A hard day’s night for Hard Luck Horlen

This pitcher spends 12 seasons in the major leagues with the first 11 playing on the South Side of Chicago.

In that time, he is one of the best pitchers in the American League during the pitching-rich 1960s, only most fans do not realize just how good he is.

That would be because he plays for the White Sox, who during the 1960s never win an American League pennant. Close? Yes. Win? No.

Actually, they win precious few pennants for most of their century-plus existence.

This is a brief look – really brief, actually – at the hardscrabble career of Joe Horlen, a career that includes an earned-run title in 1967 during a span of five straight seasons with an ERA under 2.89.

Horlen wins some games, loses some games, too. Just about as even as possible with a career record of 116-117.

One lousy loss that could have been a win and, well, Horlen would have a winning record for his career.

One chance to ultimately flip that career losing record into a winning one comes 61 years ago tonight as Horlen is two outs away from no-hitting the Washington Senators before a Monday night crowd of 4,769 at DC Stadium.

Never mind that in this game the White Sox’s anemic offense manages to score only one run on seven crummy singles.

Does not matter because the pitcher whose nickname is “Hard Luck” – really, not making that up – is a mere two outs from no-hitting the Senators.

Alas, Horlen never gets there.

First, Chuck Hinton breaks up the no-hitter by bouncing a single into center field with one out in the bottom of the ninth.

Undeterred, Horlen then moves within an out of a 1-0, one-hit shutout after Bobo Osborne grounds out to second baseman Al Weis.

The shutout, though, follows the fate of the no-hitter and, well, disappears into the Washington night when Horlen hangs a curveball to Don Lock, who launches the pitch deep over the left-field wall and turns what is a no-hitter for Horlen just a few pitches earlier into a loss for the right-hander.

“The curveball was my good pitch all night,” Horlen says after the game. “I lived with it and died with it.”

Horlen finally gets his no-hitter in 1967, frustrating the Detroit Tigers 6-0 in a mid-September game at Chicago’s Comiskey Park.