July 20 marked the 50-year anniversary of the historic accomplishment watched by the entire planet, when a group of American astronauts not only walked on the moon, but returned home safely.

In honor of that 1969 event, the Houston Astros hosted an Apollo 11 Night on Monday, July 22 when they met the Oakland Athletics at Minute Maid Park.

To help commemorate the Apollo 11 Mission, the Astros players wore special Apollo 11 on-field caps during the game:

A replica statue of Neil Armstrong’s 1969 spacesuit from the Apollo 11 Mission was also available for viewing at Minute Maid, as was the NASA Mobile Exhibit and Space Exploration Vehicle.

The Astros’ popular fuzzy, green alien mascot, Orbit, unveiled his special “Moon Landing” bobblehead, available as a paid ticket premium.

Son of the Commander

The ceremonial first pitch for the game was thrown by Rick Armstrong, son of Neil Armstrong, the Apollo 11 commander who was the first man to set foot on the moon, an event watched on TV at the time by over 600 million people worldwide.

Rick is currently serving on the board of trustees of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation and will make an appearance at Spacefest X in Tucson, Arizona in August.

The ASF awards scholarships to Astronaut Scholar Alumni who exemplify personal character, professional achievement, and impact in their field.

On his involvement with the foundation, Rick explained recently: “Education was always very important to [my father], and aeronautical engineering was his primary interest, so it was a natural fit for him to become a professor after his time at NASA.

“He was a very patient person, and I believe that he really enjoyed interacting with students. I can say that he spent many hours helping me with my math problems when I was in school. He wanted to be sure that I understood exactly how to solve the problem – even when I just wanted the answer so I could go out and play!”

Rick enjoyed sharing what he thought was his dad’s greatest professional achievement: “I think the moon landing (as opposed to walking) would certainly have been on his short list – I believe he said something about pilots being more interested in landing than walking around.

“I know he held his time in the X-15 program in very high regard as well [Armstrong worked closely with the engineering team on development of the X-15 adaptive system, and made seven flights in the rocket plane from December 1960 through July 1962]. I would say that he thought of these as team accomplishments rather than personal achievements.”

Takeoff: The NASA/Astros Space Connection

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) was established in 1958, and while headquartered in Washington, DC, the Johnson Space Center is their center for human spaceflight, located in Clear Lake, 25 miles southeast of downtown Houston.

Houston legend Judge Roy Hofheinz, the architect of the Eighth Wonder of the World, Houston’s Astrodome, and part of the original ownership group responsible for bringing Major League Baseball to the Bayou City, was responsible for the Astros’ name.

AstrosDaily’s Bob Hulsey provides this account: “Judge Roy Hofheinz was fighting a lawsuit with the Colt Firearms Company over the ballclub’s use of the “Colt .45” name [the franchise’s original NL moniker, 1962-1964].

“With the team preparing to move into a futuristic new stadium, the judge wanted a new name for his squad – something original for which he could be the plaintiff the next time there was a suit. He consulted with some of the astronauts at NASA about honoring them with his new ‘nickname’. They liked it. The Houston entry in the National League was about to be reborn.”

Space Shuttle Honored

In 2003, the Astros honored the crew of the ill-fated space shuttle Columbia at their Opening Day game. Seven simultaneous “first” pitches thrown by Columbia crew friends and family members got the game started.

The Astros’ players feted the Columbia crew that year by wearing the STS-107 patch on their uniforms all season.

Pre-game ceremonies kicked off when 107 members of the NASA family, including flight controllers and others involved in Columbia’s final mission, carried a US flag onto the field. A bald eagle soared overhead as the national anthem, performed by Hootie and the Blowfish’s Darius Rucker, thrilled the Minute Maid attendees.

Grammy-winning R&B/pop singer Patti LaBelle performed the song “Way Up There,” just as she had in February 2003 at a memorial in Washington for the Columbia seven. As she sang, the crowd watched an emotional video dedicated to the crew. The day also brought a surprise for the Columbia families: a visit with longtime Astros fan and former President, the late George H. W. Bush.

The team made sure the astronauts would remember their “grounded” namesakes as they presented NASA’s Bob Cabana, a former astronaut, with a team jersey, cap, and baseball to be taken into space on the next shuttle mission.