On Thursdays during the fall semester, Jefferson Athletics takes a look back at one of the great moments in Rams history.

Late in the 1970 Major League Baseball season, the Houston Astros were playing out the string.

In their ninth season after joining the National League as an expansion team in 1962, the Astros were still trying to find their way, having yet to post a winning record. It would be another 10 years before Houston would make its first postseason appearance as it would be stuck in the NL West Division behind the dominant force of the 1970s, the Cincinnati Reds and their Big Red Machine.

On September 10, the Astros entered their contest in San Francisco with a 68-74 record, sitting 22.5 games behind the first-place Reds. Eight-year veteran Wade Blasingame got the ball against the host Giants, themselves playing out a lost season.

This September afternoon at Candlestick Park was just another game – until it wasn't for fans of then-Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science.

After surrendering four runs in the first inning, Blasingame retired the next nine hitters he faced but was removed for a pinch hitter in the fifth as manager Harry Walker looked to jump start his team's offense. Replacing Blasingame on the mound for the bottom of the fifth was a 21-year-old right-hander from Philadelphia making his major league debut.

It was in that moment that Walter "Buddy" Harris made history, becoming the first former Ram to appear in a major league game.

Harris's journey to that moment began just down the road from Philadelphia Textile at Roxborough High School, where Buddy excelled in both baseball and basketball.

In basketball, he made the All-Public team twice and was the recipient of an award as the best player in the Northwest Philadelphia area. He climaxed his career by winning the William Markward Award, which is given to the top high school player in the City of Philadelphia. Buddy also was a third-team All-American and won the Men of Cliveden Award as the City's Outstanding Athlete.

In baseball, Harris was selected for the All-Public team and won numerous honors in the American Legion program, including being selected as the top player in the State of Pennsylvania.

It was his baseball talent that drew the attention of professional scouts. The Atlanta Braves picked Buddy in the 13^th round of the 1966 MLB June Amateur Draft. However, Harris declined to sign with the Braves and, instead, went to Philadelphia Textile for the 1966-67 academic year.

Harris played basketball under his father, Walter "Bucky" Harris, and baseball under Al Goldis. After one year at the corner of Henry Avenue and School House Lane, Buddy transferred to the University of Miami for the 1968 season.

Major league organizations kept tabs on Harris during his collegiate years. At that time, there was a Secondary Phase of the annual June Draft, reserved for players that went unsigned in a previous Amateur Draft. With the 15^th pick in the 1968 Secondary Phase, the Houston Astros selected Harris, two slots after the Los Angeles Dodgers chose future National League MVP Steve Garvey.

Buddy signed with the Astros and began his pro career in rookie ball with the Covington Astros of the Appalachian League. Harris excelled, appearing in 11 games with eight starts, and posting a 5-2 record, 2.25 ERA, three complete games, and 107 strikeouts in just 64 innings.

After one underwhelming outing with the Triple-A Oklahoma City 89ers of the Pacific Coast League, Harris joined the Class-A Cocoa Astros of the Florida State League for his final start of 1968.

Buddy spent the entire 1969 campaign with the Class-A Peninsula Astros of the Carolina League, finding success with a 12-4 record, 1.84 ERA, eight complete games and four shutouts in 19 games. His performance earned him a promotion to the Double-A Columbus Astros of the Southern League to begin the 1970 season. Harris started 25 times, compiling an 11-9 record and 2.02 ERA with 13 complete games.

With the big club out of contention come September, Houston called up the young right-hander. That is how Harris found himself opposed by the San Francisco Giants on September 10, 1970.

The first hitter Buddy faced was Bobby Bonds, yet to make his first of three All-Star teams, and, of course, the father of slugger Barry Bonds. Harris retired Bonds on a fly out to left. After surrendering a single to Tito Fuentes, Buddy stared down the legendary Willie Mays. Mays welcomed Harris to the major leagues with one of his 660 career home runs, bashing one to left field to make the score 6-0.

Harris's next battle with a future Hall of Famer went smoother as he forced Willie McCovey to groundout to shortstop. He ended his first major league inning by inducing a fly out from Dick Dietz. Buddy pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning, which included his first MLB strikeout, before being removed for a pinch hitter.

Harris hurled one more game for the Astros in 1970. He had an up-and-down year in 1971, splitting time between Houston and Triple-A Oklahoma City. Buddy's final major league game came in the same park against the same opponent as his debut in a 16-6 loss to the Giants on September 3, 1971. Injuries plagued Harris as he finished his pro career at the Triple-A level with Oklahoma City (1972), Tidewater Tides (1973), and Mexico City Tigers (1974).

Since Buddy's history-making tenure, two other former Rams have reached the highest level of professional baseball, Curtis King (1997) and Bob File (2001). Harris was inducted into the Jefferson Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural Class of 1984.

Fifty years ago, the Houston Astros and San Francisco Giants prepared to play a meaningless game. Fifty years later, it is a landmark moment in Rams history.