Bob Horner
A power-hitting third baseman who rocketed to stardom by winning Rookie of the Year after jumping straight from college to the Atlanta Braves.
Born 1957 (age 69)·American baseball player·Birthday: August 6·Baby Boomers
Biography
Bob Horner’s baseball career was a study in explosive talent and persistent injury. In 1978, the Arizona State slugger bypassed the minor leagues entirely, signing with the Atlanta Braves and promptly clubbing a home run in his debut. That season, his raw power earned him the National League Rookie of the Year award, cementing him as a cornerstone of the Braves' lineup. Throughout the 1980s, Horner formed a formidable heart of the order with Dale Murphy, and in 1982 he helped propel the team to a division title. His time was marred by broken wrists and ankle issues, which limited his seasons and culminated in a controversial, salary-driven year playing in Japan in 1987. He returned for one final MLB season with the St. Louis Cardinals before retiring, leaving behind a legacy of what might have been had his body cooperated with his prodigious ability to hit a baseball very, very far.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Bob was born in 1957, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Bob Was Born
The biggest hits of 1957
#1 Movie
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Best Picture
The Bridge on the River Kwai
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Bob's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1957Born
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1962Started school
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1970Became a teenager
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1973Could drive
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1975Could vote
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Turned 21
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1987Turned 30
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 40
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 50
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 60
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 69 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the 1978 National League Rookie of the Year award after hitting 23 home runs in just 89 games.
- Hit four home runs in a single game for the Atlanta Braves against the Montreal Expos on July 6, 1986.
- Was a key member of the 1982 Atlanta Braves team that won the National League West division title.
- Finished his MLB career with a .277 batting average and 218 home runs despite significant injury interruptions.
Did You Know?
He was the first player since Al Kaline in 1955 to go directly from college to a Major League starting lineup without any minor league experience.
His four-homer game in 1986 made him only the 11th player in MLB history to accomplish the feat at the time.
He played one season for the Yakult Swallows in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league in 1987.
He and teammate Dale Murphy were known as the 'Gold Dust Twins' for the Braves in the early 1980s.
“I didn't need the minors; I hit big-league pitching from the first day.”
