View source for Rogers Hornsby

{{Short description|American baseball player, coach and manager (1896–1963)}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Rogers Hornsby
|image=Rogers_Hornsby.jpg
|caption=Hornsby in 1921
|position=[[Second baseman]] / [[Manager (baseball)|Manager]]
|birth_date={{Birth date|1896|4|27}}
|birth_place=[[Winters, Texas]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|1963|1|5|1896|4|27}}
|death_place=[[Chicago]], Illinois, U.S.
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|debutleague=MLB
|debutdate=September 10
|debutyear=1915
|debutteam=St. Louis Cardinals
|finalleague=MLB
|finaldate=July 20
|finalyear=1937
|finalteam=St. Louis Browns
|statleague=MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.358
|stat2label=[[Hit (baseball)|Hits]]
|stat2value=2,930
|stat3label=[[Home run]]s
|stat3value=301
|stat4label=[[Run batted in|Runs batted in]]
|stat4value=1,584
|stat5label=Managerial record
|stat5value=701–812
|stat6label=Winning %
|stat6value={{Winning percentage|701|812}}
|teams=
'''As player'''
* [[St. Louis Cardinals]] ({{mlby|1915}}–{{mlby|1926}})
* [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]] ({{mlby|1927}})
* [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]] ({{mlby|1928}})
* [[Chicago Cubs]] ({{mlby|1929}}–{{mlby|1932}})
* [[St. Louis Cardinals]] ({{mlby|1933}})
* [[St. Louis Browns]] ({{mlby|1933}}–{{mlby|1937}})
'''As manager'''
* [[St. Louis Cardinals]] ({{mlby|1925}}–{{mlby|1926}})
* [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]] ({{mlby|1927}})
* [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]] ({{mlby|1928}})
* [[Chicago Cubs]] ({{mlby|1930}}–{{mlby|1932}})
* [[St. Louis Browns]] ({{mlby|1933}}–{{mlby|1937}}, {{mlby|1952}})
* [[Cincinnati Reds]] ({{mlby|1952}}–{{mlby|1953}})
|highlights=
* [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|1926}})
* 2× [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|NL MVP]] (1925, 1929)
* 2× [[Triple Crown (baseball)|Triple Crown]] (1922, 1925)
* 7× [[List of Major League Baseball batting champions|NL batting champion]] (1920–1925, 1928)
* 2× [[List of Major League Baseball annual home run leaders|NL home run leader]] (1922, 1925)
* 4× [[List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders|NL RBI leader]] (1920–1922, 1925)
* [[St. Louis Cardinals#Retired numbers|Name honored]] by St. Louis Cardinals
* [[St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum|St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame]] 
* [[Chicago Cubs#Cubs Hall of Fame|Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame]]
* [[Major League Baseball All-Century Team]]
* [[Major League Baseball All-Time Team]]
|hoflink=National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
|hoftype=National
|hofdate=[[1942 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1942]]
|hofvote=78.1% (fifth ballot)
}}

'''Rogers Hornsby''' (April 27, 1896 – January 5, 1963), nicknamed "'''the Rajah'''", was an American [[baseball]] player, [[manager (baseball)|manager]], and [[coach (baseball)|coach]] who played 23 seasons in [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB). He played for the [[St. Louis Cardinals]] (1915–1926, 1933), [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]] (1927), [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]] (1928), [[Chicago Cubs]] (1929–1932), and [[St. Louis Browns]] (1933–1937). He was named the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] (NL)'s [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|Most Valuable Player]] (MVP) twice, and was a member of one [[World Series]] championship team.

Born in [[Winters, Texas]], Hornsby played for several semi-professional and minor league teams. In 1915, he began his major league career with the St. Louis Cardinals and remained with the team for 12&nbsp;seasons. During this period, Hornsby won his first MVP Award and the Cardinals won the [[1926 World Series]]. He then spent one season with the [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]] and another with the Boston Braves before being traded to the Chicago Cubs. He played with the Cubs for four years and won his second MVP Award before the team released him in 1932. Hornsby re-signed with the Cardinals in 1933, but was released partway through the season, effectively ending his career as a full-time player. He was picked up by the St. Louis Browns and remained there until his final season in 1937, though he made only 67 appearances for them as a player. From 1925 to 1937, Hornsby was intermittently a [[player-manager (baseball)|player-manager]]. After retiring as a player, he managed the Browns in 1952 and the [[Cincinnati Reds]] from 1952 to 1953.

