> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.crawfordboxreport.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Astros History Notebook: Colt Stadium Gets Its Marker, and Jason Lane Returns to the World Series - URL: https://www.crawfordboxreport.com/astros-history-notebook-colt-stadium-gets-its-marker-and-jason-lane-returns-to-the-world-series/ - Published: 2026-10-25T13:33:23.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-25T13:33:23.000Z - Description: Tal Smith, 93, was on hand as Houston's first big-league ballpark got a historical marker next to the Astrodome. Twenty-one years after he caught the final out of the 2005 NLCS, Jason Lane is back in the World Series as a Brewers coach, and Milwaukee leads the Rays 2-0. - Author: Crawford Box Report - Tags: History It's been a good week for Astros history. On Oct. 20, Houston's first major league ballpark finally got a historical marker, and one of the heroes of the franchise's first pennant is back in the World Series in a different uniform. ## Colt Stadium gets its due ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/11/f7/11f769ba-bd48-4f24-85bd-6d28b6c4ea38/content/images/2026/10/tal-smith-1.jpg) Tal Smith at the 2014 SABR convention. Photo: EricEnfermero / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 The [Society for American Baseball Research's Larry Dierker Houston Chapter](https://sabr.org/latest/join-sabr-on-october-20-for-colt-stadium-historical-marker-ceremony-in-houston/?ref=crawfordboxreport.com) scheduled a dedication ceremony for 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 20 to unveil a new historical marker for Colt Stadium, just north of the Astrodome. The project was partly funded through SABR's Local Grants program. The Houston Chronicle's Matt Young was there. He posted that former Astros GM [Tal Smith was on hand for the unveiling](https://x.com/Chron%5FMattYoung/status/2112564650663350730?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), adding, "Tal is 93 years old." Young also spotted [Dinn Mann, grandson of the late Roy Hofheinz](https://x.com/Chron%5FMattYoung/status/2112571418684858805?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), the team founder whose plans produced the Astrodome. Young praised the "absolute banger of a jacket" Mann wore. Smith's history with Houston covers 35 seasons across three separate stints, including a run as president of baseball operations from 1994 through 2011, [per Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tal%5FSmith?ref=crawfordboxreport.com). Young also shared the [Chronicle's look back at Smith's life and career](https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/astros/article/tal-smith-firing-legacy-astroturf-hill-21068849.php?ref=crawfordboxreport.com) ([via X](https://x.com/Chron%5FMattYoung/status/2112564977269707173?ref=crawfordboxreport.com)). According to SABR's announcement, the scheduled speakers were Larry Dierker, the former Astros pitcher, manager and broadcaster; Smith; Mann; and Mason Hunt III, great-grandson of Robert Everett "R.E. Bob" Smith. ## A ballpark built to be temporary ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/11/f7/11f769ba-bd48-4f24-85bd-6d28b6c4ea38/content/images/2026/10/colt-stadium-1973-junkyard.jpg) Colt Stadium in February 1973, when it was being used as a junkyard for discarded AstroWorld items. Photo: Wahkeenah / Wikimedia Commons, public domain Colt Stadium was the temporary home of the expansion Houston Colt .45s for their first three seasons, 1962 to 1964, while the Astrodome was being built just to the south, [per Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt%5FStadium?ref=crawfordboxreport.com). SABR notes it was also the site of the first National League game ever played in Texas. It wasn't a beloved place. As the Chronicle's Gwen Howerton [detailed ahead of the ceremony](https://www.chron.com/culture/article/astros-colt-stadium-historical-marker-22473935.php?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), the open-air park was nicknamed "The Sizzler." According to a 1962 Associated Press report she cited, 78 people were treated for heat injuries during a June 10, 1962, doubleheader against the Dodgers. The heat also pushed the Colts to lobby for lifting the league's ban on Sunday night games. After the Astrodome opened in 1965, Colt Stadium became a junkyard for discarded AstroWorld equipment. In the 1970s it was taken apart and shipped to Mexico, where it served Mexican League clubs, per Howerton. The Astrodome got its own historical marker in 2018\. Now the ballpark that came before it has one too. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/11/f7/11f769ba-bd48-4f24-85bd-6d28b6c4ea38/content/images/2026/10/astrodome-2014.jpg) The Astrodome in January 2014\. Photo: EricEnfermero / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 ## Jason Lane is back in the Fall Classic ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/11/f7/11f769ba-bd48-4f24-85bd-6d28b6c4ea38/content/images/2026/10/jason-lane-brewers-2022.jpg) Jason Lane coaching third base for the Brewers in September 2022\. Photo: TheFormuoli / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Oct. 19 marked 21 years since the catch that put Houston in its first World Series. In Game 6 of the 2005 NLCS in St. Louis, right fielder Jason Lane caught Yadier Molina's fly ball for the final out, clinching the Astros' first and only National League pennant, [MLB.com's Brian McTaggart writes](https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/jason-lane-going-back-to-world-series-on-brewers-coaching-staff?ref=crawfordboxreport.com). Lane had also homered in that game behind a strong start from Roy Oswalt. