Bill Howerton

William Ray Howerton
(Hopalong)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 185 lb.
• School Saint Mary's College of California
• Debut September 11, 1949
• Final Game June 29, 1952
• Born December 12, 1921 in Lompoc, CA USA
• Died December 18, 2001 in Blakely, PA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Bill Howerton played four years in the majors, showing both power and an ability to draw walks.

Howerton is listed as a regular outfielder in both 1950, with the St. Louis Cardinals, and 1951, with the Pittsburgh Pirates, even though he did not play the most games at any one outfield position. With the Cardinals in 1950, he was in 97 outfield games, more than anyone on the team other than Enos Slaughter, but in terms of games at specific positions, Slaughter had the most in right field, Stan Musial had the most in left field (although Stan played more at first base than in left field), and Chuck Diering had the most in center field.

In 1951 Howerton, with the Pirates for most of the season, was in 53 games in the outfield, which made him the # 4 outfielder. However, Ralph Kiner, the most-used left fielder, was also the most-used first baseman and so Howerton is listed as the third outfielder.

Bill's minor league career started in 1943 and ended in 1955. A home run hitter in his later years, his peak was 32 with the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League in 1953, where he was a teammate of Ray Dandridge and Spider Jorgensen.

His son Bill Howerton Jr. was head coach at the University of Scranton for many years.

Through 2008 there have been four major leaguers born in Lompoc, CA, with Howerton the first of the four.