Hornsby, Rogers
Baseball
b. April 27, 1896, Winters, TX
d. Jan. 5, 1963
Probably the greatest right-handed hitter in baseball history, Hornsby joined the NL's St. Louis Cardinals toward the end of the 1915 season. Used primarily at third base and shortstop, he hit over .300 in three of his first four full seasons, with a high of .327 in 1917, when he led the league with 17 triples.
After being moved to second base in 1920, Hornsby won 6 straight batting titles, beginning with a .370 average. He had an incredible five-year stretch from 1921 through 1925, hitting .397, .401, .384, .424, and .403. His average over that period was .402, with 1,078 hits, despite the fact that he missed more than 50 games with an injury in 1923.
Hornsby led the league in hits with 218 in 1920, 235 in 1921, 250 in 1922, and 227 in 1924; in doubles with 44 in 1920, 44 in 1921, 46 in 1922, and 43 in 1924; in triples with 18 in 1921; in home runs with 42 in 1922 and 39 in 1925; in RBI with 94 in 1920, 126 in 1921, 152 in 1922, and 143 in 1925; and in runs scored with 131 in 1921, 141 in 1922 and 121 in 1924.
In July of 1925, Hornsby replaced Branch Rickey as St. Louis manager. He won the league's most valuable player award that year, though the team finished fourth, and in 1926 he guided it to the pennant, despite the fact that his average tumbled to .317. The Cardinals then beat the Yankees in a seven-game World Series.
Brash and outspoken, Hornsby had an argument with Cardinal management after the season and was traded to the New York Giants for Frankie Frisch, another future Hall of Fame second baseman, and pitcher Jimmy Ring. He hit .361 and led the league with 133 runs scored, but was traded again, this time to the Boston Braves. Hornsby won his seventh and last batting title with a .387 average in 1928.
The Braves were in financial trouble and Hornsby was sent to the Chicago Cubs in 1929 for five players and $200,000. He won his second most valuable player award in Chicago, hitting .380 with 39 home runs and 149 RBI and leading the league with 156 runs scored and a .679 slugging percentage. However, he batted only .238 in a five-game World Series loss to the Philadelphia Athletics.
He was named manager of the Cubs late in the 1930 season and began limiting his own playing time. He appeared in just 100 games in 1931 and only 19 in 1932. Fired during the 1932 season, Hornsby went back to the Cardinals the following year but left them to take over as manager of the St. Louis Browns in the AL before the season was over.
Hornsby remained with the Browns until July 20, 1937, appearing only occasionally, primarily as a pinch-hitter. After coaching and managing in the minors for fifteen years, he returned as manager of the Browns in 1952, was fired on June 9, and on August 1 he took over the Cincinnati Reds. After being fired by Cincinnati late in the 1953 season, Hornsby coached and scouted for the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets for several seasons.
In 2,259 games, Hornsby had a .358 average on 2,930 hits, including 541 doubles, 169 triples, and 301 home runs. He drove in 1,584 runs and scored 1,579. His career average is an NL record and his .424 average in 1924 is a major league record for the twentieth century. As a manager, he had a 701-812 mark.