Burt Hooton

Burt Hooton is one of a few quality pitchers who parlayed the use of a devastating signature pitch into a long and effective major league career. Hurlers who relied on a distinctive pitch include Christy Mathewson (“fadeaway”); Carl Hubbell (screwball); Roy Face (forkball); Mariano Rivera (cutter); and Hooton, who baffled big league hitters with a “knuckle-curveball.”

The 6-1, 210-pound Hooton, born February 7, 1950, in Greenville, Texas, amassed a 151-136 record and 3.38 ERA during 15 years in the majors with the Cubs, Dodgers and Rangers. He also spent nearly 30 years as a pitching coach in the minor leagues and four years as a pitching coach at the University of Texas. Burt is the son of James Vernon Hooton, who worked as an oil scout for the Humble Oil & Refining Company, now known as Exxon, for nearly 40 years in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, and Mary McHam Hooton.1

Hooton developed his signature offering while playing in the Corpus Christi Pony League. “When I was 14, I guess I had seen [knuckleball specialist] Hoyt Wilhelm pitch on television and I was messing around with a knuckler,” recalled the bespectacled right-hander. “Most knuckleball pitchers grip the ball with their fingernails, but I gripped it with my knuckles and gave it that forward spin and it broke down. I’ve been doing it ever since.”2

(Phillies coach George Myatt said the knuckle-curve, while an unusual pitch, was not new. “The only fellow I ever knew who threw it was Johnny Niggeling of the Senators years ago when I was with the Washington club,” Myatt recalled.)3

After Hooton led Richard King High School of Corpus Christi to the 4A State title by going 15-1, the Mets took Scout Red Murff’s advice and selected the pitcher in the fifth round of the 1968 free agent draft. Hooton, however, rejected New York’s offer.4 “My dad wanted the Mets to guarantee [to pay for] two semesters of college, but they wouldn’t,” Hooton explained.5

He then attended the University of Texas, where he compiled a 35-3 record and a 1.14 ERA, becoming the Longhorns’ first three-time baseball All-American while leading them to two appearances in the College World Series.6As a freshman in 1969, Hooton did not allow a run in his 15 innings of Series work and was named to the All-College World Series tournament team.7 Following the 1970 College World Series, Hooton allowed eight hits and one earned run while going 2-0 for Boulder, Colorado, in the 1970 National Baseball Congress Tournament in Wichita, Kansas.8 He was one of nine NBC Tournament players chosen to represent the United States team in the 1970 World Games (Amateur World Series) November 18-December 4 in Cartagena, Colombia,9 where he helped the U.S. to a second-place finish and the silver medal by leading all pitchers with 44 strikeouts.

Hooton’s collegiate and postseason heroics did not go unnoticed by the Cubs, who selected the right-hander with the second pick (Pete Broberg was the first) of the 1971 secondary June free agent draft. On June 10 he signed for $50,000; seven days later he made his first major league start against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field. After giving up three runs, three hits, and five walks in 3½ innings in a no-decision 7-6 win by the Cubs, he was sent down to Triple-A Tacoma of the Pacific Coast League.10

“The memory that sticks out for me was just my first day at Wrigley Field,” Hooton recalled. “Coming off the University of Texas campus and into that Cubs’ clubhouse, I was just a 21-year-old kid. I was watching Ernie Banks and Billy Williams and Ron Santo and Don Kessinger and Glenn Beckert and Randy Hundley and Fergie Jenkins. These were all guys I had been watching on TV the previous eight or nine years. Then, all of a sudden, here I am wearing the same uniform, and I am one of their teammates.”11

After pitching his third straight PCL shutout, Hooton tied the league nine-inning strikeout record set in 1905 by fanning 19 batters on August 17 in a 5-1 win over Seattle. (Hawaii’s Ralph Garcia equaled it on June 20, 1974.)12 Fooling PCL hitters with his knuckle-curve, Hooton (7-4) compiled a 1.68 ERA and struck out 135 batters in 102 innings, allowing 73 hits and walking 19. The Cubs recalled him in September and he lost no time showing he was there to stay. On September 15 he struck out 15 in a complete-game 3-2 victory over the Mets. He had a no-hitter for 6 2/3 innings before Mike Jorgensen singled and Ken Singleton followed with a homer. The 15 Ks tied the Cubs’ modern record for most strikeouts in a game set by rookie Dick Drott on May 26, 1957, against the Milwaukee Braves.13

Hooton was selected with James Rodney Richard as a pitcher on the 1971 Triple-A All-Star team.14In January1972, Houston baseball writers chose him as the outstanding Texas-born minor league prospect.15 After completing a six-month assignment with the Illinois National Guard, in his first start on April 16 Hooton stunned the baseball world by no-hitting the Phillies, 4-0, before 9,583 shivering fans at rain-drenched Wrigley Field.