Hornsby is regarded as one of the best hitters of all time. He had 2,930&nbsp;[[Hit (baseball)|hits]] and 301&nbsp;[[home run]]s in his career; his career batting average of .358 is third only to [[Ty Cobb]], at .366, and [[Oscar Charleston]], at .364, in MLB history. He also won two [[Major League Baseball Triple Crown|Triple Crowns]] and batted .400 or more three times during his career. He is the only player to hit 40 home runs and bat .400 in the same year (1922). His batting average for the 1924 season was .424, a mark that no player has matched since. In [[1942 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1942]], Hornsby was elected to the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|National Baseball Hall of Fame]]. In 2014, he was inducted into the [[St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum|St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame]].

==Early life==
Hornsby was born in [[Winters, Texas]], the last of Ed and Mary (Rogers) Hornsby's six children.<ref name="12 Hornsby">Alexander, p. 12</ref> Hornsby was two when his father died of unknown causes.<ref name="12 Hornsby"/> Four years later, the surviving Hornsbys moved to [[Fort Worth, Texas]], so Hornsby's brothers could get jobs in the [[meat packing industry]] to support the family.<ref name="page 13"/>

Hornsby started playing [[baseball]] at a very young age; he once said, "I can't remember anything that happened before I had a baseball in my hand."<ref name="page 13">Alexander, p. 13</ref> He took a job with the [[Swift and Company]] meat industry plant as a messenger boy when he was 10, and he also served as a substitute infielder on its baseball team.<ref>Alexander, p. 15</ref> By the age of 15, Hornsby was already playing for several [[Semi-professional sports|semi-professional]] teams.<ref>Alexander, p. 14</ref> He also played baseball for [[North Side High School (Fort Worth, Texas)|North Side High School]] until 10th grade, when he dropped out to take a full-time job at Swift.<ref name="page 16">Alexander, p. 16</ref> While he was in high school, Hornsby also played on the football team, alongside future [[College Football Hall of Fame]]r [[Bo McMillin]].<ref name="page 16"/>

==Professional career==
===Minor leagues===
In 1914, Hornsby's older brother Everett, a [[Minor League Baseball|minor league]] baseball player for many years,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=hornsb001edw|title=Edward Hornsby Minor League Statistics & History|work=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|access-date=July 4, 2011|archive-date=November 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111045636/http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=hornsb001edw|url-status=live}}</ref> arranged for Rogers to get a tryout with the [[Texas League]]'s [[Dallas Steers]]. He made the team, but was released two weeks later without appearing in a game.<ref name="page 18">Alexander, p. 18</ref> He then signed with the [[Hugo Scouts]] of the [[Class D (baseball)|Class D]] [[Texas–Oklahoma League]] as their [[shortstop]] for $75 per month (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|75|1914|r=-2}}}} today). The team folded a third of the way through the season, and Hornsby's contract was sold to the [[Denison Railroaders|Denison Champions]] of the same league for $125 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|125|1914|r=-2}}}} today).<ref name="page 18"/> Hornsby [[batting average (baseball)|batted]] a combined .232 in 1914 and committed 45&nbsp;[[Error (baseball)|errors]] in 113&nbsp;games.<ref name="page 18"/><ref name=brm>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=hornsb001rog|title=Rogers Hornsby Minor League Statistics & History|work=Baseball-Reference|access-date=July 1, 2011|archive-date=October 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011002110/http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=hornsb001rog|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Denison team changed its name to the Railroaders and joined the [[Western Association]] in 1915, and raised Hornsby's salary to $90 per month (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|90|1915|r=-2}}}} today).<ref name="page 18"/> Hornsby's average improved to .277 in 119&nbsp;games, but he made 58&nbsp;errors. Nonetheless, his contributions helped the Railroaders win the Western Association [[pennant (sports)|pennant]].<ref name="page 20">Alexander, p. 20</ref> At the end of the season a writer from ''[[The Sporting News]]'' said that Hornsby was one of about a dozen Western Association players to show any major league potential.<ref name="page 20"/>

