the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, on April 18, 1966, baseball history took a significant turn as the Astros faced off against the Dodgers in their home opener at the Astrodome in Houston. This game marked the first Major League contest played on artificial turf, which initially covered only the infield. Despite the Dodgers emerging victorious with a 6-3 win, this groundbreaking event paved the way for a revolution in ballpark surfaces. Over the next half-century, artificial turf experienced both a rise and a fall in popularity within Major League Baseball. Tug McGraw of the Mets, whose biography is titled “Screwball,” was asked if he preferred grass or AstroTurf: “I don’t know, I’ve never smoked AstroTurf.”
Continue reading Grass Substitute Called AstoTurf Made Its First Appearance at Astrodome in 1966
