Willie Horton

From BR Bullpen

Willie Watterson Horton

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 5' 11", Weight 209 lb.
Debut September 10, 1963
Final Game October 5, 1980
Born October 18, 1942 in Arno, VA USA

[edit] Biographical Information

Raised in Detroit, MI, the chunky, muscle-bound and much-heralded young phenom Willie Horton grew up playing on the sandlots before signing and playing with the Detroit Tigers for 15 years. A pure slugger by nature and prone to striking out a lot (over 100 times in 7 separate seasons), he became an instant Tiger favorite and remains so today. Because of his long Tiger career and local origins, Horton arguably symbolizes Tiger baseball more than any other player - past or present. A good but not great ballplayer, his statue nonetheless proudly graces Comerica Park among the Tiger greats. He hit 325 major league home runs and also exactly 100 home runs in the minor leagues. Horton, in 2000, became the only non-Hall of Famer to have his number (#23) retired by the Tigers. Horton serves as a consultant for the Tigers and also helps coordinate annual Fantasy Camp activities.

At his best, Horton could play at a Hall of Fame level. His 165 Adjusted OPS+ in 1968 was third-best in the league (only five points behind leader Carl Yastrzemski) and he also posted a 152 Adjusted OPS+ in 1974. If he had been able to put up stronger numbers in his later years after 1975, he would have been a viable Hall of Fame candidate.

Horton was also a New York Yankees coach in 1985 and a member of the 1986 Chicago White Sox staff.

First Baseball Card appearance 1964 Topps

One thing that Horton is famous for is in 1967 during race riots in Detroit Horton, a black Detroit resident who grew up not far from the where the riots were taking place, drove to the riot area after his game and stood on a car in the middle of the crowd while he was still wearing his uniform. However, despite his impassioned pleas, he could not calm the angry mob.