Tony Horton 1966 Red Sox Jersey (G/U?)

[MCyganik]

Hey all, went to an estate sale this morning and picked up this 1966 Red Sox jersey. The organizers incorrectly listed it as a Bobby Doerr jersey online, then as a Frank Malzone jersey at the sale. Doing research beforehand however tells me that this jersey belonged to Tony Horton, who switched from #30 to #11 in 1966 after Frank Malzone was released after the 1965 season.

This is my first jersey of this era so I’m assuming it to be legit and if it belonged to Horton it’s pretty interesting as a mental health professional since he had such an interesting and tragic story later in his career with the Indians.

It has a decent amount of staining so I’m not sure if it was worn by other owners over the years or if the stains come from game use. He only played 6 games with the Red Sox to start the 1966 season before getting sent down to make way for rookie George Scott. I can’t imagine he was issued too many jerseys from this year. Maybe also worn in Spring Training that year?

It’s going in my personal Red Sox collection but just thought I’d show this off and try to get some opinions from experts much more knowledgeable than me!
















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[Mark17]

Looks good to me although I mostly collect Twins flannels. Given his height and weight the size looks about right too. Below is a 1970 Lee Thomas that I own:

[AGuinness]

Interesting story about Horton. And it’s odd that a player who had a decent start to his career over a few years never made it into a Topps card while he was still active.


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[sayhey24]

That's a great estate sale find! Was it in the Boston area?

I remember Tony Horton from my childhood, but can't believe in all these years I never realized what happened to him.
Here is a pretty good SABR article on Horton:

Greg

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/e1dbb148

[MCyganik]

Originally Posted by AGuinness

Interesting story about Horton. And it’s odd that a player who had a decent start to his career over a few years never made it into a Topps card while he was still active.

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According to some research, Tony Horton has by far the most ABs for a player in the Topps era to never have a single card with Topps.

According to an article in 1985, the legendary Topps player rep Sy Berger was quoted:
“Only one player ever turned me down,'' Berger says. ''Tony Horton, a first baseman with the Red Sox and the Indians about 20 years ago. His father and grandfather advised him not to sign.''

[MCyganik]

Originally Posted by sayhey24

That's a great estate sale find! Was it in the Boston area?

I remember Tony Horton from my childhood, but can't believe in all these years I never realized what happened to him.
Here is a pretty good SABR article on Horton:

Greg

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/e1dbb148

Yeah he’s got a fascinating story. Sort of reminds me of Jimmy Piersall, but whereas Piersall improved his functioning to play baseball, Horton did not and disappeared completely.

Edit: And yes, it was in the Boston area. There was very little in the way of other baseball stuff in the house and Tony is a lifelong California resident with a track record for being very distant and aloof. So how this jersey ended up where it did is a whole other mystery for me.

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by MCyganik

According to some research, Tony Horton has by far the most ABs for a player in the Topps era to never have a single card with Topps.

According to an article in 1985, the legendary Topps player rep Sy Berger was quoted:
“Only one player ever turned me down,'' Berger says. ''Tony Horton, a first baseman with the Red Sox and the Indians about 20 years ago. His father and grandfather advised him not to sign.''

That SABR article implies/says that Tony had a ton of pressure on him, trying to live up to his father's expectations. This story is very consistent with an over-bearing, impossible to please father. I can see how a guy in that situation would just want to walk away from all that crap and proceed to live a good, happy life with a different career.