by Darrell Pittman

No Houston player has given more to the Houston Astros franchise than Larry Dierker. An easy-going, lanky California kid, he was elevated to the majors with the Colt .45s on his eighteenth birthday in 1964. Dierker went on to become Houston's first 20-game winner, capping his career with a no-hitter in 1976. On this night, April 9, 1974, Dierker set another first in club history with his 100th career win.

After a brief, injury-shortened stint with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1977, he rejoined the Astros organization in 1978 and entered the broadcasting booth one year later. He stayed in that position for the Astros, doing color commentary along with his classic "Baseball Library" series, until owner Drayton McLane called upon him to manage the club in 1997. As manager, Larry Dierker led the Astros to four NL Central Division titles in five years.

Only Dierker's career has spanned all the Astros' eras, from his debut in Colt Stadium through the early days of the Astrodome, then on to the Enron Field era as manager. Few, if any, can claim forty years' service to any ballclub. And throughout his career, no one has questioned his love for and dedication to the Astros.

Sept. 22, 1964: Celebrating his first start and 18th birthday (c) Houston Astros

1964-1976: 137 career victories with Houston (c) Houston Astros

Oct. 22, 2001: Stepping down as manager (c) Houston Astros

(c) Houston Astros Dierker Gets 100th Victory by Harry Shattock, Houston Chronicle April 9, 1974 - Larry Dierker owns his 100th major league pitching victory, Cesar Cedeno is hitting line drives again and all's right with the Houston Astros. For one chilly evening anyway. Dierker survived a shaky start to pitch seven strong innings and Cedeno drove home four runs with three hits as the Astros outslugged San Diego, 9-5, Tuesday night for their first 1974 win after three losses. Houston took a 6-0 lead the first two innings, then survived a San Diego comeback, a streaker and Padres' owner Ray Kroc publicly berating his players. "Boy, that feels good," captain Doug Rader said in a Houston dressing room quieted by the night's extracurricular developments. "I thought we'd win one before now, but we ran into a hot team in San Francisco," Rader continued. "Wait and see. They'll (Giants) be hot for another week or so. That's all." Rader and Tommy Helms had two hits and drove home a run each. Bob Watson plated two tallies with a single and a sacrifice fly and rookie Greg Gross continued his torrid start with three hits. He is 10-14 for the young season. But nobody was happier than Dierker, "That's a big one," the tall right-hander smiled. "I started last season with 98 wins and I figured I'd get that No. 100 easy. But it didn't work that way, did it?" No. Dierker won only once and missed most of 1973 with arm and shoulder woes. This was the start of what he hopes will be a successful comeback to the form which five years ago made him a 20-game winner for Houston. "I didn't have that much stuff tonight but I was quicker than at any time all spring," said Dierker who allowed two runs, one unearned. "This game helps me most in the sense that I think I've proved to some people I can still throw hard." The Padres should not have scored off either Dierker of reliever Fred Scherman, touched for three unearned runs in the eighth. The first San Diego run crossed when Dierker threw wildly to third base on a bunt, the second when Padres Bobby Tolan alertly scored from third on a popup to second baseman Tommy Helms and the final three after a Rader error. The Astros, as in their losses to San Francisco, continued to make the difficult play with Rader turning in two gems and Lee May one outstanding grab this game. "But our defense has been bad," Manager Preston Gomez said. "It was bad tonight. We gave them the runs. It was a bad game." The Padres aided Dierker mightily. They made two base running gaffes and they committed three errors in the field. The Padres, trying desperately to win before 39,083 fans -- their largest for an opening day and only 23 short of their biggest crowd even -- used a club