Encyclopedia, Difference between revisions of "Rogers Hornsby" - New World
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| debutopponent= [[Cincinnati Reds]] | | debutopponent= [[Cincinnati Reds]] | ||
| debutstadium= [[Robison Field]] | | debutstadium= [[Robison Field]] | ||
| − | | teams= [[St. Louis Cardinals]] ( | + | | teams= [[St. Louis Cardinals]] (1915-1926)<BR>New York Giants (1927)<BR>Boston Braves (1928)<BR>Chicago Cubs (1929-1932)<BR>St. Louis Cardinals (1933)<BR>St. Louis Browns (1933-1937)| HOFer=HOFer |
| − | | HOFer=HOFer | ||
| inductiondate=[[1942 in sports|1942]] | | inductiondate=[[1942 in sports|1942]] | ||
| careerhighlights=<nowiki></nowiki> | | careerhighlights=<nowiki></nowiki> | ||
*Holds the [[National League|NL]] record for career [[batting average]] at .358. | *Holds the [[National League|NL]] record for career [[batting average]] at .358. | ||
*Hit better than .300 15 times and better than .400 three times. | *Hit better than .300 15 times and better than .400 three times. | ||
| − | *Won seven batting titles, two | + | *Won seven batting titles, two HR titles and four RBI crowns. |
*Won triple crowns in 1922 and 1925. | *Won triple crowns in 1922 and 1925. | ||
*Even though [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Hall of Fame]] rules state that a player must be retired for five years before he can be inducted, Rogers Hornsby received 105 votes during the inaugural year of 1936-one year before he retired. | *Even though [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Hall of Fame]] rules state that a player must be retired for five years before he can be inducted, Rogers Hornsby received 105 votes during the inaugural year of 1936-one year before he retired. | ||
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}} | }} | ||
| − | '''Rogers Hornsby''' (April 27, 1896 in [[ | + | '''Rogers Hornsby''' (April 27, 1896 in Winters, [[Texas]] - January 5, 1963 in [[Chicago, Illinois]]), nicknamed "The Rajah," was a [[Major League Baseball]] second baseman and manager. He spent most of his career with the [[St. Louis Browns]] and the [[St. Louis Cardinals]]. In addition, he had short stints for the [[Chicago Cubs]], the [[Atlanta Braves|Boston Braves]], and the [[San Francisco Giants|New York Giants]]. |
| − | Hornsby ranks second on the list for highest career | + | Hornsby ranks second on the list for highest career batting average, behind [[Ty Cobb]]'s average of .366. His .358 average is the highest for any right-handed hitter or [[National League]] player, and The [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] elected Hornsby in 1942. In 1999, Hornsby was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. |
| − | In addition to his success on the field, he was one of baseball's more successful player-managers, guiding his Cardinals to a [[World Series]] victory over [[Babe Ruth]]'s [[New York Yankees]] in | + | In addition to his success on the field, he was one of baseball's more successful player-managers, guiding his Cardinals to a [[World Series]] victory over [[Babe Ruth]]'s [[New York Yankees]] in 1926. Hornsby, himself, tagged out Ruth trying to steal, thus ending that Series. |
As [[Pete Rose]] said to a reporter in 1978 while he was pursuing a 44-game [[hitting streak]] and had just tied Hornsby's personal best at 33, "Ol' Rogers was quite a hitter, wasn't he?" | As [[Pete Rose]] said to a reporter in 1978 while he was pursuing a 44-game [[hitting streak]] and had just tied Hornsby's personal best at 33, "Ol' Rogers was quite a hitter, wasn't he?" | ||
==Baseball career== | ==Baseball career== | ||
| − | Hornsby holds the modern record for highest batting average in a season, .424 in [[1924 in baseball|1924]], and he won the [[Triple crown (baseball)|Triple Crown]] in | + | Hornsby holds the modern record for highest batting average in a season, .424 in [[1924 in baseball|1924]], and he won the [[Triple crown (baseball)|Triple Crown]] in 1922 and again in 1925 in baseball. He won the NL's MVP Award twice, in 1925 and 1929. At his peak, from 1920 to 1925, Hornsby led his league in batting average all six years, in [[run batted in|RBI]]s four years, and in [[home run]]s twice. Over the 1921 through 1925 seasons, Hornsby ''averaged'' an astonishing .402 for five years, a feat unlikely to be equaled again. He hit over 300 homers in his career, not all of them as a second baseman. |
| − | Although he was one of the more controversial characters in baseball history | + | Although he was one of the more controversial characters in baseball history, Hornsby did not drink or smoke. However, he was a compulsive gambler. As with [[Ty Cobb]], his photogenic smile belied a dark side. One writer characterized him as "a liturgy of hatred," and according to legendary baseball writer Fred Lieb, he was a member of the [[Ku Klux Klan]]. His chief interest was in winning, and he could be as sarcastic and uncompromising with club owners as he was with his teammates. |