“I was really lucky,” Hooton admitted. “I was slipping off the rubber occasionally. The footing wasn’t good, and my fingers were so cold I couldn’t get a good feel of the ball. That was especially the case with my knuckle-curve. I grip the ball with the tips of my first two fingers on the seam. Therefore, I had trouble controlling it.”16 Hooton walked seven, struck out seven, and threw 118 pitches. After the game, Cubs General Manager John Holland announced Hooton’s contract would be rewritten to add a $2,500 raise.17 Hooton had hurled 24 scoreless innings going back to 1971 before yielding two runs in the fifth inning of a 2-0 loss to the Mets in his next game.18 “I had a unique pitch,” Hooton explained. “Nobody had ever seen it. The hitters didn’t know how to approach it yet.”19 In becoming the first National League rookie to pitch a no-hitter since Jeff Tesreau of the New York Giants in 1912, Hooton was named the NL’s first Player of the Week of 1972.20

The poised right-hander pitched 218 1/3 innings in his rookie season, ending 11-14 with a 2.80 ERA. The Cubs finished second in the NL East. They slipped to fifth in ’73. After losing his first three starts in August, Hooton’s record had fallen to 9-11 with a 4.13 ERA. He spent the next week in the bullpen before returning to the rotation on August 18.21

“It might have been the best thing to ever happen to me,” he said of his two-game stint as a reliever. “Coming in from the bullpen, I found myself in tight games, and I began to concentrate more. Pitching in a tie game, or one-run lead or behind, tends to keep you more alert.”22

Hooton rebounded to finish 14-17 with a 3.68 ERA. The Cubs continued to slide, finishing last in their division in ’74. After a 7-11 season, Hooton decided to pitch winter ball for Licey in the Dominican Republic, where he impressed Licey manager Tommy Lasorda, a Dodgers coach, who urged the Dodgers to trade for Hooton, which they attempted to do.23

Hooton went to 1975 spring training determined to bounce back from a disappointing 1974 and revitalize his career. He arrived at Scottsdale, Arizona, weighing 198 pounds, 17 less than he weighed at the end of the previous season.24 But after allowing 18 hits in his first 11 innings of 1975 and going 0-2 with an 8.18 ERA, he was traded to the Dodgers on May 2 for pitchers Geoff Zahn and Eddie Solomon.25

Hooton was thrilled with the swap. “I think this will be the change I needed,” he told newsmen in Chicago. “I didn’t feel I was going anywhere here. Now, it will be like a beginning. I can start over again.”26

Unfortunately, Hooton’s first Dodgers outing resembled his recent Cubs efforts. Two days after being acquired by L.A., he pitched 2 2/3 innings of relief against the Padres at Dodger Stadium and allowed five runs and four hits in a 10-7 setback. Through July 10, he was 6-7 with a 4.11 ERA as a Dodger and appeared headed toward another disappointing campaign.27 Then, with help from an unusual source, he won his last 12 decisions to break the Dodgers record of 11 consecutive victories set by Sandy Koufax in 1964 and 1965.Taking a teammate’s advice, Hooton agreed to spend 20 minutes with Arthur Ellen, a noted hypnotist. “I don’t know what happened when I was in that trance, but I do know I feel a great deal more confident about everything,” he explained. “The hypnotist turned it all around. He rid me of all my negative thoughts.”28

Along with teammate Don Sutton, Hooton was named NL Co-Player of the Week August 4-10 for allowing 11 hits and one earned run in complete-game triumphs over the Atlanta Braves (9-1) and the Mets (2-0).29 Adding to his Co-Player of the Week honor, the Texan was selected as August NL Pitcher of the Month for yielding 32 hits in 50 2/3 innings and amassing a 6-0 record and 1.07 ERA.30 He repeated as the NL monthly pitching winner in September by going 5-0 with a 2.41 ERA, allowing 38 hits in 56 innings.31 Hooton finished 18-9 for second-place LA.

