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William Wattison Horton
Detroit Tigers
Outfield
Born: October 18, 1942, Arno, VA
Signed: Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent, August 7, 1961
Major League Teams: Detroit Tigers 1963-1977; Texas Rangers 1977; Cleveland Indians 1978; Oakland Athletics 1978; Toronto Blue Jays 1978; Seattle Mariners 1979-1980
Slugger Willie Horton played in parts of 18 seasons in the majors, finding the most success early in his career as the regular left fielder for the Tigers and then later in his career as one of the best designated hitters in the game. He enjoyed a career year in 1968, batting .285 with 36 home runs and 85 RBIs while helping the Tigers to a World Championship title over the Cardinals. Horton was a four-time All-Star and he topped 100 RBIs three times, in 1965, 1966 and later in 1979. He collected at least 20 home runs in seven different seasons. Horton became one the league's top designated hitters in the mid-1970s, prolonging his career and enjoying productive seasons in the majors through the late 1970s. He won the league's Outstanding Designated Hitter award in 1975 with the Tigers and in 1979 with the Mariners. Horton last played in the big leagues in 1980, but he prolonged his career with two seasons playing for the Pirates top farm team in Portland and then playing in Mexico in 1983. When he retired, Horton's 325 career home runs ranked sixth among all American League right-handed hitters.
Building the Set
September 3, 2021 from Seattle, WA - Card #343
As our summer came to a close, I turned my attention to attempting to complete our set's third series, needing just 15 more cards - a mix of commons, semi-stars and super stars. I found this Horton card (one of the semi-stars needed) for sale at a reasonable price from eBay seller earlchamp from Seattle, Washington. Not wanting Horton to travel alone, I added another card I needed, Athletics' manager Mel McGaha (#391) and the two cards traversed the country together arriving in our mail box on the Friday before Labor Day.
The Card / Tigers Team Set
Horton shared a Rookie Stars card with pitcher Joe Sparma (#587) in the 1964 Topps set, and this is his first solo appearance. Topps was accurate on the back of the card, predicting his "natural hitting ability guarantees future stardom." The card was reprinted for the 2002 Topps Archives set.
1965 Season
This was Horton's first full season with the Tigers, and he earned his first All-Star Game selection. As the regular left fielder in Detroit, Horton appeared in 143 games, batting .273 with 29 home runs and 104 RBIs. His home run tally was third in the league behind teammate Norm Cash (#153) with 30 and Tony Conigliaro (#55) with 32. His RBI total was second in the league behind Rocky Colavito (#380) who drove in 108. Horton finished 8th in that year's American League MVP voting. He dedicated the season to his parents, who were tragically killed in a New Year's Day car accident in Michigan.
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First Mainstream Card: 1956 Topps #63
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (17): 1964-1980
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2014 Panini Golden Age #97
207 - Horton non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 9/27/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
Previous Card: #205 Warren Spahn - New York Mets
Previous Card: #205 Warren Spahn - New York Mets
Next Card: #207 Pete Rose - Cincinnati Reds
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