Willie Horton Stats

Willie Horton was born on Sunday, October 18, 1942, in Arno, Virginia. Horton was 20 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 10, 1963, with the Detroit Tigers. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Willie Horton baseball stats page.

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"Willie Horton is Detroit. Detroit is Willie Horton. This book (Willie Horton: Detroit's Own Willie the Wonder) is supposed to be for young readers. Wrong. It is also for 73-year-old, white-haired sportswriters. A true joy for all to read. Don't miss it." - Falls, Joe. Detroit News Staff Writer. Willie Horton Detroit's Own Willie the Wonder. 1 November 2001.

Willie Horton

Willie 'The Wonder' Horton Autograph on a 2006 Fleer Greats of the Game (#DET-WH)

Willie 'The Wonder' Horton Autograph on a 2006 Fleer Greats of the Game (#DET-WH)

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Birth Name:   William Wattison Horton
Nickname:   Willie or Willie the Wonder
Born On:   10-18-1942  (Libra)
Place of Birth Data Born In:   Arno, Virginia
Year of Death Data Died On:   Still Living (1,000 Oldest Living)
Place of Death Data Died In:   Still Living
Cemetery:   n/a
High School:   Northwestern High School (Detroit, MI)
College:   None Attended
Batting Stances Chart Bats:   Right   Throwing Arms Chart Throws:   Right
Player Height Chart Height:   5-11   Player Weight Chart Weight:   209
First Game:   09-10-1963 (Age 20)
Last Game:   10-05-1980
Draft:   Not Applicable / Signing Bonus = $50,000

Willie Horton

Willie Horton Pitching Stats

- - Did Not Pitch - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Willie Horton

Willie Horton Hitting Stats

1963 21 Tigers 15 43 6 14 2 1 1 0 4 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 .326 .326 .488
1964 22 Tigers 25 80 6 13 1 3 1 0 10 11 2 20 0 0 1 0 .163 .272 .288
1965 23 Tigers 143 512 69 140 20 2 29 0 104 48 9 101 2 4 6 12 .273 .340 .490
1966 24 Tigers 146 526 72 138 22 6 27 1 100 44 4 103 2 3 3 11 .262 .321 .481
1967 25 Tigers 122 401 47 110 20 3 19 0 67 36 0 80 1 3 4 12 .274 .338 .481
1968 26 Tigers 143 512 68 146 20 2 36 0 85 49 8 110 2 7 8 14 .285 .352 .543
1969 27 Tigers 141 508 66 133 17 1 28 3 91 52 10 93 1 4 3 8 .262 .332 .465
1970 28 Tigers 96 371 53 113 18 2 17 1 69 28 6 43 0 3 2 7 .305 .354 .501
1971 29 Tigers 119 450 64 130 25 1 22 1 72 37 8 75 0 4 7 15 .289 .349 .496
1972 30 Tigers 108 333 44 77 9 5 11 0 36 27 5 47 2 2 3 8 .231 .293 .387
1973 31 Tigers 111 411 42 130 19 3 17 0 53 23 5 57 1 1 7 14 .316 .362 .501
1974 32 Tigers 72 238 32 71 8 1 15 0 47 21 3 36 0 1 3 6 .298 .361 .529
1975 33 Tigers 159 615 62 169 13 1 25 0 92 44 11 109 0 8 0 18 .275 .319 .421
1976 34 Tigers 114 401 40 105 17 0 14 0 56 49 7 63 0 4 2 16 .262 .342 .409
1977 35 Tigers 1 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 .250 .250
1977 35 Rangers 139 519 55 150 23 3 15 0 75 42 5 117 0 8 0 15 .289 .337 .432
1978 36 Indians 50 169 15 42 7 0 5 1 22 15 4 25 1 0 1 7 .249 .314 .379
1978 36 Athletics 32 102 11 32 8 0 3 0 19 9 2 15 1 0 0 1 .314 .369 .480
1978 36 Blue Jays 33 122 12 25 6 0 3 0 19 4 0 29 0 1 0 6 .205 .228 .328
1979 37 Mariners 162 646 77 180 19 5 29 2 106 42 4 112 2 2 4 20 .279 .326 .458
1980 38 Mariners 97 335 32 74 10 1 8 0 36 39 2 70 2 4 4 5 .221 .306 .328
18 Years 2,028 7,298 873 1,993 284 40 325 9 1,163 620 95 1,313 17 59 58 195 .273 .332 .457