Hooton, no doubt, was happy following this sterling performance, but he gained his familiar nickname, “Happy”, in a totally different way. On New Year’s Eve 1974, Hooton was one of many winter league players crammed in a Dominican Republic hotel room with future Dodger manager Tom Lasorda awaiting the dawning of 1975. While Lasorda and the other players celebrated, Hooton stoically sat on a stool playing solitaire. “Hey, Lasorda screamed to all within earshot. “Doesn’t he look happy! It’s Happy Hooton!” Burt was known by this moniker for the rest of his career.32

In 1976, Hooton’s consecutive-game winning streak ended in his first start, an 8-5 loss to the Padres.33 After a disappointing 11-15 record for the second-place Dodgers, he looked forward to a big boost after Tommy Lasorda became the new LA manager. “He’s already done that for me,” the hurler said in 1977 spring training. “I’m basically very lazy. I need someone kicking me in the tail all the time and Tommy does that.”34Led by third baseman Ron Cey, who hit .425 in April with nine homers and a major-league record 29 RBIs, the Dodgers surged to 22 wins in their first 26 games and went on to win the NL West with a 98-64 record. Hooton finished 12-7 with a glossy 2.62 ERA, third in the NL. But in Game 3 of the NLCS against the Phillies, he unexpectedly came apart in the second inning, walking four consecutive batters, three with the bases full, before his removal after 1 2/3 innings. LA came back to win the game, 6-5, and the series.

Hooton put what he learned from that experience to good use in beating the New York Yankees, 6-1, on a five-hitter in Game Two of the World Series at Yankee Stadium. He struck out eight and walked one. “After the game in Philadelphia, I learned to keep my cool,” he explained. “I had great stuff that night, but I lost my head. I let my team down and a lot of other people. [Against the Yankees], I pitched my normal game and kept my mind on the job at hand. I was very calm.”35

Not even a calm and collected Hooton, however, could stop Reggie Jackson and the Yankees in the decisive Game Six. The right-hander was dismissed without retiring a batter in the fourth inning after yielding a two-run homer to Jackson, his first of three round trippers, each on the first pitch, versus three LA pitchers during New York’s 8-4 Series-ending triumph. Jackson’s two-run, fourth-inning homer gave the Yankees a 4-3 lead, and Hooton was charged with the loss.

Through June 17 of 1978, after surrendering 11 homers in his first 12 starts and going 5-6 with a 3.66 ERA, Hooton suddenly became one of the majors’ most dominant pitchers. He improved to 17-8 by winning 12 of his next 14 decisions. During his phenomenal streak, Hooton pitched into the ninth inning 11 consecutive times and boasted a 2.11 ERA.36

He ended the year with a career-high 19 wins against 10 losses and a 2.71 ERA in 236 innings, finishing second to Gaylord Perry in voting for the Cy Young Award. Hooton’s hot second half helped propel Los Angeles to a 95-67 record and a second straight NL West crown. But Philadelphia again proved insurmountable for Hooton in the NLCS. The repeating Eastern Division champs got to him for four earned runs and 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings in the opener at Veterans Stadium. But the Dodgers went on to advance to the World Series.

In another six-game Series loss to the Yankees, the Dodgers won the first two games at home before dropping four in a row. Hooton started Games Two and Five with mixed results. He pitched the first six innings of Game Two, giving up three runs and eight hits in six innings, and gained credit for the 4-3 win when reliever Bob Welch got the last two outs, the last of which was a dramatic strikeout of Reggie Jackson with runners on first and second. In the Game Five 12-2 rout at Yankee Stadium, Hooton lasted 2 1/3 innings yielding four runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks to take the loss. His 6.48 ERA in 8 1/3 innings contributed to the Yankees successfully defending their World Series championship.

When the Dodgers opened the 1979 season with a 4-3 loss to the Padres on April 4 at Dodger Stadium, Hooton ended Sutton’s streak of seven consecutive Opening Day assignments by facing off against Gaylord Perry.37 His last outing of the season came on September 4, when he left the game after a third of an inning with a stiff shoulder and was sidelined for the rest of the year.38 He finished 11-10 with a team-leading 2.97 ERA (fourth in the NL) for the third- place Dodgers.

Pitching in his second straight Dodger season opener in 1980, Hooton was relieved after giving up three runs and four hits in two innings and lost, 3-2, in the Astrodome.39 He went 6-0 in 11 starts after missing two starts because of bursitis and ended up 14-8 with an abnormally high 3.66 ERA in 206 2/3 innings.40 Down by three games to Houston with the final three games against the Astros in LA, the Dodgers promptly swept the three-game weekend series to force a one-game playoff for the NL West title. Unfortunately, the Astros’ Joe Niekro was much sharper on the mound than the Dodgers’ Dave Goltz, and Houston won, 7-1, to clinch its first championship.