| − | As with some other star athletes, as a manager he had trouble relating to players who shared neither his talent nor his zeal for winning. As his playing skills waned, he tended to be shuffled from team to team, wearing out his welcome quickly among his charges. Having won the World Series as a player-manager with the Cardinals, he was traded to the Giants for the 1927 season, then to the Boston Braves for 1928, and finally moved on to the Chicago Cubs in 1929, where he became their player-manager (and remained for three seasons thereafter), thus playing for four different teams in four years. | + | When Hornsby was traded from the St. Louis Cardinals to the New York Giants after the 1926 season, the deal was held up because Hornsby, as part of his contract as the manager of the Cardinals (he was a player-manager at the time), owned several shares of stock in the Cardinals. Cardinals owner [[Sam Breadon]] offered Hornsby a sum for the stock considerably lower than what Hornsby demanded for it, and neither would budge. Eventually, the other owners of the National League made up the difference, and the trade went through. |
| + | |||
| + | As with some other star athletes, as a manager, he had trouble relating to players who shared neither his talent nor his zeal for winning. As his playing skills waned, he tended to be shuffled from team to team, wearing out his welcome quickly among his charges. Having won the [[World Series]] as a player-manager with the Cardinals, he was traded to the Giants for the 1927 season, then to the Boston Braves for 1928, and finally moved on to the Chicago Cubs in 1929, where he became their player-manager (and remained for three seasons thereafter), thus playing for four different teams in four years. | ||
As [[Bill Veeck]] related in his autobiography, ''Veeck as in Wreck'', his father Bill Sr., who was president and general manager of the [[Chicago Cubs]], had hired Hornsby, and soon disposed of him when the usual problems surfaced. Some years later, when the junior Veeck hired Hornsby to manage his [[St. Louis Browns]] for a time, his widowed mother wrote him a letter asking, "What makes you think you're any smarter than your Daddy was?" After a near mutiny by the players, Veeck let Hornsby go, and his mother wrote back, "Told ya so!" Veeck, alert as ever to an opportunity for publicity, arranged a stunt in which he was awarded a trophy by the players for freeing them from Hornsby's control. | As [[Bill Veeck]] related in his autobiography, ''Veeck as in Wreck'', his father Bill Sr., who was president and general manager of the [[Chicago Cubs]], had hired Hornsby, and soon disposed of him when the usual problems surfaced. Some years later, when the junior Veeck hired Hornsby to manage his [[St. Louis Browns]] for a time, his widowed mother wrote him a letter asking, "What makes you think you're any smarter than your Daddy was?" After a near mutiny by the players, Veeck let Hornsby go, and his mother wrote back, "Told ya so!" Veeck, alert as ever to an opportunity for publicity, arranged a stunt in which he was awarded a trophy by the players for freeing them from Hornsby's control. | ||
| − | In his later years, Hornsby's disdain for younger players only increased. According to the book ''Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?'', Hornsby was hired by the fledgling [[New York Mets]] to scout all the major league players. His report was not especially useful, as the best compliment he could come up with for anyone was "Looks like a major league ballplayer" | + | In his later years, Hornsby's disdain for younger players only increased. According to the book ''Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?'', Hornsby was hired by the fledgling [[New York Mets]] to scout all the major league players. His report was not especially useful, as the best compliment he could come up with for anyone was "Looks like a major league ballplayer"—-his assessment of [[Mickey Mantle]]. In another anecdote, Hornsby was reviewing a group of major league players with his customary, none-too-complimentary remarks. Among the group were Chicago Cubs' third baseman [[Ron Santo]] and outfielder [[Billy Williams (baseball player)|Billy Williams]]. Hornsby had just gotten through dimissing one player with the comment, "You'd better go back to shining shoes because you can't hit," when Santo whispered to Williams, "If he says that to me, I'm going to cry." When Hornsby came to Santo, he said, "You can hit in the big leagues right now," then turned to Williams and said, "So can you." |
