Family, love, community keys to triumphing over poverty, says legendary Tiger Horton
Detroit Tiger Willie Horton may be a legend of Motown baseball, but he came from humble beginnings: Born the youngest of 21 kids in a tiny community in Virginia. “Through the abundance of love we had in our family, we got through it,” said Horton, 76, at the Caboto Club on Monday. “I’ve always said we are all born together. I tell young people, ‘Please use what God gives you,’” Horton continued.
“You can do anything, be anything you want. That’s the way my parents raised me, and my sisters and brothers who I looked up to in my life.”
Horton was the featured speaker at the Salvation Army ’s Hope in the City luncheon, meant to highlight the organization’s fundraising efforts to combat the effects of childhood poverty and help underprivileged youth.
Horton credited his family for his career in sports, and said his respect for his siblings is what “kept me from the bad traffic. I never thought about drugs because of the respect I had for them.” Horton’s pro baseball history includes 14 seasons with the Detroit Tigers from 1963 to 1977, during which the Tigers won the World Series in 1968.
Along with respect for his loved ones, Horton said respect for members of his community made him who he is. Gesturing at the crowd around him at the Caboto Club, Horton said: “We need these kinds of heroes in every city and town in this country.”
“It’s all about partnership and love in the community,” Horton said. “That’s what Willie Horton is about, and I’m just so happy to be here today.”
Horton added that Windsor has “always been part of my life.” He would refer to his friend’s mother, who lived locally, as his “Canadian mom,” and used to enjoy parades on this side of the Detroit River. “Anything on this side of the bridge — We always look at Windsor, Tecumseh, and all the way up to London as Detroit,” Horton joked.
For more information about the Salvation Army’s Hope in the City campaign, visit salvationarmywindsor.ca.
You can do anything, be anything you want. That’s the way my parents raised me.
WILLIE HORTON