Willie Horton

Willie Horton Fielding Stats

1963 Tigers LF 8 8 207 11 1.4 11 11 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.43
1963 Tigers RF 1 1 27 2 2.0 2 2 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.00
1964 Tigers LF 20 19 504 31 1.6 29 29 0 2 0 n/a n/a n/a .935 1.55
1964 Tigers RF 3 2 66 5 1.7 5 5 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.05
1965 Tigers 3B 1 0 18 2 2.0 2 0 2 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 3.00
1965 Tigers LF 111 106 2,805 211 1.9 209 202 7 2 2 n/a n/a n/a .991 2.01
1965 Tigers RF 34 32 837 43 1.3 42 42 0 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .977 1.35
1966 Tigers LF 129 121 3,216 207 1.6 202 198 4 5 1 n/a n/a n/a .976 1.70
1966 Tigers RF 20 12 360 30 1.5 30 30 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.25
1967 Tigers LF 109 108 2,457 172 1.6 167 163 4 5 2 n/a n/a n/a .971 1.84
1967 Tigers RF 1 0 3 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
1968 Tigers LF 139 137 3,600 215 1.5 209 203 6 6 2 n/a n/a n/a .972 1.57
1969 Tigers LF 134 131 3,387 280 2.1 273 266 7 7 0 n/a n/a n/a .975 2.18
1969 Tigers RF 4 4 96 9 2.3 8 7 1 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .889 2.25
1970 Tigers LF 94 92 2,442 155 1.6 152 142 10 3 1 n/a n/a n/a .981 1.68
1970 Tigers RF 4 4 90 6 1.5 6 6 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.80
1971 Tigers LF 107 92 2,511 157 1.5 151 143 8 6 1 n/a n/a n/a .962 1.62
1971 Tigers RF 28 24 525 34 1.2 33 33 0 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .971 1.70
1972 Tigers LF 80 65 1,632 97 1.2 97 93 4 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.60
1972 Tigers RF 30 28 606 42 1.4 42 41 1 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.87
1973 Tigers LF 107 105 2,496 173 1.6 163 161 2 10 0 n/a n/a n/a .942 1.76
1973 Tigers RF 1 1 24 3 3.0 3 3 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 3.38
1974 Tigers LF 64 64 1,566 115 1.8 109 107 2 6 0 n/a n/a n/a .948 1.88
1977 Tigers LF 1 1 27 1 1.0 1 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.00
1977 Rangers LF 10 9 219 16 1.6 15 15 0 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .938 1.85
1978 Athletics LF 1 0 9 3 3.0 1 1 0 2 0 n/a n/a n/a .333 3.00
LF Totals 1,114 1,058 27,078 1,844 1.7 1,789 1,735 54 55 9 n/a n/a n/a .970 1.78
RF Totals 126 108 2,634 174 1.4 171 169 2 3 0 n/a n/a n/a .983 1.75
3B Totals 1 0 18 2 2.0 2 0 2 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 3.00
14 Years 1,241 1,166 29,730 2,020 1.6 1,962 1,904 58 58 9 n/a n/a n/a .971 1.78

