Friday, March 8, 2024

#281 Art Houtteman - Cleveland Indians


Arthur Joseph Houtteman
Cleveland Indians
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  188
Born:  August 7, 1927, Detroit, MI
Signed:  Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent before 1945 season
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1945-1950, 1952-1953; Cleveland Indians 1953-1957; Baltimore Orioles 1957
Died:  May 6, 2003, Rochester Hills, MI (age 75)

With major league rosters decimated by players serving during World War II, Art Houtteman was signed by the Tigers in early 1945 and made his debut with the club at the age of 17 on April 29th.  He was the youngest player in the majors in both 1945 and 1946.  Houtteman would soon become the ace of the Tigers' pitching staff, winning 15 games in 1949 and a career-best 19 games in 1950.  He'd pitch in that year's All-Star Game at Comiskey Park, allowing a home run to Ralph Kiner.  Houtteman missed the entire 1951 season while in military service and struggled somewhat upon his return in 1952.  He pitched a career-high 221 innings that season, but was 8-20 with a 4.36 ERA.

Dealt to the Indians in 1953, Houtteman was a member of the 1954 pennant-winning club and he pitched briefly in the 1954 World Series, lost to the Giants in four games.  Houtteman's output declined over the next few seasons and while his last major league action came in 1957, he pitched two more seasons in the Tigers and Athletics minor league systems before retiring in 1959.  In 325 career games, Houtteman was 87-91 with a 4.14 ERA, 78 complete games and 14 shutouts.

December 26, 2003 - Dad opening presents
Building the Set
December 25, 2003 from San Diego, CA (Kit Young Cards) - Card #248
My Dad/Santa brought me nine cards for our set for Christmas in 2003, with all but one of the cards coming from his dealer of choice, Kit Young Cards in San Diego.  The Brooklyn Dodgers team card (#166) was the lone non-Kit Young Cards addition, as that card came from TemDee in Turnersville, New Jersey.  It was a strange mix of commons from Kit Young Cards, with no semi-star or star card to balance out the lot.  We were admittedly in a lull collecting the set, with only 18 cards added during all of 2003 and only six cards added, as Christmas presents, in 2004.

Pictures from the Christmas of 2003 show us opening gifts at my Mom's house on December 26th, which has since become a tradition for us.  So while the official set records indicate these nine cards were added on December 25th, it was most likely a day later I opened the cards while in Millville.

The Card / Indians Team Set
Houtteman was exclusively with Bowman between 1953 and 1955, and this marks his first card in a Topps set since 1952.  The first cartoon panel on the back includes an uncorrected error as Houtteman made his debut with the Tigers at the age of 17.  The other cartoon panels include representations of Houtteman's teams with a tiger in uniform and a now-dated reference to the Indians.

1956 Season
Houtteman spent the entire season with the Indians, but was infrequently used by manager Al Lopez.  In 22 appearances overall, including four starts, Houtteman was 2-2 with a 6.56 ERA in 46 2/3 innings pitched.

1950 Bowman #42
1951 Bowman #45
1952 Topps #238
1955 Bowman #144
1957 Topps #385

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1950 Bowman #42
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (3):  1952, 1956-1957
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1985 TCMA 1949 Play Ball #29

27 - Houtteman non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/23/24.

 Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
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