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/11/f7/11f769ba-bd48-4f24-85bd-6d28b6c4ea38/content/images/2026/10/roy-oswalt-2005.jpg) Roy Oswalt with the Astros in July 2005\. Photo: David from Washington, DC / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 Houston was then swept in four close games by the White Sox. Lane went 4-for-18 with a home run in the series. Lane, now 49, is back in the World Series, this time as the Milwaukee Brewers' offense and strategy coordinator. The Brewers swept the Dodgers in the NLCS, and Milwaukee's first World Series in 44 years is off to a strong start, [per MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/2026-mlb-world-series-faq-schedule-times-teams-and-more?ref=crawfordboxreport.com). The Brewers won the first two games at home against the Rays, rallying from a 4-0 first-inning deficit to win Game 2 5-4 on Oct. 24, and they lead the best-of-seven series 2-0, [per MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/brewers-win-world-series-game-2-2026?ref=crawfordboxreport.com). "It's a very similar feeling to '05," Lane told McTaggart. "Houston had never been to the World Series \[prior to '05\]. And even when we got back from L.A., when the plane landed, there were people lined up around the airport. And I remember when we got back from St. Louis to Houston \[in '05\], I remember people being lined up around the stadium and all that. It just brought me back to that team." His path back has been unusual. Lane left the Astros in 2007, played three games for the Padres and didn't appear in another big league game until 2014, when he returned to San Diego as a pitcher. This is his 11th season on Milwaukee's staff, after stints as assistant hitting coach (2016-19), first-base coach (2020) and third-base coach (2021-25). In his current job he builds the offensive game plan with the hitting coaches and gets players ready to pinch-hit during games. The biggest difference from 2005, he said, is social media. The congratulations have come in from everywhere, including old Astros teammates. One message tied straight back to the Oct. 20 ceremony: a retired friend texted from China after running into someone who had worked with Tal Smith's arbitration firm and knew Lane well. "It was so random," Lane said. ## Around the MLB - **Will Venable is Sporting News' AL Manager of the Year.** In a peer vote, Venable won the award after taking the White Sox from a record 121 losses in 2024 to 84 wins and a playoff berth in 2026\. Chicago came within one win of the ALCS, and Venable is the first White Sox manager to win the honor since Ozzie Guillen in 2005\. ([Sporting News](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/sporting-news-mlb-awards-2026-winners/2a76c36f3311a12deb877492?ref=crawfordboxreport.com)) *Sources: [SABR](https://sabr.org/latest/join-sabr-on-october-20-for-colt-stadium-historical-marker-ceremony-in-houston/?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), Matt Young on X ([1](https://x.com/Chron%5FMattYoung/status/2112564650663350730?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), [2](https://x.com/Chron%5FMattYoung/status/2112571418684858805?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), [3](https://x.com/Chron%5FMattYoung/status/2112564977269707173?ref=crawfordboxreport.com)), [Houston Chronicle (Tal Smith)](https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/astros/article/tal-smith-firing-legacy-astroturf-hill-21068849.php?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), [Chron.com (Colt Stadium)](https://www.chron.com/culture/article/astros-colt-stadium-historical-marker-22473935.php?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), [Wikipedia: Colt Stadium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt%5FStadium?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), [Wikipedia: Tal Smith](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tal%5FSmith?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), [MLB.com (Lane)](https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/jason-lane-going-back-to-world-series-on-brewers-coaching-staff?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), [MLB.com (World Series)](https://www.mlb.com/news/2026-mlb-world-series-faq-schedule-times-teams-and-more?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), [MLB.com (Game 2)](https://www.mlb.com/news/brewers-win-world-series-game-2-2026?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), [Sporting News](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/sporting-news-mlb-awards-2026-winners/2a76c36f3311a12deb877492?ref=crawfordboxreport.com).* Subscribe free at crawfordboxreport.com.