Today in Tribe History: May 6, 2003

Former Indians pitcher Art Houtteman passes away in Rochester Hills, Michigan, at the age of 75.

Houtteman, a Detroit native, reached the Majors with the Tigers in 1947, 100 days short of his 18th birthday. He was perfect in an inning of relief against the Indians in his debut. He played sparingly for the club until 1948, when he got more opportunities in the starting rotation despite going 2-16. He was better in 1949, going 15-10, and made the All-Star team in 1950 with a 19-12 record, but missed the 1951 season fulfilling military obligations. He returned and spent parts of the next two seasons with the Tigers before he was traded to the Indians in 1953 as part of an eight-player swap.

He won 15 games for the Tribe working primarily as a starter for the 1954 AL pennant winning club. He was 10-6 the following season, working two-thirds of the time in relief, and made just 22 appearances the following season. After a rough start in 1957, he was released and signed with the Baltimore Orioles, but he made just five more appearances with the team at the Major League level while spending time in the minors. He signed with the Tigers prior to the next season, but worked only in the minors in each of the next two seasons.

Related Posts

Today in Tribe History: June 25, 2011

In one of the more unfortunate and unusual losses of the season, the Indians fell to the San Francisco Giants, 1-0, as the lone run of the…

Today in Tribe History: June 24, 1997

Less than three years after signing with the club, 21-year-old right-hander Jaret Wright makes his Major League debut in front of a packed Jacobs Field crowd and…

Today in Tribe History: June 23, 1968

For the sixth time this season, Luis Tiant throws a complete game shutout as he and his Cleveland teammates blank the Detroit Tigers, 3-0.

Today in Tribe History: June 22, 2001

The Cleveland Indians acquire the highly controversial John Rocker from the Atlanta Braves with a minor leaguer for relievers Steve Karsay and Steve Reed.

Today in Tribe History: June 21, 1956

The “Red Baron”, Rick Sutcliffe, is born in Independence, Missouri.

Today in Tribe History: June 20, 1951

Cleveland gets an impressive day at the plate from second baseman Bobby Avila as the Indians knock off the Boston Red Sox, 14-8.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.