DETROIT (WWJ) -- Willie Horton grew up on the west side of Detroit and attended Northwestern High School before spending 15 seasons with the Tigers en route to becoming one of the most beloved players in franchise history.
Not only is he a Tigers legend, he is a Detroit icon, and the city honored him as such on Wednesday, unveiling Willie Horton Drive at Canfield and the John C. Lodge Service Drive, in the neighborhood where he grew up. An honorary blue street sign now sits above the green Canfield sign at the intersection.
Horton was a four-time All-Star and member of the 1968 World Series champions and has served as a special advisor to the team for more than a decade. His No. 23 was retired at Comerica Park in 2000, making him the only Tiger not in the Baseball Hall of Fame to receive that honor.
Team owner Chris Ilitch, Mayor Mike Duggan, City Council President Brenda Jones and others were on-hand for the ceremony, as many commended him for being so much more than a baseball player.
Horton went straight to the Tigers after graduating from Northwestern, but he told the crowd on Wednesday he learned more by staying in Detroit and being a Tiger than he ever could have in college.
"I had to walk from downtown Lakeland, five miles to Spring Training camp, Tiger Town. But I look back in life and that was the best walk I had in life. Because what it did, it took me on another journey beyond the field," Horton said.
Horton has made as much an impression off the field with his work in the community as well as the Tigers organization. He was a key figure in the community, especially during the riots of 1967, when he stood on top of a police car -- in his full Tigers uniform just minutes after a game -- and pleaded for peace in the community.
Horton's oldest son, Daryl, told the audience his family was proud of him not for being a major leaguer, but for being the person that he is.
Willie Horton went straight to the Tigers after graduating from Northwestern High School, but he told the audience he learned more than what he ever could from college.