record seven pitchers. All in vain. Box score Game of 4/9/1974 -- Houston at San Diego Courtesy of Retrosheet Houston AB R H RBI San Diego AB R H RBI Gross G, rf-lf 5 3 3 0 Tolan B, rf 4 1 0 0 Metzger R, ss 3 0 0 0 Beckert G, 2b 5 0 3 0 Cedeno C, cf 5 3 3 4 Colbert N, lf 3 1 0 1 Watson B, lf-1b 4 0 1 2 McCovey W, 1b 4 1 1 0 May L, 1b 3 1 0 0 Grubb J, cf 4 0 0 0 Gallagher B, rf 1 0 1 0 Kendall F, c 4 1 1 0 Rader D, 3b 5 0 2 1 Thomas D, 3b 3 1 2 1 Edwards J, c 4 0 1 0 Hernandez E, ss 3 0 0 0 Helms T, 2b 4 1 2 1 Gaston C, ph 1 0 1 2 Milbourne L, 2b 1 0 0 0 Morales R, ss 0 0 0 0 Dierker L, p 3 1 2 0 Arlin S, p 0 0 0 0 Scherman F, p 1 0 0 0 Garcia R, p 0 0 0 0 Troedson R, p 0 0 0 0 Roberts D, ph 1 0 0 0 McIntosh J, p 0 0 0 0 Alou M, ph 0 0 0 0 McAndrew J, p 0 0 0 0 Hilton D, ph 1 0 0 0 Corkins M, p 0 0 0 0 Williams B, ph 1 0 0 0 Romo V, p 0 0 0 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 39 9 15 8 34 5 8 4 Houston 330 010 020 -- 9 San Diego 011 000 030 -- 5 Houston IP H R ER BB SO Dierker L (W) 7.0 6 2 1 3 5 Scherman F 2.0 2 3 0 1 3 San Diego IP H R ER BB SO Arlin S (L)* 1.0 6 5 5 2 0 Garcia R 0.1 2 1 1 0 0 Troedson R 0.2 1 0 0 0 2 McIntosh J 2.0 1 0 0 1 2 McAndrew J 3.0 2 1 0 0 1 Corkins M 1.0 3 2 1 0 0 Romo V 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 * Pitched to 2 batters in 2nd E -- Dierker L, Thomas D, Beckert G, McCovey W, Rader D DP -- Houston 2, San Diego 1 LOB -- Houston 9, San Diego 7 2B -- Cedeno C, Rader D, Edwards J, Gaston C SB -- Metzger R SH -- Dierker L, Metzger R SF -- Colbert N, Watson B WP -- Garcia R, Dierker L PB -- Edwards J T -- 0:00 A -- 39083 Play by Play Game of Tuesday, 4/9/1974 -- Houston Astros at San Diego Padres Courtesy of Retrosheet Houston San Diego 1. rf Greg Gross rf Bobby Tolan 2. ss Roger Metzger 2b Glenn Beckert 3. cf Cesar Cedeno lf Nate Colbert 4. lf Bob Watson 1b Willie McCovey 5. 1b Lee May cf Johnny Grubb 6. 3b Doug Rader c Fred Kendall 7. c John Edwards 3b Derrel Thomas 8. 2b Tommy Helms ss Enzo Hernandez 9. p Larry Dierker p Steve Arlin ASTROS 1ST: G.Gross singled to left field; R.Metzger flied to N.Colbert; C.Cedeno doubled to left-center [G.Gross scored]; B.Watson flied to J.Grubb [C.Cedeno to third]; L.May walked; D.Rader doubled to left field [C.Cedeno scored, L.May to third]; J.Edwards was walked intentionally; T.Helms singled to left field (N.Colbert to F.Kendall) [L.May scored, D.Rader out at home, J.Edwards to second]; 3 R, 4 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Astros 3, Padres 0. PADRES 1ST: B.Tolan grounded out (T.Helms to L.May); G.Beckert singled to left field; N.Colbert grounded into a double play (T.Helms to L.May) [G.Beckert out at second]; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 3, Padres 0. ASTROS 2ND: L.Dierker singled to left field; G.Gross singled to right field [L.Dierker to second]; R.GARCIA REPLACED S.ARLIN (PITCHING); R.Garcia threw a wild pitch [L.Dierker to third, G.Gross to second]; R.Metzger flied to N.Colbert; C.Cedeno singled to left field [L.Dierker scored, G.Gross scored, C.Cedeno to second (on throw)]; B.Watson singled to right field [C.Cedeno scored]; R.TROEDSON REPLACED R.GARCIA (PITCHING); L.May was called out on strikes; D.Rader singled to center field [B.Watson to second]; J.Edwards struck out; 3 R, 5 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Astros 6, Padres 0. PADRES 2ND: W.McCovey singled to right-center; L.Dierker threw a wild pitch [W.McCovey to second]; J.Grubb grounded out (L.May to L.Dierker) [W.McCovey to third]; F.Kendall reached on a fielder's choice [W.McCovey scored (unearned) (no RBI) (error by L.Dierker), F.Kendall to second]; D.Thomas walked; J.Edwards allowed a passed ball [F.Kendall to third, D.Thomas to second]; E.Hernandez struck out; D.ROBERTS BATTED FOR R.TROEDSON; D.Roberts struck out; 1 R (0 ER), 1 H, 1 E, 2 LOB. Astros 6, Padres 1. ASTROS 3RD: J.MCINTOSH REPLACED D.ROBERTS (PITCHING); T.Helms grounded out (E.Hernandez to W.McCovey); L.Dierker singled to right-center; G.Gross struck out; R.Metzger walked [L.Dierker to second]; C.Cedeno was called out on strikes; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Astros 