===St. Louis Cardinals (1915–1926)===
[[File:Rhornsby.jpg|upright|thumb|left|Rogers Hornsby with the [[St. Louis Cardinals]] in 1917]]
Hornsby came to the attention of the Major League [[St. Louis Cardinals]] during an exhibition series between that team and the Railroaders in [[spring training]] in 1915. Cardinals' manager [[Miller Huggins]] told his only [[scout (sport)|scout]], Bob Connery, to look for minor league players to fill the roster of their financially struggling [[National League (baseball)|National League]] team. In September, the Cardinals purchased Hornsby's contract from Denison and added him to their major league roster, although his only professional baseball experience had been in [[Class D (baseball)|Class D]].<ref>Alexander, pp. 19–22</ref> Hornsby's first game came on September&nbsp;10, when he relieved [[Art Butler]] at shortstop in a 7–1 loss to the [[Cincinnati Reds]].<ref>Alexander, p. 25</ref> Three days later he started a game, and he got his first [[hit (baseball)|hit]] the next day against [[Rube Marquard]] of the [[Brooklyn Robins]].<ref name="Alexander, pp. 25-26">Alexander, pp. 25–26</ref> Hornsby finished the season with a .246&nbsp;average in 57&nbsp;[[at-bat]]s while the Cardinals finished in sixth place in the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] (NL). At only 19 years old, Hornsby was the fourth-youngest player in the NL that year.<ref name=br>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hornsro01.shtml|title=Rogers Hornsby Statistics and History|work=Baseball-Reference|access-date=January 25, 2011|archive-date=February 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202084354/https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hornsro01.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Cardinals picked up [[Roy Corhan]] from the [[San Francisco Seals (baseball)|San Francisco Seals]] of the [[Pacific Coast League]] to play at shortstop in 1916, making Hornsby one of three candidates for the position. Hornsby's great performance in spring training, a shoulder injury to Corhan, and poor hitting by Butler meant Hornsby was the starting shortstop on [[Opening Day]].<ref>Alexander, pp. 27, 30–31</ref> He had both [[Run batted in|runs batted in]] (RBIs) in the Cardinals' 2–1 victory over the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] that day.<ref name="Alexander, p. 31">Alexander, p. 31</ref> On May&nbsp;14, he hit his first major league [[home run]] against [[Jeff Pfeffer]] of Brooklyn.<ref name="Alexander, p. 31"/> He rotated among infield positions before finally settling in at [[third baseman|third base]] for much of the second half of the year.<ref>Alexander, p. 32</ref> Late in the season, he missed 11&nbsp;games with a sprained ankle.<ref name="p. 33">Alexander, p. 33</ref> He finished 1916 with a .313&nbsp;average, fourth in the NL, and he was one short of the league lead in [[triple (baseball)|triples]] with 15.<ref name=br/>

Hornsby returned to the shortstop position in 1917 after Corhan returned to San Francisco and Butler was released.<ref name="p. 33"/> After playing nearly every game throughout the first month of the season, Hornsby was called away from the team on May 29 after his brother William was shot and killed in a [[Western saloon|saloon]]. Rogers attended the funeral on June 1 and returned to the Cardinals on June 3, finishing the season without missing any more playing time.<ref>Alexander, p. 39</ref> His batting statistics improved from the previous season; his .327&nbsp;batting average was second in the league, and he [[List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders|led the league in triples]] (17), [[total bases]] (253), and [[slugging percentage]] (.484).<ref name=br/>

