Rogers Hornsby (1942)


Date of Birth: 4/27/1896
Date of Death: 1/5/1963
Birthplace: Winters, Texas

Rogers Hornsby started playing baseball as a child and by the time he was a teenager, he was playing semi-pro baseball. In 1914, he played in the minor leagues.

St. Louis Cardinals

Hornsby made his first appearance in the major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1915, playing in 18 games with them that season. In 1916, his first full season with the Cardinals, he batted .313 with 155 hits, 17 doubles, 15 triples, and 17 stolen bases in 139 games.

Hornsby led the NL in triples and in OPS in 1917. He had a .327 batting average with 171 hits, 24 doubles, 17 triples, and an OPS of .869 in 145 games. Defensively, he led all NL shortstops in double plays with 82. He played in just 115 games in 1918, and he had a .281 batting average. The next year, he batted .318 with 163 hits in 138 games.

Hornsby led the NL in hits, doubles, batting average, RBIs, on-base percentage, and OPS in 1920. In 149 games, he had 218 hits, 44 doubles, a career high 20 triples, 94 RBIs, and a .370 batting average. His on-base percentage was .431 and his OPS was .990. That year, he became the Cardinals' regular second baseman, and he excelled at the position. In 1920, he led all NL second basemen in assists with 524, double plays turned with 76, and putouts with 343. He also led in errors with 34.

Hornsby continued to dominate NL hitters in 1921. He led the NL in hits, doubles, triples, RBIs, batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS. He finished the season with 235 hits, 44 doubles, 18 triples, 21 home runs, 126 RBIs, and a .397 batting average in 154 games. His on-base percentage was .458 and his OPS was 1.097. He also led NL second basemen in putouts with 398.

Hornsby had an even better season in 1922, when he won the NL Triple Crown, leading the league in home runs, RBIs, and batting average. He also led the league in hits, doubles, on-base percentage, and OPS. He had career highs in hits (250), home runs (42), and RBIs (152). He batted .401 with 46 doubles, 14 triples, an on-base percentage of .459, and an OPS of 1.181 in 154 games. He also led all NL second basemen in double plays turned with 81.

Although Hornsby played in only 107 games in 1923, he still led the NL in batting average with .384, on-base percentage with .459, and OPS with 1.086. He continued his dominance in 1924, leading the NL again in hits (227), doubles (43), batting average (a career high .424), on-base percentage (.507), and OPS (1.203). He also led the NL in walks with 89 (to just 32 strikeouts).

In 1925, Hornsby again won the NL MVP award and the NL Triple Crown. He led the league in home runs (39), RBIs (143), batting average (.403), on-base percentage (.489), and OPS (1.245). Although he didn't lead the NL in any categories in 1926, he still had a good season with 167 hits, 34 doubles, 93 RBIs, and a .317 batting average in 134 games.

In 1926, Hornsby replaced Branch Rickey as manager and he served as player-manager for the Cardinals for the 1925 and 1926 seasons.

Final Years as a Player

In December, 1926, Hornsby was traded by the Cardinals to the New York Giants. He was player-manager for part of the 1927 season, replacing an ailing John McGraw as manager.

Hornsby was traded to the Boston Braves in 1928. After serving a year as player-manager with the Braves, Hornsby again found himself traded, this time to the Chicago Cubs.

In 1930, his second season with the Cubs, Hornsby was injured and he played in just 42 games with them. Towards the end of the season, the Cubs made Hornsby their player-manager for the rest of the season. He continued in that role through most of the 1932 season.

In August, 1932, after playing in just 19 games with the Cubs, they released him. He signed with the Cardinals again in October, 1932, but they placed him on waivers in July, 1933, after playing in 11 games with them. He was then claimed off waivers by the St. Louis Browns (the modern day Baltimore Orioles), who made Hornsby their player-manager. He continued with the Browns through 1937 but he played in a total of only 56 games in his last four seasons.

Awards and MLB Records

  • NL MVP (2 times)
  • NL Triple Crown (2 times)
  • Led the NL in batting average (7 times)
  • Led the NL in hits (4 times)
  • Led the NL in doubles (4 times)
  • Led the NL in triples (2 times)
  • Led the NL in home runs (2 times)
  • Led the NL in RBIs (4 times)
  • Led the NL in on-base percentage (9 times)
  • Led the NL in OPS (11 times)

Career Statistics

Hornsby played in over 100 games in each of 15 seasons (1915-1929, 1931). His statistics during that time include:

  • 13 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 250 in 1922
  • 11 seasons with over 30 doubles, with a high of 47 in 1929
  • 9 seasons with 10 or more triples, with a high of 20 in 1920
  • 7 seasons with over 20 home runs, with a high of 42 in 1922
  • 5 seasons with over 100 RBIs, with a high of 152 in 1922
  • 14 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .424 in 1924

Career batting statistics for Hornsby include:

  • 2,259 games played
  • 2,930 hits
  • 541 doubles
  • 169 triples
  • 301 home runs
  • 1,584 RBIs
  • 679 strikeouts to 1,038 walks
  • .358 batting average
  • .434 on-base percentage
  • 1.011 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Hornsby at second base include:

  • 1,561 games played
  • 5,166 assists
  • 895 double plays
  • 3,206 putouts
  • 307 errors
  • .965 fielding percentage

Career statistics for Hornsby as a major league manager include:

  • 14 seasons
  • 701 wins to 812 losses
  • .463 win percentage
  • 1 NL pennant win
  • 1 World Series title

Post Playing Career

Hornsby left major league baseball after the 1937 season to manage in the minor leagues. He also worked as a radio and TV broadcaster. In 1952, he made a comeback in the major leagues as a manager, first with the St. Louis Browns and then with the Cincinnati Reds. He continued as manager of the Reds in 1953 but he did not manage in the major leagues again after that season.

From 1958 through 1960, Hornsby was a coach for the Chicago Cubs. In 1962, his last season working in major league baseball, he was a scout and coach for the New York Mets. The following year, Hornsby died of a heart attack at the age of 66.

Hornsby was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1942 on the fifth ballot with 78.1% of the vote.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Rogers Hornsby
ESPN - Rogers Hornsby
Baseball Reference - Rogers Hornsby

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