Byron Houck

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American baseball player (1891-1969)

title: "Byron Houck" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["baseball-players-from-minnesota", "major-league-baseball-pitchers", "1891-births", "1969-deaths", "philadelphia-athletics-players", "brooklyn-tip-tops-players", "20th-century-american-sportsmen", "st.-louis-browns-players", "spokane-indians-players", "portland-beavers-players", "vernon-tigers-players", "oregon-ducks-baseball-players", "new-haven-white-wings-players", "pawtucket-rovers-players", "people-from-fillmore-county,-minnesota"] description: "American baseball player (1891-1969)" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byron_Houck" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American baseball player (1891-1969) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox baseball biography"]

Field	Value
name	Byron Houck
position	Pitcher
image	Byron Houck, Philadelphia AL, at Polo Grounds, NY (baseball) LCCN2014693996.tif
bats	Right
throws	Right
birth_name	Byron Simon Houck
birth_date
birth_place	Prosper, Minnesota
death_date
death_place	Santa Cruz, California
debutleague	MLB
debutdate	May 15
debutyear	1912
debutteam	Philadelphia Athletics
finalleague	MLB
finaldate	August 27
finalyear	1918
finalteam	St. Louis Browns
statleague	MLB
stat1label	Win–loss record
stat1value	26–24
stat2label	Earned run average
stat2value	3.30
stat3label	Strikeouts
stat3value	224
::

Philadelphia Athletics (1912–1914)
Brooklyn Tip-Tops (1914)
St. Louis Browns (1918) Byron Simon Houck (August 28, 1891 – June 17, 1969) was an American professional baseball pitcher and cinematographer. He played in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics, Brooklyn Tip-Tops, and St. Louis Browns from 1912 to 1914 and in 1918. After his baseball career, he worked on Buster Keaton's production team as a camera operator.

Early life

Houck was born in Prosper, Minnesota. He was the fifth of six children. His family moved to Portland, Oregon, when he was young. He attended Washington High School in Portland, and pitched for the school's baseball team all four years. In his senior year, he was voted president of the athletic association. Houck graduated from high school in 1910 and enrolled at the University of Oregon and played college baseball for the Oregon Ducks. He was a member of Kappa Sigma at Oregon.

Professional baseball career

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Byron_Houck.jpg" caption="Houck in 1912"] ::

Houck signed with the Spokane Indians of the Class B Northwestern League in July 1911. After the season, the Philadelphia Athletics selected Houck in the Rule 5 draft. He made his major league debut with the Athletics in 1912. He pitched to a 8–8 win–loss record with a 2.94 earned run average (ERA). He was a member of the 1913 World Series champions, pitching to a 14–6 record and a 4.14 ERA in 1913, but he did not appear in the series. In 1914, after making three appearances for the Athletics, he was released to the Baltimore Orioles of the International League. Houck refused to report to Baltimore, and jumped to the Brooklyn Tip-Tops of the outlaw Federal League. He signed a three-year contract with Brooklyn paying him $3,500 per season ($ in current dollar terms). In 1915, Brooklyn assigned him to the Colonial League, a minor league affiliated with the Federal League, and he played for the New Haven White Wings and Pawtucket Rovers.

In 1916, following the collapse of the Federal League, Houck's rights reverted to the Athletics, and they allowed Houck to become a free agent. He had a 17–19 record and a 3.36 ERA in 1916. Houck returned to Portland in 1917, but struggled at the beginning of the season. He improved to finish the season with a 23–15 record and a 2.21 ERA. After the 1917 season, he was drafted by the St. Louis Browns for the 1918 season. He had a 2–4 record and a 2.39 ERA for the Browns. In February 1919, St. Louis sold Houck to the Vernon Tigers of the PCL. He had a 19–16 record and a 3.88 ERA in 1919. In 1920, Babe Borton, Houck's teammate with Vernon, was caught bribing opponents to throw games. He alleged that the plan was discussed at Louis Anger's house with Houck present. Houck was not punished by the PCL. Houck played semi-professional baseball in 1921, and briefly returned to the PCL to pitch for Vernon and Portland in 1922.

Film career

In 1919, Fatty Arbuckle purchased the Tigers, and he made Anger the team president. Houck's first wife and Anger's wife were sisters. This connection led to Houck working as a camera operator on Buster Keaton's silent films. and The Navigator, the 1925 film Seven Chances, and the 1926 film The General.

Personal life

Houck married Kittye Isaacs in September 1913. She died in March 1923. He remarried to Rose Carr in 1927.

Houck died in Santa Cruz, California, on June 17, 1969. He was interred at Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles.

References

Williams, Phil. "Byron Houck". [[Society for American Baseball Research]].
(July 28, 1912). "28 Jul 1912, Page 41". The Oregon Daily Journal.
(January 16, 1910). "16 Jan 1910, Page 57". The Oregon Daily Journal.
(October 4, 1911). "4 Oct 1911, 17". The Spokesman-Review.
(July 26, 1911). "26 Jul 1911, Page 11". The Oregon Daily Journal.
(September 3, 1911). "3 Sep 1911, Page 35". The Oregon Daily Journal.
(April 9, 1912). "9 Apr 1912, Page 6". The Eugene Guard.
"1912 Philadelphia Athletics Statistics".
"1913 Philadelphia Athletics Statistics".
"1914 Philadelphia Athletics Statistics".
(May 21, 1914). "21 May 1914, 2". The Boston Globe.
(September 30, 1915). "30 Sep 1915, Page 20". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
"1914 Brooklyn Tip-Tops Statistics".
"1916 Portland Beavers Statistics".
(May 15, 1917). "15 May 1917, Page 10". The Oregon Daily Journal.
"1917 Portland Beavers Statistics".
(November 5, 1917). "5 Nov 1917, 8". The La Crosse Tribune.
"1918 St. Louis Browns Statistics".
(February 3, 1919). "3 Feb 1919, Page 10". The Oregon Daily Journal.
"1919 Vernon Tigers Statistics".
(October 19, 1920). "19 Oct 1920, 12". The Salt Lake Tribune.
(July 15, 1922). "Byron Houck To Swing Arm For Beavers". Newspapers.com.
(December 23, 1925). "23 Dec 1925, 1". Mauch Chunk Times-News.
(May 9, 1925). "9 May 1925, Page 21". The Evening News.
(August 30, 1926). "30 Aug 1926, Page 8". The Eugene Guard.
(March 27, 1923). "Byron Houck's Wife Dead; Ill Long Time". Los Angeles Evening Express.
(June 18, 1969). "18 Jun 1969, Page 15". Santa Cruz Sentinel.
(June 25, 1969). "25 Jun 1969, Page 14". Santa Cruz Sentinel.

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