Willie Horton

Willie Horton Miscellaneous Stats

1963 Tigers 2 0 1.000 6 0 n/a 43.0 5.4 10.8 - - -
1964 Tigers 0 0 .000 3 0 n/a 80.0 4.0 8.0 - - -
1965 Tigers 5 9 .357 3 0 n/a 17.7 5.1 4.9 - - -
1966 Tigers 1 1 .500 11 0 n/a 19.5 5.1 5.3 - - -
1967 Tigers 0 0 .000 14 0 n/a 21.1 5.0 6.0 - - -
1968 Tigers 0 3 .000 6 0 n/a 14.2 4.7 6.0 - - -
1969 Tigers 3 3 .500 6 0 n/a 18.1 5.5 5.6 - - -
1970 Tigers 0 1 .000 0 0 n/a 21.8 8.6 5.4 - - -
1971 Tigers 1 5 .167 2 0 n/a 20.5 6.0 6.3 - - -
1972 Tigers 0 0 .000 12 1 n/a 30.3 7.1 9.3 - - -
1973 Tigers 1 4 .200 4 0 1 24.2 7.2 7.8 - - -
1974 Tigers 0 1 .000 7 0 1 15.9 6.6 5.1 - - -
1975 Tigers 1 2 .333 0 0 159 24.6 5.6 6.7 - - -
1976 Tigers 0 0 .000 9 0 105 28.6 6.4 7.2 - - -
1977 Tigers 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 - - -
1977 Rangers 2 3 .400 7 0 128 34.6 4.4 6.9 - - -
1978 Indians 3 0 1.000 4 0 48 33.8 6.8 7.7 - - -
1978 Athletics 0 1 .000 4 0 27 34.0 6.8 5.4 - - -
1978 Blue Jays 0 0 .000 3 0 30 40.7 4.2 6.4 - - -
1979 Mariners 1 1 .500 0 0 162 22.3 5.8 6.1 - - -
1980 Mariners 0 4 .000 5 0 92 41.9 4.8 9.3 - - -
18 Years 20 38 .345 106 1 753 22.5 5.6 6.3 - - -

Willie Horton

Willie Horton Miscellaneous Items of Interest

1963 Detroit Tigers 48 $16,000.00 - -
1964 Detroit Tigers 23 $18,000.00 - -
1965 Detroit Tigers 23 $20,000.00 Stats -
1966 Detroit Tigers 23 $30,000.00 - -
1967 Detroit Tigers 23 $35,000.00 - -
1968 Detroit Tigers 23 $40,000.00 Stats Stats
1969 Detroit Tigers 23 $60,000.00 - -
1970 Detroit Tigers 23 $72,000.00 Stats -
1971 Detroit Tigers 23 $80,000.00 - -
1972 Detroit Tigers 23 $80,000.00 - -
1973 Detroit Tigers 23 $84,000.00 Stats -
1974 Detroit Tigers 23 $84,000.00 - -
1975 Detroit Tigers 23 $84,000.00 - -
1976 Detroit Tigers 23 $105,000.00 - -
1977 Detroit Tigers 23 $105,000.00 - -
1977 Texas Rangers 23 "     "     - -
1978 Cleveland Indians 23 $106,500.00 - -
1978 Oakland Athletics 23 "     "     - -
1978 Toronto Blue Jays 48 "     "     - -
1979 Seattle Mariners 53 $175,000.00 - -
1980 Seattle Mariners 53 $175,000.00 - -

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William Wattison Horton was a Major League Baseball player with the Detroit Tigers (1963-1977), Texas Rangers (1977), Cleveland Indians (1978), Oakland Athletics (1978), Toronto Blue Jays (1978), and Seattle Mariners (1979-1980). When Willie, his nickname, made his big league debut on September 10, 1963, he became the fourth former Northwestern High School (Detroit, MI) student to play in the majors, joining Hobie Landrith (1950), Harry Chiti (1950), and Willie Kirkland (1958). During his first full season (1965), Horton hit 29 home runs, collected 104 RBIs, and went to his first of four All-Star Games (1965, 1968, 1970, 1973), making Willie Northwestern's first to play in a Midsummer Classic.

