Which MLB team was founded in 1962 as the Houston Colt .45s?

The MLB team founded in 1962 as the Houston Colt .45s was the Houston Astros.

Houston received an expansion franchise alongside the New York Mets, and both teams began National League play in 1962. The Colt .45s played their first season at Colt Stadium, with Harry Craft as manager, and built their roster through the 1961 expansion draft.

The team adopted the name Astros in December 1964, ahead of its move into the Astrodome. The new name reflected Houston's connection to the space program and the city's ambitions as a center of the Space Age. The club's first game under the Astros name came in 1965.

The original Colt .45s identity is sometimes confused with the Texas Rangers, but the Rangers were a separate franchise that moved to Texas in 1972. Houston remained in the National League through 2012 and moved to the American League West in 2013, creating a balanced league structure.