Height: 6-0
Weight: 180
Shoot: L
Born: 5 Sep 1946, Lindsay ON (d. 1988)
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Regular Season & Playoff Scoring Record (key)
| year | team | |||||||||||
| 1972-73 | Cleveland | |||||||||||
| 1973-74 | Los Angeles | |||||||||||
| 1974-75 | Indianapolis | |||||||||||
| Totals: |
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Horton Hears the WHA • by Rich Passan • The Hockey Spectator • April 20, 1973
A year ago at this time, Billy Horton was laboring in the dungeons of organized hockey. He was 25-years-old, in his fifth season in the International Hockey League and on a one-way trip to anonymity. He couldn't even get a professional tryout with the St. Louls Blues of the National Hockey League a couple years age. That's how bad it got for Horton. But oh, how things have changed for this quiet, hard-working young defenseman for the Cleveland Crusaders. "I'm quite lucky to be here," said Horton, one of three rookie backliners on the Cleveland roster this season. "I went into training camp as an underdog. When you're 26, people don't want to take a look at you." But the C's gave Horton a long look. And the looking is still going onand the Crusaders' brass like what they've seen so far. "Once I found out Bill Needham had the confidence in me, I felt better," Horton said. The Cleveland coach had Horton pencilled in as a regular blue line patrolman since day one of training camp. And Billy has come through even better than he dreamed, even though he is probably the chief worrier on the team. He frets at the least little mistake and needs encouragement from time to time. He's also the top man in the superstition department. "If things aren't going well, I change my equipment," laughed Horton. "I shift elbow pads, something stupid like that." His teammates, some of whom he looked up to since they were the ones he was reading about in the Hockey News during those dreaded bus rides in the IHL, have made him feel right at home. Goaltender Gerry Cheevers is always reminding Horton about his shot. Actually, to call it a shot is a misnomer and Billy kids himself about it. "I've forgotten about it," he said. "Whenever there's a power play, I always go directly to the bench, I never had a hard shot. I try for accuracy." Cheevers is an immense help to Horton on the ice, "Cheesy has taught me a lot about positioning myself," Horton said. "In the minors, you work on that yourself because there isn't anyone with experience to help you with it." Horton met Cheevers during the summer and was admittedly awed, "l was invited to Cleveland for contract talks," the 6-0, 185 pounder recalled. "I arrived when Cheevers signed his contract. When I saw him, I phoned my wife and said I couldn't believe it, They want me to be a defenseman in front of Gerry Cheevers. Why would they want me in front of Gerry Cheevers? No, an international Hockey League defenseman." It's a completely different feeling now. He's part of a winner and has contributed in his usual quiet way. He's not flashy, but manages to get the job done when it's all over. Still, Horton is trying to improve his game. "My skating is my biggest problem," he pointed out. "I worked hard on that in the minors and am still working on it." One of the reasons he has trouble skating is a broken leg he suffered in the final year of his Junior A season with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey Association. "I still have a pin in the (right) leg," said Billy, whose blue line partner with London was Jim Dorey, now skating with the rival New England Whalers. The busted bone, which came midway through the season, put Horton out of hockey for one full season and he wound up in the IHL with Dayton in 1968. He split the following season between Dayton and Port Huron before spending the next three seasons with the Flint Generals. The broken leg turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Horton. "Since I broke it, I find it much easier to play on the right side," he said. And when he reported to the Crusaders' training camp, the club had only one right-handed shooting defenseman, John Hanna. So, Billy naturally fit right in. "I can swing around and move much better on the right side," said the left-handed defenseman, a second cousin to Tim Horton, one of the best defensemen in the history of the NHL. If Billy can come anywhere near the caliber of Tim, then the C's have got themselves some kind of defenseman. |
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