Many baseball players were drafted to fight in World War I in 1918, but Hornsby was given a [[Conscription in the United States|draft deferment]] because he was supporting his family.<ref>Alexander, pp. 45–46</ref> During the offseason, Miller Huggins, unhappy with the Cardinals' management, left the team to manage the [[New York Yankees]]. He was replaced by [[Jack Hendricks]], who had managed the [[Indianapolis Indians]] to a pennant in the [[American Association (20th century)|American Association]] the previous year.<ref>Alexander, p. 41</ref> Hornsby lacked confidence in Hendricks's ability to run the Cardinals, and the two men developed animosity towards each other as a result of Hornsby's growing egotism and fondness for former manager Huggins.<ref>D'Amore, p. 22</ref> Under Hendricks, Hornsby's batting average dipped to .281.<ref name="page43-48">Alexander, pp. 43–48</ref> He had problems off the field too; on June&nbsp;17, Hornsby hit St. Louis resident Frank G. Rowe with his [[Buick]] when Rowe stepped out in front of traffic to cross an intersection. Rowe sued Hornsby for $15,000 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|15000|1918|r=-4}}}} today), but Hornsby eventually settled for a smaller, undisclosed amount, and the case was dismissed.<ref>Alexander, pp. 52–53</ref> He was still among the league leaders in triples and slugging percentage in 1918, but after the season ended with the Cardinals in last place, he announced that he would never play under Hendricks again.<ref name="page43-48"/> Partially due to Hornsby's complaints, Hendricks was fired after the season and replaced by [[Branch Rickey]], then president of the Cardinals.<ref>D'Amore, p. 27</ref>

In 1919, after the Cardinals acquired shortstop [[Doc Lavan]], Rickey tried converting Hornsby into a [[second baseman]] in spring training. Hornsby played third base for most of the year.<ref>Alexander, pp. 51–52</ref> His batting average was low at the beginning of the season but improved by June.<ref name="page 52">Alexander, p. 52</ref> At season's end, his average of .318 was second-highest in the league, and he also finished second in total bases and runs batted in.<ref name="page 52"/>

{{Quote box
|quote = "Hornsby is the greatest hitter I've ever had to face. I've tried to fool him every way possible, but it just cannot be done. Personally, I don't think a more skillful man ever stepped up to the plate."
|source = —Grover Cleveland Alexander on Rogers Hornsby<ref name="page 60"/>
|width = 27%
|align = right}}
In 1920, Rickey moved Hornsby to second base, where he remained for the rest of his career.<ref>Alexander, p. 59</ref> He started the year with a 14-game [[hitting streak]].<ref name="page 60">Alexander, p. 60</ref> On June&nbsp;4, he had two triples and two RBIs as the Cardinals defeated the [[Chicago Cubs]] 5–1, a game that ended future [[National Baseball Hall of Fame|Hall of Famer]] [[Grover Cleveland Alexander]]'s 11-game winning streak.<ref name="page 60"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1920/B06040SLN1920.htm|title=St. Louis Cardinals 5, Chicago Cubs 1|publisher=[[Retrosheet]]|access-date=February 18, 2011|archive-date=September 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924121023/http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1920/B06040SLN1920.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Hornsby finished the season with the first of seven [[List of Major League Baseball batting champions|batting titles]] by hitting .370, and he also led the league in [[on-base percentage]] (.431), slugging percentage (.559), hits (218), total bases (329), [[double (baseball)|doubles]] (44), and RBIs (94).<ref name="br"/>

The beginning of the [[live-ball era]] led to a spike in hitting productivity throughout the majors, which helped Hornsby to hit with increased power during the 1921 season. He hit .397 in 1921, and his 21&nbsp;home runs were second in the league, more than twice his total in any previous season. He also led the league in on-base percentage (.458), slugging percentage (.639), [[run (baseball)|runs scored]] (131), RBIs (126), doubles (44), and triples (18).<ref name=br/> The Cardinals held a special day in Hornsby's honor on September&nbsp;30 before a home game against the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]], and they presented Hornsby with multiple awards before the game, including a baseball autographed by [[President of the United States]] [[Warren G. Harding]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1921/09/17/98735068.pdf|title=Souvenir For Hornsby; Baseball Autographed by President Harding for St. Louis Star.|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 17, 1921|access-date=July 4, 2011|archive-date=September 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930015341/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1921/09/17/98735068.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The Cardinals beat the Pirates 12–4 that day as Hornsby hit a home run and had two doubles.<ref>Alexander, pp. 66–67</ref>

