Rained-in at the Dome

Less than twenty fans did manage to make it to the Astrodome and found themselves stranded with no game to watch. They were treated to dinner in one of the stadium cafeterias by the Astros. The players decided to set up dinner tables on the field behind second base once the game was canceled. Many of the Astros and Pirates were already dressed for the game. The few gameday employees who were able to make it to the Dome joined dinner on the field.

History once again had been made at the Houston Astrodome. A game had been canceled on account of rain. “It wasn’t exactly a rain-out…it was a rain-in. We were bone dry inside,” said an Astrodome spokesman. The Astrodome actually had a history of small leaks during heavy rain, but a new roof had been installed during the 1974-75 offseason. This date actually wasn’t the first time Mother Nature intervened at the Dome. Rain previously caused a 54-minute delay to the start of an Astros game in 1975 when a five-inch downpour caused players and fans to arrive late. The “rain-in” game of 1976 was the first time an Astrodome game had been called due to rain, but it was not the first postponement. An exhibition game between the Astros and Minnesota Twins was canceled on April 7, 1968 to mourn the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, who had been assassinated three days prior.

Before the days of the Astrodome, there had been just three actual rainouts at old Colt Stadium (all in 1962), where the Astros were previously named the Colt .45s. The Astros extended their losing streak to six games following the rain-in but finally snapped it in Pittsburgh at Three Rivers Stadium on June 20th. The June 15th game was rescheduled as part of a double header on August 15th in which the Astros were swept.

In a season where the Astros were being operated by creditors following the bankruptcy of Roy Hofheinz, 1976 saw plenty of ups and downs. In the midst of it all were rumors on the sale of the Astros. On the field, J.R. Richard became Houston’s second 20-game winner, Cesar Cedeno won his fifth consecutive Gold Glove and Larry Dierker hurled the fifth no-hitter in franchise history. But no one that year will forget the day a game was called at the Astrodome on account of rain.