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Joel Edward Horlen
Chicago White Sox
Pitcher
Born: August 14, 1937, San Antonio, TX
Signed: Signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before 1959 season
Major League Teams: Chicago White Sox 1961-1971; Oakland Athletics 1972
World Series Appearances: Oakland Athletics 1972
Died: April 10, 2022, San Antonio, TX (age 84)
Joe Horlen had an impressive run with the White Sox through the entire decade of the 1960s during which he was one of the most underrated starting pitchers in the American League. Horlen won at least 10 games in seven straight seasons between 1963 and 1969, and his 2.32 ERA between 1964 and 1968 led all American League pitchers. His career year came in 1967 when he made the All-Star team, finished with a 19-7 record and led the league with a 2.06 ERA and six shutouts. One of the those shutouts was a no-hitter thrown on September 10, 1967 against the pennant-contending Tigers. Horlen finished second in the Cy Young voting behind Jim Lonborg (#109) and was fourth in the overall league MVP voting.
Died: April 10, 2022, San Antonio, TX (age 84)
Joe Horlen had an impressive run with the White Sox through the entire decade of the 1960s during which he was one of the most underrated starting pitchers in the American League. Horlen won at least 10 games in seven straight seasons between 1963 and 1969, and his 2.32 ERA between 1964 and 1968 led all American League pitchers. His career year came in 1967 when he made the All-Star team, finished with a 19-7 record and led the league with a 2.06 ERA and six shutouts. One of the those shutouts was a no-hitter thrown on September 10, 1967 against the pennant-contending Tigers. Horlen finished second in the Cy Young voting behind Jim Lonborg (#109) and was fourth in the overall league MVP voting.
He pitched for four more seasons with the White Sox and signed with the Athletics in April 1972. In his final season in the majors, Horlen was one of the more frequently used relievers out of the Oakland bullpen, pitching mainly in long relief, and his 84 innings pitched were second only to closer Rollie Fingers (#597). Horlen saw postseason action in 1972, and capped his career with a World Series ring when the Athletics downed the Reds in seven games. In 361 career games, Horlen was 116-117 with a 3.11 ERA and 1,065 strikeouts. He'd stay in baseball throughout the early 2000s as a minor league pitching coach within the Indians, Mets, Royals, Giants and Padres organizations.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #314
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times. I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.
The Card / White Sox Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
1969 Season
Horlen led the White Sox pitching staff with 13 wins, going 13-16 in 36 games and pitching to a 3.78 ERA over 235 2/3 inning pitched. Tommy John (#465) and Gary Peters (#34) also had over 200 innings pitched as part of Chicago's starting pitching rotation. Only the Pilots kept the White Sox out of the American League West basement in 1969, as the team was 68-94.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #479
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1962-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Fleer ProCards #1537
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 99 in the Beckett online database as of 6/8/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times. I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.
Similar to my strategy from March, I wanted to focus on accumulating commons and having found success with Uncle Dick's Cards before, I didn't mess around and headed right for the neon green binders. I pulled 145 cards from the binder containing cards 301 to the end of the set, stopping when I reached 500. This card was the 22nd of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me less than $1.
This photo was likely taken at the same time as the photo used for Horlen's 1968 Topps card, and it's from at least 1966 as that's the last season the White Sox had "Chicago" spelled out in block letters on the fronts of their road jerseys. Horlen wore #20 throughout his entire 11-year White Sox career. It's no surprise Topps opted to highlight his stellar 1967 season in the cartoon and within the write-up on the back of the card.
Accuracy Index: Horlen's photo may be old, but it's accurate, so his card scores a +5.
1969 Season
Horlen led the White Sox pitching staff with 13 wins, going 13-16 in 36 games and pitching to a 3.78 ERA over 235 2/3 inning pitched. Tommy John (#465) and Gary Peters (#34) also had over 200 innings pitched as part of Chicago's starting pitching rotation. Only the Pilots kept the White Sox out of the American League West basement in 1969, as the team was 68-94.
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First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #479
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1962-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Fleer ProCards #1537
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 99 in the Beckett online database as of 6/8/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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