By the 1922 season, Hornsby was considered a big star, having led the league in batting average, hits, doubles, and runs batted in multiple times.<ref name=br/> As a result, he sought a three-year contract for $25,000 per season. After negotiating with Cardinals management he settled for three years at $18,500 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|18500|1922|r=-4}}}} today), which made him the highest-paid player in league history to that point.<ref>Alexander, pp. 69–70</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Lemire|first=Joe|url=https://www.si.com/more-sports/2010/09/08/triple-crownranking|title=Ranking the Triple Crown seasons in modern baseball history|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|date=September 8, 2010|access-date=January 25, 2011|archive-date=November 12, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112031545/http://www.si.com/more-sports/2010/09/08/triple-crownranking|url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|Baseball-Reference.com lists his salary as $17,500 per year.<ref name="br"/>}} On August 5, Hornsby set a new NL record when he hit his 28th home run of the season, off [[Jimmy Ring]] of the [[Philadelphia Phillies]].<ref>Alexander, p. 72</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1922/B08050PHI1922.htm|title=Philadelphia Phillies 9, St. Louis Cardinals 1|publisher=Retrosheet|access-date=February 23, 2011|archive-date=September 14, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120914032613/http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1922/B08050PHI1922.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> From August&nbsp;13 through September&nbsp;19, he had a 33-game hitting streak.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1922/Ihornr1010081922.htm|title=The 1922 STL N Regular Season Batting Log for Rogers Hornsby|publisher=Retrosheet|access-date=February 23, 2011|archive-date=April 15, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130415185403/http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1922/Ihornr1010081922.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Hornsby set National League records in 1922 with 42&nbsp;home runs, 250 hits and a .722 slugging percentage (still the highest ever for players with 600+ at-bats). His .401 batting average was the highest in the National League since 1897. He won the first of his two [[Major League Baseball Triple Crown|Triple Crowns]] that year, and he [[List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders|led the league in RBIs]] (152), on-base percentage (.459), doubles (46), and runs scored (141). His 450&nbsp;total bases in 1922 remain the National League single-season record. On defense, Hornsby led all second basemen in [[putout]]s, [[double play]]s, and [[fielding percentage]].<ref name=br/>

[[File:Rogers Hornsby swing.jpg|upright|thumb|left|Rogers Hornsby (pictured on a 1922 baseball card) takes a swing.]]
On May&nbsp;8, 1923, Hornsby suffered an injury to his left knee in a game against the Phillies when he turned to make a throw.<ref name="p. 78">Alexander, p. 78</ref> He returned 10 days later, but the injury lingered, and he was removed from a game against the Pirates on May 26 to be examined by Robert Hyland, the Cardinals' physician.<ref name="p. 78"/> Hyland had Hornsby's knee placed in a cast for two weeks, after which he returned to the Cardinals.<ref name="p. 78"/> During a game in August, Hornsby was on third base late in the game and threw up his hands in disgust in response to a sign flashed by Rickey; he had given the current batter the [[Glossary of baseball (T)#take sign|take sign]], and Hornsby felt the batter should have hit the ball.<ref>Lowenfish, p. 146</ref> After the game, he and Rickey fought in the clubhouse, but teammates quickly broke it up. Hornsby missed several games late in the year with injuries that the Cardinals (and Hyland) did not believe to be serious; as a result he was fined $500 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|500|1923|r=-3}}}} today) and suspended for the last five games of the year.<ref>Alexander, pp. 80–82</ref> However, Hornsby still won his fourth consecutive NL batting title with a batting average of .384. He also repeated as the leader in on-base percentage (.459) and slugging percentage (.627).<ref name=br/>