Hooton got off to a fast start in 1981, going 7-0 before suffering his first loss.41 When the players returned from a June 12-July 31 strike that divided the season in halves, Hooton pitched in his only All-Star Game. He went 1 2/3 innings and yielded three runs on five singles and a sacrifice fly in the NL’s 5-4 victory on August 8 in Cleveland. Hooton finished fast, allowing only two earned runs in his last 36 innings through September 8 and winding up 11-6 with a sparkling 2.28 ERA.42 He placed third in the league in ERA behind Nolan Ryan (1.69) and Bob Knepper (2.18).

By winning the first-half West title, the Dodgers qualified for postseason play and opened the playoffs against Houston in the Division Series. After losing the first two games on the road, they returned home and took three straight to become the first team to rally from an 0-2 deficit and win a best-of-five series. Hooton went seven-plus innings in the third game, yielding one run and three hits in a 6-1 victory.43

The Expos also extended LA to five games in the best-of-five NLCS. After a 5-1 win in the opener behind Hooton’s 7 1/3 shutout innings, the Dodgers dropped the next two contests before rallying to win Games Four and Five. Rick Monday’s dramatic solo homer with two out in the ninth enabled LA to win the finale, 2-1, in Montreal and advance to the World Series.

Against the Yankees, the Dodgers again were forced to come from behind. They lost the first two games in New York before posting four consecutive wins to hoist their first World Championship banner since 1965. Although he gave up one run and six hits in 5 1/3 innings before being relieved by Steve Howe, Hooton lost Game Two, 3-0, but bounced back along with his teammates to win Game Six, 9-2. To cap his brilliant year, Hooton was inducted into the University of Texas Longhorn Hall of Honor for his all-American collegiate career.44

An injury resulting from a spring training line drive in 1982 ruined Hooton’s hopes of putting together back-to-back stellar seasons. Struck on his right knee, he incurred a bone spur that was not discovered until May 19, when he underwent an arthrogram examination. He then was placed on the 21-day disabled list retroactive to May 14.45 After two more ineffective starts, he returned to the disabled list after undergoing surgery June 21 to remove the bone spur. At the time of the procedure, he was 1-4. He returned to action on August 11 and went 3-3 the rest of the year.

The Dodgers led the West by 2½ games at the end of play September 19, then lost eight in a row. Hooton took the mound against the Braves at Dodger Stadium and pitched 5 1/3 innings, receiving credit for the 10=3 win. Going into the final game, the Dodgers trailed Atlanta by one game but still had a chance to tie the Braves for first place by winning the last game of the season against the Giants in San Francisco. However, Joe Morgan’s three-run homer lifted SF to a 5-3 victory. Hooton was nearly traded to the Texas Rangers after the season along with pitchers Dave Stewart and Orel Hershiser and outfielder Mark Bradley for catcher Jim Sundberg. But contractual issues, including a no-trade clause for Sundberg that required a $250,000 buyout, stopped the deal.46

At 33, Hooton struggled through a 9-8 season while the Dodgers won the West before losing the NLCS in four games to Philadelphia. Hooton, ousted from the starting rotation, did not pitch in the postseason. In 1984, his tenth and final season with the Dodgers, he was relegated to long relief, a role he did not relish. Rather than return in that role, he chose free agency and in 1985 signed a two-year deal with the Texas Rangers. 47

Both Texas and Hooton struggled in 1985. The Rangers finished last in the AL West with a 62-99 record, and Hooton (5-8) had a career-worst 5.23 ERA. His playing career came to an end when he was cut following the season. Hooton ended up 151-136 with a 3.38 ERA in 480 appearances. After his release, he returned to the University of Texas to complete his degree in broadcast journalism. Then he began a 30-year career as a pitching coach that lasted through 2019. He spent the first eight years with the Dodgers’ A, AA and AAA clubs before returning to the Texas Longhorns for four years, In 2000 he became the first pitching coach for the Astros’ new Double-A Round Rock (Texas) Express. Midway through the season, Hooton replaced Vern Ruhle as pitching coach of the Astros. He worked with managers Larry Dierker and Jimy Williams in Houston before being fired with Williams in 2004..

Although Hooton was diagnosed with lymphoma, he returned to Round Rock in 2005 and continued to coach while undergoing six successful sessions of chemotherapy.48 He remained with the Express though 2012 after the team had moved to Oklahoma City prior to the 2011 season. He joined the Padres’ organization in 2013 as pitching coach for the team’s High-A Fort Wayne Tin Caps, and ended his career there after the 2019 season at age 70.