Willie Horton Rookie Card | Baseball Almanac

Willie Horton Rookie Card | 1964 Topps Baseball Card (#512 | Checklist)
Baseball Almanac Research Library

In 1973, the designated hitter rule went into affect and Willie Horton was one of the first designated hitters in history for the Detroit Tigers. The 1973 Detroit Tigers used ten designated hitters: Gates Brown (119 games), Frank Howard (76 games), Norm Cash (3 games), Bill Freehan (3 games), Ike Brown (2 games), John Gamble (2 games), Tony Taylor (2 games), Willie Horton (1 game / box score), Dick McAuliffe (1 game) and Jim Northrup (1 game).

In 1975, Willie Horton became the first player from the Detroit Tigers to win the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award (setting new marks at the time for home runs in a season by a designated hitter and RBIs in a season by a designated hitter).

In 1979, Willie Horton became the first player from the Seattle Mariners to win the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award, the first designated hitter to win it twice, and the first designated hitter to win the award with more than one team.

Willie Horton Plaque | Baseball Almanac

Willie Horton | Plaque at Statue Base | Comerica Park | July 15, 2000
Baseball Almanac Research Library

Willie Horton's #23 is one of six numbers retired by the Detroit Tigers. He is the only non-Hall of Famer among the six honored with statues at Comerica Park. When Michigan signed into law House Bill No. 5200 in 2004, declaring October 18 Willie Horton Day, Horton became only the fourth Michigander (Rosa Parks was the third) to be given that honor. One of the reasons that happened was explained by author Terry Foster in his highly recommended book, 100 Things Tigers Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die:

3. Willie Horton Tries to Quiet the Riot

We didn't understand. Why were people still looking and burning buildings in our neighborhood.

Everybody loved and respected Tigers slugger Willie Horton. When Horton saw smoke billowing near Tiger Stadium on a hot night in 1967, he knew he had to act fast. These were black people rioting and tearing up our city, and Horton believed his people would listen.

So he left Tiger Stadium in full uniform with a full police escort and went to a spot on Livernois. He figured people would put down their weapons, suppress their anger, and go back home.

In the wee hours of morning, a mostly white police force raided a blind pig on Detroit's near west side. The patrons were black, and the angry crowd that gathered was black, also. There was an uneasy relationship between the black community and the police. There'd been decades of abuse and mistrust, and this was the incident that broke relative peace.

The riots stunned the media. They did not see this coming. I grew up on the near west side in Detroit. I was eight years old at the time, and the unrest did not surprise me.

We used to hang out around a makeshift basketball court between Vancouver and Ivanhoe Streets, and we head bigger boys bragging abou how the city was going to burn the next summer.

We did not understand why at the time. But the riots happened. Once word got around the next morning about Horton's heroic stand, we figured the riots would be wrapped up with hours.

Willie Horton was our hero. He was the strong, strapping kid from Detroit who worked magic with his bat and was a better outfielder than the media gave him credit for. Black people loved Willie Horton. Everybody wanted to be like him.

Horton stood on top of a car with a bullhorn and asked that people go home. He wanted them to stop hurting one another and burning the city. However, this was bigger than Willie Horton. Nobody listened, and the riots continued for five days.

"You know I never had any fear," Horton told me. "I never thought I was in danger or anything. The funny thing is there were people there trying to make sure I was okay. Nobody wanted to see me get hurt. I was just trying to help my city in any way I could."

Source: 100 Things Tigers Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die. Terry Foster. Triumph Books. April 1, 2009.

Did you know that Willie Horton was the first Seattle Mariners player to have a 100+ RBI season? In 1979, Horton AND Bruce Bochte both reached the 100-RBI plateau, driving in 106 and 100 RBIs, respectively. The new Mariners team record for RBIs in a season, 106 by Horton, helped earned him a Comeback Player of the Year Award (the first by a Mariner) and stood until Alvin Davis drove in 116 runs in 1984. That record has since been broken as well, several times by several players, and is currently held by what Hall of Famer? [Answer]