Tony Horton

Anthony Darrin Horton

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 210 lb.
• School University of Southern California
• High School University High School (Los Angeles)
• Debut July 31, 1964
• Final Game August 28, 1970
• Born December 6, 1944 in Santa Monica, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Tony Horton is one of the few good players from his era never to appear on a baseball card; a few others did miss some years because of contract disputes with Topps, but Horton's career ended, sadly, before he could come to an agreement with the monopoly holder of that time.

Horton was a slugging first baseman for the Cleveland Indians whose career was cut short by bouts of depression; he made an unsuccessful suicide attempt late in the 1970 season, slashing his wrist in a motel room, but was discovered in time. However, his distress was tied with his anxiety in playing baseball, and the cure for him was to abandon the game while still in his prime. He went into business and was successful in later life.

Horton is also known for a famous clip of a game against the New York Yankees, in which pitcher Steve Hamilton gets him out on successive "folly floaters"; Horton is thoroughly baffled and pops out to catcher Thurman Munson on the second one. He then literally crawls to the dugout in mock humiliation.

Notable Achievements

• 20-Home Run Seasons: 1 (1969)

Further Reading

• Mark Kanter and Mark Armour: "Tony Horton", in Bill Nowlin and Dan Desrochers, eds.: The 1967 Impossible Dream Red Sox: 'Pandemonium on the Field', SABR, Rounder Books, Burlington, MA, 2007, pp. 63-67. ISBN 978-1-5794-0141-2

Related Sites

• Tony Horton at the SABR Bio Project