The pitcher with the knuckle-curve extraordinaire was inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998, the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.49 The University of Texas retired Hooton’s number 20 in 2009.50 He was inducted into the Omaha College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.51

Burt met Ginger, his wife, in late 1970 while both were at the University of Texas. They were married on December 30, 1972, and have a son, Gene, and a daughter, Layne. Burt and Ginger reside in San Antonio, where Burt enjoys playing golf and tennis.

Last revised: March 2, 2022 (zp)

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Bill Nowlin and Norman Macht and fact-checked by Kevin Larkin.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the notes, the author relied on information from baseballreference.com. Baseball Almanac, mlb.com, milb.com, 1974 Chicago Cubs Media Guide, and 1976 Los Angeles Dodgers Yearbook.

Notes

1 James V. Hooton Obituary-Visitation & Funeral Information, Porter Loring Mortuaries, January 18, 2008. https://www.porterloring.com/obituaries/James-V-Hooton?obId=18219764#/obituaryInfo. Accessed June 17,2021.

2 Red Smith, “Hooton’s Hybrid Knucklecure Is No Nickel Pitch,” New York Times, October 13, 1977: 1.

3 Edgar Munzel, “Cubs Hollerin’ About Hooton as Top Rookie of ‘72”, The Sporting News, October 9, 1971: 19.

4 Smith.

5 Brice Cherry, “Texas ex Burt Hooton found way to mound as pitcher, coach,” Waco-Tribune Herald, February 23, 2013.

6 1950 General Roster, Burt Hooton, Texassports.com. https://texassports.com/sports/general/roster/burt-hooton/1540. Accessed June 17, 2021.Also, Roger Wallace, “Gustafson and Hooton going in another hall of fame,” KXAN.com, June 23, 2015. https://www.kxan.com/news/gustafson-and-hooton-going-in-another-hall-of-fame/1049480832/ . Accessed June 17, 2021

7 Bob Williams, “Lefty Gura Hero of Champ Sun Devils.” The Sporting News, July 5, 1969: 42.

8 “Rusty Gerhardt Selected Sandlot Player of Year,” The Sporting News, November 21, 1970: 54.

9 Gerhardt.

10 Rob Neyer, “On this day: Burt Hooton’s no-hitter,” ESPN.com. Also “National League, Games of Thursday, June 17,” The Sporting News, July 3, 1971: 33.

11 Lew Freedman, Game of My Life: Chicago Cubs: Memorable Stories of Cubs Baseball (New York: Sports Publishing, 2007), 165-170.

12 Ed Honeywell, “Hooton’s Knuckle Curve: Mystery to PCL Hitters”, The Sporting News, September 18, 1971: 33. Also, “Pacific Coast League, Coast Chronicle, Saturday. Aug. 7,” The Sporting News, August 28, 1971: 35. Also, Fred Borsch, “Garcia Ties PCL Whiff Mark,” The Sporting News, July 6, 1974: 36.

13 “Major Flashes, Hooton Strikes Out 15,” The Sporting News, October 2, 1971: 35.

14 Edgar Munzel, “Cubs Hollerin’ About Hooton as Top Rookie of ’72.” Also, “Topps Salutes the Minor Leagues, Meet the Members of the Topps-National Association All-Star Teams, Class AAA All-Star Team,” The Sporting News, December 4, 1971: 39.

15 John Wilson, “Roberts Aiming for Striking Season as New Astro,” The Sporting News, January 22, 1972: 40.

16 Edgar Munzel, “Hooton No-Hitter Defies the Laws of Chance,” The Sporting News, April 29, 1972: 5.

17 Edgar Munzel, “Hooton No-Hitter Defies the Laws of Chance.”

18 Edgar Munzel, “Bruins Bolstered by New Bullpen Beef,” The Sporting News, May 6, 1972: 5.

19 Bob Hersom, “Knuckle-curve boosted Hooton’s career,” The Oklahoman, July 15, 2007.

20 “National League Names Hooton Player of the Week,” The Sporting News, May 6, 1972: 32.

