Hornsby, Rogers

Hornsby, Rogers,

1896–1963, American baseball player and manager, b. Winters, Tex. He started in major league baseball in 1915 as a shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals and later (1920) became a second baseman, and managed the club in 1926–27. The "Rajah" was the National League batting champion seven times (1920–25, 1928) and in 1924 had a batting average of .424, which is still the major-league record for the 20th cent. He later played for the New York Giants, Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs, and another stint with the Cardinals, before serving as manager of the St. Louis Browns in the American League. A right-handed hitter, he maintained a remarkable lifetime batting average of .358 and was elected in 1942 to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Bibliography

See biography by C. C. Alexander (1995).

Hornsby, Rogers

(1896–1963) baseball player; born in Winters, Texas. During his 23-year career as a second baseman, mostly with the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs (1915–37), he posted a lifetime batting average of .358, the second highest in major league history. Three times he batted over .400 in a season, his 1924 average of .424 being the highest ever in modern major league baseball. An outspoken and controversial player, he also managed the Cardinals, Cubs, Boston Braves, and St. Louis Browns between 1925 and 1953. Nicknamed, "The Rajah," he was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1942.