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The first pitch ever inside a dome stadium is delivered by Astros pitcher Turk Farrell to Yankees legend Mickey Mantle in front of a sold-out crowd of 47,879. Mantle would single in the exhibition game and later hit a home run, all firsts for the new stadium affectionately called “The 8th Wonder of the World” , even so it wasn’t an official game. But the Mick’s home run would be the Yankees only run as the Astros would prevail 2-1 in 12 innings on a winning hit from Nellie Fox.
There were many dignitaries at the game including then President Lyndon B. Johnson and the first lady Bird, and as well as Texas Governor John Connally and Houston Mayor Louie Welch.
The indoor ballpark was a welcomed break for the Astros and their fans, who spend three grueling years at the open-air Colt Stadium that provided zero shade from the brutal Texas summer sun, nor protection from the numerous mosquitoes that plagued the ballpark.
The Astrodome was also originally laid out with natural grass with hopes that the transparent roof would allow to grass to flourish, but unfortunately the roof emitted a glare that made the ball hard to track for outfielders and despite attempts to fix the problem the roof had to be painted over, thus killing the grass and forcing the Astros to resort to another first – artificial turf, or what be known as AstroTurf.
