There was a time when the baseball world was transfixed on the flamethrowing ability of Astros hurler, J.R. Richard, and why not?  He threw faster than anybody else, he fanned piles of batters and he was a young black pitcher in a time when there were not that many.  Richard was only an All-Star once, but he is a two-time strikeouts champion, a two-time leader in FIP and finished in the top ten in Cy Young voting three times.

A Houston Astro for all nine seasons of his MLB career, Don Wilson was an All-Star once (1971) and hurled a pair of no-hitters.  Wilson, who had a winning record, likely would have contributed more to the organization but he died in January of 1975 in his garage with his family with his car still running.  His number 40 was retired by the team that spring.

He would have a record of 104-92 with 1,238 Strikeouts and was part of the first Astros Hall of Fame Class in 2019.

Playing 14 of his 15 seasons in baseball with the Astros, Canadian born outfielder, Terry Puhl was an All-Star in his first full season in 1978.  Puhl would not repeat an appearance to the mid-season classic, but he would have two more seasons tabulating over 150 hits and would steal 20 or more bases six times.  The Canadian would accumulate 1,357 Hits for the Astros.

Puhl was chosen for the Astros Hall of Fame in 2022.

It is very difficult to think of baseball in the state of Texas, without the name Nolan Ryan entering the conversation.  The ageless flamethrower was born in Texas but did not play pro in his state until he was 33, and joined the Astros.

Ryan arrived as a Free Agent for the 1980 season and would stay in Houston for nine seasons.  Ryan would win the Strikeout title twice as an Astro (low for him), and was a two time All Star and would twice finish in the top five in Cy Young voting.  He would leave Houston, for the Texas Rangers after 1988, and with the Astros, he had 1,866 Strikeouts and a 106-94 record.  The Astros retired Ryan's #34 in 1996, and inducted him into their first Hall of Fame Class in 2019.