In another quote attibuted to him while coaching for the 1962 Mets, Hornsby was asked how well he thought he could hit the current crop of pichers if he were playing today, to which he replied "I guess I'd hit about .280 or .290." When asked why he'd hit for such a low average, Hornsby replied "Well, I'm 66 years old, what do you expect." | In another quote attibuted to him while coaching for the 1962 Mets, Hornsby was asked how well he thought he could hit the current crop of pichers if he were playing today, to which he replied "I guess I'd hit about .280 or .290." When asked why he'd hit for such a low average, Hornsby replied "Well, I'm 66 years old, what do you expect." | ||
| − | In contrast with his usual contempt for young players, he could be generous to those who had the "right stuff." When Hornsby was managing Cincinnati, Reds players recalled him giving impromptu batting tips to the opposition, unable to help himself. Biographers of Ted Williams cite the story that the young Williams spoke with the aging Hornsby about hitting. Hornsby's secret was simply this: "Wait for a good pitch to hit." That became Williams' | + | In contrast with his usual contempt for young players, he could be generous to those who had the "right stuff." When Hornsby was managing Cincinnati, Reds players recalled him giving impromptu batting tips to the opposition, unable to help himself. Biographers of [[Ted Williams]] cite the story that the young Williams spoke with the aging Hornsby about hitting. Hornsby's secret was simply this: "Wait for a good pitch to hit." That became Williams' creed and the creed of many who followed. |
Hornsby died in 1963 of a [[heart attack]] after [[cataract]] surgery. He was buried in the Hornsby Bend cemetery east of [[Austin, Texas]]. | Hornsby died in 1963 of a [[heart attack]] after [[cataract]] surgery. He was buried in the Hornsby Bend cemetery east of [[Austin, Texas]]. | ||
Revision as of 01:57, 12 April 2007
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| Personal Info | |
|---|---|
| Birth | April 27, 1896, Winters, TX |
| Death: | January 5, 1963, Chicago, IL |
| Professional Career | |
| Debut | September 10, 1915, St. Louis Cardinals |
| Team(s) | St. Louis Cardinals (1915-1926) New York Giants (1927) Boston Braves (1928) Chicago Cubs (1929-1932) St. Louis Cardinals (1933) St. Louis Browns (1933-1937) |
| HOF induction: | 1942 |
| Career Highlights | |
| |
Rogers Hornsby (April 27, 1896 in Winters, Texas - January 5, 1963 in Chicago, Illinois), nicknamed "The Rajah," was a Major League Baseball second baseman and manager. He spent most of his career with the St. Louis Browns and the St. Louis Cardinals. In addition, he had short stints for the Chicago Cubs, the Boston Braves, and the New York Giants.
Hornsby ranks second on the list for highest career batting average, behind Ty Cobb's average of .366. His .358 average is the highest for any right-handed hitter or National League player, and The Baseball Hall of Fame elected Hornsby in 1942. In 1999, Hornsby was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
In addition to his success on the field, he was one of baseball's more successful player-managers, guiding his Cardinals to a World Series victory over Babe Ruth's New York Yankees in 1926. Hornsby, himself, tagged out Ruth trying to steal, thus ending that Series.
As Pete Rose said to a reporter in 1978 while he was pursuing a 44-game hitting streak and had just tied Hornsby's personal best at 33, "Ol' Rogers was quite a hitter, wasn't he?"
Baseball career
Hornsby holds the modern record for highest batting average in a season, .424 in 1924, and he won the Triple Crown in 1922 and again in 1925 in baseball. He won the NL's MVP Award twice, in 1925 and 1929. At his peak, from 1920 to 1925, Hornsby led his league in batting average all six years, in RBIs four years, and in home runs twice. Over the 1921 through 1925 seasons, Hornsby averaged an astonishing .402 for five years, a feat unlikely to be equaled again. He hit over 300 homers in his career, not all of them as a second baseman.
Although he was one of the more controversial characters in baseball history, Hornsby did not drink or smoke. However, he was a compulsive gambler. As with Ty Cobb, his photogenic smile belied a dark side. One writer characterized him as "a liturgy of hatred," and according to legendary baseball writer Fred Lieb, he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. His chief interest was in winning, and he could be as sarcastic and uncompromising with club owners as he was with his teammates.