Hornsby raised his average to .424 in 1924, which is the fourth-highest batting average in a single season in MLB history, and the [[live-ball era]] batting average record. He led the league with 89&nbsp;[[base on balls|walks]], producing a .507&nbsp;on-base percentage, a National League record for over 75 years. His slugging percentage of .696 again led the league, as did his 121&nbsp;runs scored, 227&nbsp;hits, and 43&nbsp;doubles; he hit 25&nbsp;home runs as well.<ref name=br/> That year, the NL reintroduced its [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|Most Valuable Player]] (MVP) award. Although Hornsby was expected to win the award, it went to [[Dazzy Vance]] instead. [[Cincinnati, Ohio|Cincinnati]] voter [[Frederick Bushnell "Jack" Ryder|Jack Ryder]] left Hornsby's name off his ballot altogether because he believed Hornsby was an MVP on the stat sheet, but was not a team player.<ref>Alexander, pp. 90–91</ref> In 1962, the [[Baseball Writers' Association of America]] presented Hornsby with an award retroactively recognizing him as the 1924 MVP.<ref>Alexander, p. 298</ref>

In 1925, [[Sam Breadon]], the owner of the Cardinals, wished to replace Rickey as manager. Hornsby initially declined the job. After discovering that Rickey planned to sell his stock in the Cardinals if he was replaced as field manager, Hornsby agreed to take the job as long as Breadon would help him purchase the stock. Breadon agreed, and Hornsby became the Cardinals' player-manager.<ref>Alexander, pp. 98–101</ref> Hornsby finished the year with his second Triple Crown, when he combined a .403&nbsp;batting average with 39&nbsp;home runs and 143&nbsp;RBIs in 138 games. He bested teammate [[Jim Bottomley]] in the batting title race by nearly 40&nbsp;points.<ref>Alexander, p. 104</ref> His 1925 batting average has not been matched by any National Leaguer since. That year, he won the MVP Award, receiving 73 out of 80 possible votes.<ref>Alexander, p. 106</ref> His .756&nbsp;slugging percentage and 1.245&nbsp;on-base plus slugging set National League records that stood until broken by [[Barry Bonds]] in 2001.<ref>Nemec and Wisnia, p. 110.</ref> The Cardinals finished in fourth place in 1925, finishing one game over .500, though the team won 64&nbsp;games and lost 51 under Hornsby.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/STL/1925.shtml|title=1925 St. Louis Cardinals Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistics|work=Baseball-Reference|access-date=January 25, 2011|archive-date=April 30, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430011152/http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/STL/1925.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=manager>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/hornsro01.shtml|title=Rogers Hornsby Managerial Record|work=Baseball-Reference|access-date=March 9, 2011|archive-date=May 9, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509042300/http://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/hornsro01.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> During the year, his wife Jeanette had a son, Billy.<ref name="Alexander, p. 103">Alexander, p. 103</ref>

Hornsby had an off-year offensively in 1926, as he hit only .317 with 11&nbsp;home runs. Nonetheless, St. Louis won its first NL pennant. In the [[1926 World Series]], the Cardinals defeated the Yankees in a seven-game series. The final out of game seven came when Hornsby tagged out [[Babe Ruth]] on a [[stolen base]] attempt, giving the Cardinals their first World Series title.<ref>Alexander, p. 120</ref> It would also be the only time in Hornsby's long career that he would be part of a world champion. In the series, Hornsby batted .250, with one extra base hit and 4 RBIs. Years later, Hornsby said that his tag of Ruth was the biggest thrill of his career.<ref name=SABR/>

During post-season negotiations for a new contract, Hornsby demanded $50,000 per year for three years. Breadon agreed to a one-year contract for $50,000 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|50000|1926|r=-4}}}} today), with the stipulation that Hornsby stay away from the track. When Hornsby refused to give way, the Cardinals traded him to the [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]] for [[Frankie Frisch]] and [[Jimmy Ring]] on December 20, 1926. Indeed, Breadon had lost patience with Hornsby, even though he had led the Cardinals to their first undisputed world title. He had already arranged to send him to New York if contract talks fell through; later, Breadon said he so wanted to part ways with Hornsby that he was afraid Hornsby would call his bluff and take the one-year deal.<ref name=SABR/><ref>Alexander, pp. 124–126</ref> The trade was briefly postponed as NL president [[John Heydler]] stated that Hornsby could not play for the Giants while he held stock in the Cardinals. Hornsby wanted $105 per share for his stock, a price Breadon was unwilling to pay. In early 1927, Hornsby was able to sell his shares at $105 each, enabling him to officially become a Giant.<ref>Alexander, pp. 127–132</ref>

