The Floater man I
think Steve Hamilton had fun a baseball player...At least twice he threw a slow
motion high arching ball high called the Folly Floater that got Cleveland’s
Tony Horton out on foul catch by Thurman Munson 7/24/70…captured by the miracle
of Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFvp7kMraAw
… The Yankee Stadium crowd roared with delight…Horton is left crawling into the
dugout…Maybe it’s the reason why Horton quit baseball next year (DK)…Also
should be happy given he is in Giant’s uniform(airbrushed with a Cubs cap)
having escaped early from the 1970 White Sox, a 106 game loser…Hamilton was the
mainstay Yankee relief pitcher in the mid to late sixties…in 140 pinstripe
appearances had a 34-20 record with 2.78 ERA, 36 saves…Like Ron Reed was also a
NBA player Steve was a Minneapolis Lakers 1958-60…Prematurely grey which only
added to a colorful career….Finished career with Cubs in 1972, 1-0 W-L, 4.76
ERA …Passed away in 1997 at age 63.
About Tony Horton:
ReplyDeleteA month or so after the event you mentioned, Horton was in a prolonged batting slump. The slump and the constant booing from Indians' fans pushed him over the edge. He took himself out of the game on August 28th, and attempted suicide that night.
Although he played from July 1964 to August 1970, Topps never made a baseball card for him.
I confess I didn't do my research as well I thought. Tony did quit in 1970 not the next year and I left out the suicide attempt. Wiki has a good write up.
ReplyDelete.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Horton_(baseball)
As to why no Topps card ever, maybe it was a contract dispute but it's never been clear.