How The Astrodome Had A Rainout
Maybe it's better to call it a rain-in
The biggest benefit for having an indoor stadium is that there will never be a rain out, but in 1976 the Astros forgot to consider the possibilities of a rain in.
On that June day, there was torrential downpours in the Houston area exceeding 12 inches in some locations. Roadways were flooded, there were numerous road closures, power failures, and four people passed away. And with this, the Astros decided to cancel their game against the pirates, though the field was perfectly fine and the astrodome suffered no structural damage, fans could’ve easily been hit by misfortune on the way to the game, which actually happened to the umpires who’s car stalled out in the water and for their safety they cancelled the game.
To accommodate, tables were brought out to the infield and the two teams shared dinner along with the more than 20 fans who actually did show up so I guess that marked the first rain in. The game was rescheduled for a doubleheader on August 15th which the Pirates won 8-6.
Astros authentication manager Mike Acosta recalled:
“It was like a tropical storm. It was raining hard, and it just kept coming down. It got to the point where the streets around the Astrodome were flooded and impassable. Fans couldn’t get to the stadium. Neither could Astrodome workers. Remember, the Astrodome floor was 45 feet below ground level. So the lower ramps and entries were flooded also.”
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