21 Larry Wigge, “Pitching Averages Including Games of August 9,” The Sporting News, August 25, 1973: 28.

22 Richard Dozer, “Hooton: Fireman Now Brakeman,” The Sporting News, September 29, 1973: 7.

23 Jerome Holtzman, “Fourth Catcher Sweetens Cubs’ Swap Scheme,” The Sporting News, December 21, 1974: 53.

24 Jerome Holtzman, “Hooton Is Coming Out of His Shell — Big Plus for Cubs,” The Sporting News, March 29, 1975: 40.

25 Jerome Holtzman, “Cubs Counting on Lift from Zahn’s Sinker”, The Sporting News, May 24, 1975: 5.

26 Jerome Holtzman, “Cubs Counting on Lift from Zahn’s Sinker.”

27 Gordon Verrell. “Dodgers Throw No. 4 Mound Chore to Hooton,” The Sporting News, May 24, 1975: 5. Also, Larry Wigge, “Pitching Averages Including Games of July 10,” The Sporting News, July 26, 1975: 22.

28 Gordon Verrell, “Hypnotist Helps Hooton Find Win Potion,” The Sporting News, September 20, 1975: 10.

29 “Baylor, Sutton, Hooton Named Players of the Week,” The Sporting News, August 23, 1975: 28.

30 “Reds’ Perez Acclaimed N.L. Player of the Month,” The Sporting News, September 20, 1975: 15.

31 “Thornton and Hooton Win N.L. September Honors,” The Sporting News, October 18, 1975: 36. Also, “Players of the Month, National League Pitcher of the Month,” The Sporting News, October 25, 1975: 14.

32 Rich Tosches, “Hooton is Happy but Won’t Smile”, UPI, June 6, 1981.

33 “Hooton’s Record Ends Before Dodger Throng,” The Sporting News, May 1, 1976: 10.

34 Gordon Verrell, “‘We Gotta Fire Both Barrels,’ Asserts Hooton,” The Sporting News, April 23, 1977: 3, 25.

35 Gordon Verrell, “A Playoff Collapse Taught Hooton a Valuable Lesson,” The Sporting News, October 29, 1977: 7.

36 Gordon Verrell, “Dodgers Leap Off Canvas at Count of Nine,” The Sporting News, July 1, 1978: 19, 25. Also, Gordon Verrell, “It’s the Happy Hour in L.A., Meaning That Hooton’s Hot,” The Sporting News, September 23, 1978: 13.

37 Gordon Verrell, “Hough, as in Rough, All Ready for Tough Relief Chores Again,” The Sporting News, April 14, 1979: 44. Also, “National League, Games of April 5,” The Sporting News, April 21, 1979: 30.

38 “Games of Tuesday, September 4,” The Sporting News, September 22, 1979: 34. Also, Gordon Verrell, “Cey Said It Best for Dodgers,” The Sporting News, October 6, 1979: 13.

39 “N.L. Box Scores, Games of Thursday, April 10,” The Sporting News, April 26, 1980: 32.

40 Gordon Verrell, “Dodgers Finding Their Road Full of Potholes and Hazards,” The Sporting News, August 9, 1980: 22.

41 Gordon Verrell, “No-Shows New Dodger ‘Problem’,’’ The Sporting News, June 20, 1981: 31.

42 “Garvey Marriage Is on Rocks,” The Sporting News, September 26, 1981: 21.

43 “N.L. Box Scores,” The Sporting News, October 24, 1981: 60.

44 Gordon Verrell, “Russell Undisturbed by Ozzie Rumor,” The Sporting News, December 5, 1981: 52.

45Gordon Verrell, “Dodgers’ Pitching Loses Its Glitter,” The Sporting News, May 31, 1982: 21. Also, Larry Wigge, “N.L. Pitching, Including Games of May 20,” The Sporting News, May 31, 1982: 18. Also, Gordon Verrell, “Guerrero Glistens While Others Fail,” The Sporting News, June 7, 1982: 36.

46 Jim Reeves, “Collapse of Deal Jolts the Rangers,” The Sporting News, December 20, 1982: 54. Also, Gordon Verrell, “Sundberg Trade for Hooton Off,” The Sporting News, December 20, 1982: 58.

47 Gordon Verrell,” LA Retains Russell in Nick of Time,” The Sporting News, November 19, 1984: 52. Also, Jim Reeves, “Rader, Sundberg Kiss and Make Up,” The Sporting News, January 7, 1985: 41.

48 Brice Cherry, “Texas ex Burt Hooton found way to mound as pitcher, coach.”

49 Ford Gunter, “Berkman, Hooton named to Texas Sports Hall of Fame,” Houston Business Journal, February 8, 2010.

50 Candice Eng, “Baseball set to honor Burt Hooton’s No. 20,” Texassports.com, April 23, 2009.

51 Roger Wallace.