Joe Horlen

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Joe Horlen (born Joel Edward Horlen on August 14, 1937 in San Antonio, Texas) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher.

A right-hander, Horlen pitched for the Chicago White Sox from 1961 to 1971 and the Oakland Athletics in 1972.

A star pitcher at Oklahoma State University, Horlen was signed by the Chicago White Sox in 1959. He made his Major League debut against the Minnesota Twins in the second game of a September 4, 1961 doubleheader. He won the game in relief, but had the dubious distinction of wearing a uniform without a number; the only available road uniform had none.

Horlen pitched as a spot starter in his first two full seasons with the White Sox. In 1964 he earned a spot in the starting rotation, posting a 13-9 record and setting career bests in earned run average (1.88) and strikeouts (138). He also led the majors by allowing only 6.07 hits per 9 innings, a tad below Sandy Koufax's National League-leading 6.22. That year his White Sox battled the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles for the pennant, but finished second, one game behind the former team and one game ahead of the latter.

Horlen’s best season was in 1967; he finished 19-7 and led American League pitchers with a 2.06 ERA. He also was named to the American League All-Star team for the only time in his career, but did not pitch in the game. The highlight of Horlen’s season came on September 10 as the White Sox were involved in a four-way pennant race with the Twins, Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers; he no-hit the Tigers in the first game of a doubleheader at Comiskey Park. He would record victories in his next three starts, the next one coming five days later against the Twins.

However, on September 27, which would forever be known by White Sox fans as “Black Wednseday,” the lowly Kansas City Athletics swept a doubleheader from the White Sox and effectively eliminated Eddie Stanky's "Hitless Wonders," as the team was known, from pennant contention. (No regular batted above .250; this lack of offense possibly cost the White Sox the pennant.) Horlen lost the second game, with 21-year-old Catfish Hunter shutting out the White Sox 4-0. On an interesting note, the two games were the last played by the Athletics in Kansas City; they would move to Oakland the following year. The White Sox finished fourth, three games behind the Red Sox who, after finishing next to last in 1966, won the pennant on the final day, finishing one game ahead of the Twins and Tigers. Horlen finished runner-up to Jim Lonborg, the star of the Red Sox staff, in the American League Cy Young Award balloting.

In spring training of 1972, two weeks after voting unanimously in favor of a strike, the White Sox released Horlen, who had been the Sox’ player representative. He later signed with Oakland and pitched mostly in relief as the Athletics won the World Series—the first in franchise history since 1930.

In his career Horlen won 116 games against 117 losses, with a 3.11 earned run average and 1065 strikeouts in 2002 innings pitched.

[edit] External links

• Horlen's career stats and analysis
• Horlen's "Jews in Sports" profile
• Boxscore of Horlen's 1967 no-hitter