===New York Giants (1927)===
Hornsby enjoyed a better season in 1927, as he hit .361 and [[List of Major League Baseball annual runs scored leaders|led the league in runs scored]] (133), walks (86), and on-base percentage (.448). He was a player-coach, and served as acting manager for part of the year after [[John McGraw]] briefly stood down due to sinusitis.<ref>Alexander, p. 136</ref><ref name=SABR/> Hornsby's performance helped guide the Giants to a 92–62 [[Winning percentage|win–loss record]] during the season, which was good enough for third place in the NL. McGraw was initially overjoyed to finally get Hornsby, having sought to trade for him at least as early as 1920. However, their relationship quickly soured due to Hornsby's overbearing personality. Additionally, his gambling problems at the race track and distrust of Giants' management annoyed team owner [[Charles Stoneham]].<ref>D'Amore, p. 90</ref><ref>Alexander, pp. 137, 141</ref><ref name=SABR/> During the offseason he was traded to the [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]] for [[Jimmy Welsh]] and [[Shanty Hogan]].<ref name=br/>

===Boston Braves (1928)===
[[File:Rogers Hornsby 1928.jpg|thumb|right|Rogers Hornsby with the [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]] in 1928]]
With the Boston Braves in 1928, Hornsby was again the league's most productive hitter; he won his seventh batting title with a .387&nbsp;average, also leading the league in on-base percentage (.498), slugging percentage (.632), and walks (107). One month into the season, manager [[Jack Slattery]] resigned, and the Braves hired Hornsby to be his replacement.<ref>Alexander, p. 145</ref> The Braves, however, lost 103&nbsp;games and finished in seventh place out of eight teams in the NL. They were also struggling financially, and when the [[Chicago Cubs]] offered $200,000 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|200000|1928|r=-5}}}} today) and five players for Hornsby, the Braves found the offer too good to pass up.<ref>Alexander, pp. 148&ndash;149</ref> Indeed, Hornsby was well aware of the Braves' financial struggles and actually encouraged Braves owner [[Emil Fuchs (baseball)|Emil Fuchs]] to trade him to Chicago.<ref name=SABR/>

===Chicago Cubs (1929–1932)===
Hornsby hit .380 for Chicago in 1929 while recording 39&nbsp;home runs and a league-leading .679&nbsp;slugging percentage. His 156 runs scored led the major leagues and is still the team record while his .380&nbsp;batting average remains the highest for a Cub since 1895.<ref>Nemec and Wisnia, p. 126</ref> He also collected another MVP award, and the Cubs won the NL pennant. However, they lost in the [[1929 World Series]] to the [[Philadelphia Athletics]] in five games, as Hornsby batted .238 with one RBI.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1929/Ihornr1013261929.htm |title=The 1929 CHI N World Series Batting Log for Rogers Hornsby |publisher=Retrosheet |access-date=January 22, 2011 |archive-date=September 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120907164847/http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1929/Ihornr1013261929.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> He also set a World Series record for [[strikeout]]s with eight.<ref>Kavanagh, p. 35</ref>

After the first two months of the 1930 season, Hornsby was batting .325 with two home runs. In the first game of a doubleheader against the Cardinals, Hornsby broke his ankle while advancing to third base.<ref>Alexander, p. 161</ref> He did not return until August&nbsp;19, and he was used mostly as a pinch-hitter for the rest of the season. With four games to go in the season, the Cubs fired manager [[Joe McCarthy (manager)|Joe McCarthy]], replacing him with Hornsby.<ref>Alexander, p. 163</ref> Although there were longstanding rumors Hornsby had actively undermined McCarthy, Hornsby adamantly denied this; in fact, he and McCarthy were very close friends.<ref name=SABR/> Hornsby finished the year with a .308&nbsp;batting average and two home runs.<ref name=br/>

