1964 Topps #584 Joel Horlen


About Joel Horlen
Al Lopez opened 1964 with Horlen in the bullpen after a rough season debut, restored him to the rotation in late May, and got the best pitching of his life. He went 13-9 with a career-low 1.88 ERA, second in the league to Dean Chance, struck out ten in a game twice, set a career high with 138 strikeouts and gave up a major-league-low 6.07 hits per nine innings while the White Sox chased the Yankees into the final week and finished 98-64, a single game short. His 1964 Topps card, #584, is a genuine seventh-series high number.
Joel Edward Horlen, born August 14, 1937 in San Antonio, Texas, pitched for the Chicago White Sox from 1961 through 1971 and closed his career with the 1972 Oakland Athletics. Friends called him Joe. He starred at Oklahoma State, leading the Cowboys past Arizona for the 1959 College World Series title before signing with Chicago, and he is the rare ballplayer to win a Pony League World Series in 1952, a College World Series, and a big-league World Series. A slender right-hander who lived on a hard curve, a sinker and fine control rather than velocity, he anchored a White Sox staff that pitched brilliantly and scored almost nothing, which is how Hard Luck Horlen got his name. From 1964 through 1968 he led all American League pitchers with a combined 2.32 ERA. In 1967 he no-hit Detroit, won the ERA title, made his only All-Star team and finished second in the Cy Young voting. Released in the spring of 1972, he caught on with Oakland and earned a World Series ring in relief that fall. He retired at 116-117 with a 3.11 ERA and 1,065 strikeouts in 2,002 innings, and was later inducted into the Oklahoma State and San Antonio Sports halls of fame. He died in his hometown on April 10, 2022, at 84.
Sources: SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 193 | 2 | 33 | 60 | 50 | 29 | 13 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 13 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-09-04. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted.
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Related cards
Team card: #496 Chicago White Sox
More Chicago White Sox cards:
- #2 1963 American League E.R.A. Leaders
- #13 Hoyt Wilhelm
- #31 Dave Nicholson
- #66 Eddie Fisher
- #81 All-Star Vets
- #85 Pete Ward
- #107 White Sox 1964 Rookie Stars
- #130 Gary Peters
- #148 J.C. Martin
- #168 Al Weis
- #195 Floyd Robinson
- #215 Ray Herbert
- #232 Al Lopez
- #247 Dave DeBusschere
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1964 Topps #584 card?
It is card #584 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Joel Horlen of the Chicago White Sox.
Is 1964 Topps #584 a scarce card?
It is a high number card from the seventh print series, #523-587, distributed last. Scarcer than the rest of the set but only mildly so - the high premium runs roughly 55-60 percent, far milder than the 1952-62 highs.
How many cards are in the 1964 Topps Baseball set?
587 cards, tracked as 589 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 587 with no gaps, and no number carries two different cards; two cards - #4, the A.L. Pitching Leaders, and #517, the seventh-series checklist - carry a catalogued back variation that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, The Topps Archives, Baseball Almanac, Baseball-Reference, the SABR BioProject and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, PSA & SGC population reports. Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-10-11.