When Hornsby was traded from the St. Louis Cardinals to the New York Giants after the 1926 season, the deal was held up because Hornsby, as part of his contract as the manager of the Cardinals (he was a player-manager at the time), owned several shares of stock in the Cardinals. Cardinals owner Sam Breadon offered Hornsby a sum for the stock considerably lower than what Hornsby demanded for it, and neither would budge. Eventually, the other owners of the National League made up the difference, and the trade went through.
As with some other star athletes, as a manager, he had trouble relating to players who shared neither his talent nor his zeal for winning. As his playing skills waned, he tended to be shuffled from team to team, wearing out his welcome quickly among his charges. Having won the World Series as a player-manager with the Cardinals, he was traded to the Giants for the 1927 season, then to the Boston Braves for 1928, and finally moved on to the Chicago Cubs in 1929, where he became their player-manager (and remained for three seasons thereafter), thus playing for four different teams in four years.
As Bill Veeck related in his autobiography, Veeck as in Wreck, his father Bill Sr., who was president and general manager of the Chicago Cubs, had hired Hornsby, and soon disposed of him when the usual problems surfaced. Some years later, when the junior Veeck hired Hornsby to manage his St. Louis Browns for a time, his widowed mother wrote him a letter asking, "What makes you think you're any smarter than your Daddy was?" After a near mutiny by the players, Veeck let Hornsby go, and his mother wrote back, "Told ya so!" Veeck, alert as ever to an opportunity for publicity, arranged a stunt in which he was awarded a trophy by the players for freeing them from Hornsby's control.
In his later years, Hornsby's disdain for younger players only increased. According to the book Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?, Hornsby was hired by the fledgling New York Mets to scout all the major league players. His report was not especially useful, as the best compliment he could come up with for anyone was "Looks like a major league ballplayer"—-his assessment of Mickey Mantle. In another anecdote, Hornsby was reviewing a group of major league players with his customary, none-too-complimentary remarks. Among the group were Chicago Cubs' third baseman Ron Santo and outfielder Billy Williams. Hornsby had just gotten through dimissing one player with the comment, "You'd better go back to shining shoes because you can't hit," when Santo whispered to Williams, "If he says that to me, I'm going to cry." When Hornsby came to Santo, he said, "You can hit in the big leagues right now," then turned to Williams and said, "So can you."
In another quote attibuted to him while coaching for the 1962 Mets, Hornsby was asked how well he thought he could hit the current crop of pichers if he were playing today, to which he replied "I guess I'd hit about .280 or .290." When asked why he'd hit for such a low average, Hornsby replied "Well, I'm 66 years old, what do you expect."
In contrast with his usual contempt for young players, he could be generous to those who had the "right stuff." When Hornsby was managing Cincinnati, Reds players recalled him giving impromptu batting tips to the opposition, unable to help himself. Biographers of Ted Williams cite the story that the young Williams spoke with the aging Hornsby about hitting. Hornsby's secret was simply this: "Wait for a good pitch to hit." That became Williams' creed and the creed of many who followed.
Hornsby died in 1963 of a heart attack after cataract surgery. He was buried in the Hornsby Bend cemetery east of Austin, Texas.
Career statistics
| G | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| 2,259 | 8,173 | 2,930 | 541 | 169 | 301 | 1,579 | 1,584 | 1,038 | 679 | .358 | .434 | .577 |
Quotes
"Well, I wasn't making any progress trying to talk to him." — Rogers Hornsby, when someone asked him why he had just punched someone in the face during an argument.
"Baseball is my life, the only thing I know and can talk about. My only interest." — Rogers Hornsby
"People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." — Rogers Hornsby
"I have never been a yes man." — Rogers Hornsby
"I don't want to play golf. When I hit a ball, I want someone else to go chase it." — Rogers Hornsby
"Son, when you pitch a strike, Mr. Hornsby will let you know." — Umpire Bill Klem, responding to complaints from a young pitcher who thought some of his pitches to Rogers Hornsby were strikes, though Klem had called them as balls.
External links
- Baseball Hall of Fame
- Rogers Hornsby article at Hornsby Bend family history site
- St. Louis Walk of Fame
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Alexander, Charles. Rogers Hornsby: A Biography, Owl Books, 1996. ISBN 978-0805046977
- D'Amore, Jonathan. Rogers Hornsby: A Biography (Baseball's Greatest) Hitters, Greenwood Press, 2004. ISBN 978-0313328701
- Hornsby, Rogers. My War with Baseball, Coward-McCann. 1962. ASIN B0007DNJAI
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