Houk, who put in an eight-year Major League career in the late-40’s/early 50’s as a back-up catcher with the New York Yankees, had a much more effective Big League career as a manager, putting in 20 seasons leading a team, including his five years with the Tigers between 1974 and 1978.
Of course, everyone will remember that he was the Tigers’ manager before Sparky Anderson took over in 1979 on his way to an historic run.
For Houk, it was a rough time leading Detroit, with four sub-.500 seasons before finishing on a high-note in 1978 when the team went 86-76.
But don’t feel bad for the guy, as he started as a Big League manager when he took over the Yankees before the 1961 season, yep, the year the Yankees went on to win 109 games, straight to a World Championship, and have Mantle and Maris fight for the “race to 61”.
By the time he retired as a manager after the 1984 season after four years managing the Boston Red Sox, Houk finished with a 1619-1531 record, with two championships, and three American League pennants.
