: T. Farrell (2)
Attendance: 32,601
Time: 2:17
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