6, Padres 1. PADRES 3RD: B.Tolan walked; G.Beckert singled to right field [B.Tolan to third]; N.Colbert out on a sacrifice fly to T.Helms [B.Tolan scored]; W.McCovey struck out; J.Grubb flied to C.Cedeno; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 6, Padres 2. ASTROS 4TH: B.Watson reached on an error by D.Thomas [B.Watson to first]; L.May popped to F.Kendall in foul territory; D.Rader lined to B.Tolan; J.Edwards flied to N.Colbert; 0 R, 0 H, 1 E, 1 LOB. Astros 6, Padres 2. PADRES 4TH: F.Kendall singled; D.Thomas singled to center field [F.Kendall to second]; E.Hernandez grounded out (L.Dierker to L.May) [F.Kendall to third, D.Thomas to second]; M.ALOU BATTED FOR J.MCINTOSH; M.Alou walked; B.Tolan hit into a double play (J.Edwards to T.Helms) [M.Alou out at second]; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Astros 6, Padres 2. ASTROS 5TH: J.MCANDREW REPLACED M.ALOU (PITCHING); T.Helms singled to center field; L.Dierker out on a sacrifice bunt (D.Thomas to G.Beckert) [T.Helms to second]; G.Gross was called out on strikes; R.Metzger reached on an error by G.Beckert [T.Helms scored (unearned) (no RBI), R.Metzger to first]; R.Metzger stole second; C.Cedeno lined to N.Colbert; 1 R (0 ER), 1 H, 1 E, 1 LOB. Astros 7, Padres 2. PADRES 5TH: G.Beckert singled to center field; N.Colbert struck out; W.McCovey flied to B.Watson; J.Grubb grounded out (D.Rader to L.May); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 7, Padres 2. ASTROS 6TH: B.Watson flied to B.Tolan; L.May grounded out (D.Thomas to W.McCovey); D.Rader grounded out (J.McAndrew to W.McCovey); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 7, Padres 2. PADRES 6TH: G.GROSS CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING LF); B.WATSON CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING 1B); B.GALLAGHER REPLACED L.MAY (PLAYING RF); F.Kendall flied to C.Cedeno; D.Thomas flied to C.Cedeno; E.Hernandez was called out on strikes; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 7, Padres 2. ASTROS 7TH: J.Edwards doubled to right-center; T.Helms grounded out (D.Thomas to W.McCovey) [J.Edwards to third]; On a bunt L.Dierker hit into a double play (F.Kendall to D.Thomas) [J.Edwards out at home]; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 7, Padres 2. PADRES 7TH: L.MILBOURNE REPLACED T.HELMS (PLAYING 2B); D.HILTON BATTED FOR J.MCANDREW; D.Hilton grounded out (R.Metzger to B.Watson); B.Tolan popped to D.Rader in foul territory; G.Beckert popped to L.Milbourne; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 7, Padres 2. ASTROS 8TH: M.CORKINS REPLACED D.HILTON (PITCHING); G.Gross singled to center field; R.Metzger out on a sacrifice bunt (M.Corkins to W.McCovey) [G.Gross to second]; C.Cedeno singled to left field [G.Gross scored]; C.Cedeno was picked off first, but was safe on an error by W.McCovey [C.Cedeno to third]; B.Watson out on a sacrifice fly to J.Grubb [C.Cedeno scored (unearned)]; B.Gallagher singled to right field; D.Rader grounded out (E.Hernandez to W.McCovey); 2 R (1 ER), 3 H, 1 E, 1 LOB. Astros 9, Padres 2. PADRES 8TH: F.SCHERMAN REPLACED L.DIERKER (PITCHING); N.Colbert walked; W.McCovey struck out; J.Grubb struck out; F.Kendall reached on an error by D.Rader [N.Colbert to second, F.Kendall to first]; D.Thomas singled to center field [N.Colbert scored (unearned), F.Kendall to second]; C.GASTON BATTED FOR E.HERNANDEZ; C.Gaston doubled to right field [F.Kendall scored (unearned), D.Thomas scored (unearned)]; B.WILLIAMS BATTED FOR M.CORKINS; B.Williams grounded out (R.Metzger to B.Watson); 3 R (0 ER), 2 H, 1 E, 1 LOB. Astros 9, Padres 5. ASTROS 9TH: R.MORALES REPLACED C.GASTON (PLAYING SS); V.ROMO REPLACED B.WILLIAMS (PITCHING); J.Edwards grounded out (G.Beckert to W.McCovey); L.Milbourne struck out; F.Scherman grounded out (D.Thomas to W.McCovey); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 9, Padres 5. PADRES 9TH: B.Tolan grounded out (F.Scherman to B.Watson); G.Beckert grounded out (D.Rader to B.Watson); N.Colbert was called out on strikes; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 9, Padres 5. Final Totals R H E LOB Astros 9 15 2 9 Padres 5 8 3 7