Burt Hooton

Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right  •  Throws: Right
6-1, 210lb (185cm, 95kg)
Born: February 7, 1950  in Greenville, TX us
Draft: Drafted by the New York Mets in the 5th round of the 1968 MLB June Amateur Draft from Richard King HS (Corpus Christi, TX) and the Chicago Cubs in the 1st round (2nd) of the 1971 MLB June Draft-Secondary Phase from University of Texas at Austin (Austin, TX).
High School: Richard King HS (Corpus Christi, TX)
School: University of Texas at Austin (Austin, TX)
Debut: June 17, 1971 (13,135th in major league history)
vs. STL 3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 SO, 5 BB, 3 ER
Last Game: September 6, 1985
vs. CHW 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 SO, 0 BB, 1 ER

National Team: us USA (College)
Full Name: Burt Carlton Hooton
Nicknames: Happy

Nine Players Who Debuted in 1971

Chris Speier
Chris Chambliss
Ron Cey
George Hendrick
Dave Kingman
Jon Matlack
Doyle Alexander
Cecil Cooper
Darrell Porter

All-Time Teammate Team

Coming Soon

Notable Events and Chronology

SearchSearch Events, Dates and More Date (Newest)Title (A - Z)

June 8, 1971

Danny Goodwin is chosen as the first player in the June draft and turns down a reported $50‚000 offer from the White Sox to attend Southern University

April 16, 1972

Burt Hooton fires no hitter in 4th start

May 16, 1972

Greg Luzinski ‘rings’ the replica of the Liberty Bell hanging in dead center field on the fourth level

June 4, 1976

Mets right fielder Dave Kingman, in the team’s 11-0 victory at Dodger Stadium, hits three home runs.

October 18, 1977

Reggie Jackson hits three home runs on three consecutive pitches

April 10, 1979

J.R. Richard ties a major-league record by throwing six wild pitches in a game against Los Angeles, but he also strikes out 13 in a 2-1 victory. Cesar Cedeno, Jose Cruz and Enos Cabell tag consecutive doubles off Burt Hooton in the fourth for the Houston runs. 

August 8, 1979

1979 – J.R. Richard fans 12 and delivers the game-winning hit during a 4-1 victory over Los Angeles. Terry Puhl opens the scoring with a first-inning blast off Burt Hooton. Richard’s two-run single in the fifth ends the stalemate. It is J.R.’s tenth straight win over the Dodgers. 

October 28, 1981

The Dodgers win 4 straight to win 1981 World Series

February 8, 2010

Lance Berkman is inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame

Biography

Hooton acquired the ironic nickname Happy from Tommy Lasorda for never looking the part. After going 35-3 for the University of Texas, he signed with the Cubs for $50,000 in 1971 and went straight to Tacoma, where his 19-strikeout game tied a 66-year-old Pacific Coast League record. In his first three ML games, in September of that year, he held opposing hitters to a .111 average and struck out 15 in one game. The following April 16, he no-hit the Phillies in his fourth ML start. His performance steadily declined with the Cubs, but he responded to a 1975 trade to the Dodgers by winning his final 12 decisions, finishing 18-9. His unusual knuckle curve made him a mainstay of baseball’s best rotation through nine seasons and three pennants. He peaked at 19-10 in 1978. During the prolonged 1981 postseason he went 4-1 with a 0.82 ERA and defeated the Yankees in the final game of the WS.

Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts

Coming soon

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