On April 24, 1931, Hornsby hit three home runs and drove in eight runs in a 10–6 victory over Pittsburgh.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1931/B04240PIT1931.htm|title=Chicago Cubs 10, Pittsburgh Pirates 6|publisher=Retrosheet|access-date=January 22, 2011|archive-date=September 12, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120912042840/http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1931/B04240PIT1931.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Hornsby played in 44 of the first 48&nbsp;games, but after a disappointing performance he played himself only about half the time for the rest of the year.<ref>Alexander, p. 168</ref> In 100&nbsp;games, he had 90&nbsp;RBIs, 37&nbsp;doubles, and a batting average of .331. He also led the league in on-base percentage (.421) for the ninth time in his career.<ref name=br/> The team finished 84–70, 17&nbsp;games back of the pennant-winning Cardinals, and four games back of the Giants.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/1931.shtml|title=1931 National League Season Summary|work=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=August 25, 2011|archive-date=January 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102100615/https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/1931.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>

Hornsby was bothered by boils on his feet during the start of the 1932 season,<ref>Alexander, p. 173</ref> which kept him out of the lineup until May&nbsp;29.<ref name="Hornsby 1932">{{cite web |url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1932/Ihornr1010181932.htm |title=The 1932 CHI N Regular Season Batting Log for Rogers Hornsby |publisher=Retrosheet |access-date=January 22, 2011 |archive-date=April 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130415171940/http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1932/Ihornr1010181932.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Hornsby played right field from May&nbsp;29 to June&nbsp;10, appeared in two games as a pinch hitter, played third base from July&nbsp;14 through July&nbsp;18, and played one last game as a Cub when he pinch-hit on July&nbsp;31.<ref name="Hornsby 1932"/>

Cubs president [[William Veeck Sr.]] had never liked the idea of Hornsby as a manager; indeed, he briefly resigned when principal owner [[William Wrigley Jr.]] ousted McCarthy in his favor. Over the next year-and-a-half, Veeck grew increasingly dissatisfied with Hornsby, believing his autocratic managing style hurt team morale.<ref name=purdy/><ref name="Alexander, p. 177"/><ref name=SABR/> Veeck was particularly angered when Hornsby disagreed with an umpire's call, but sent another player out to argue the call. That player was ejected from the game. Veeck believed Hornsby breached an unwritten rule of baseball which called for the manager to argue calls himself.<ref>Veeck and Linn, pp. 233–234</ref> On August&nbsp;2, although the Cubs were in second place, Veeck fired Hornsby as manager and released him as a player. First baseman [[Charlie Grimm]] took over as manager for the rest of the season.<ref name="Alexander, p. 177">Alexander, p. 177</ref> Hornsby had played 19&nbsp;games, batting .224 with one home run and seven RBIs.<ref name=br/> Although the Cubs advanced to the [[1932 World Series]], the players voted not to give Hornsby a share of money from the World Series.<ref>Alexander, p. 180</ref>

===St. Louis Cardinals (1933)===
Hornsby did not play for the rest of 1932, but the Cardinals signed him as a player on October&nbsp;24 for the 1933 season.<ref name="Alexander, p. 177"/> Breadon put aside his previous disputes with Hornsby and brought him back to St. Louis, knowing that Hornsby could still handle a bat.<ref name=SABR>Rogers, C. Paul III. [https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/b5854fe4 Rogers Hornsby] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190426153051/https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/b5854fe4 |date=April 26, 2019 }}. [[Society for American Baseball Research]], 2015.</ref> He played regularly at second base from April&nbsp;25 through May&nbsp;5 in what would be his last non-cameo appearances as a player. After May 5, the Cardinals used him mostly as a [[pinch hitter]] due to numerous foot and leg problems. On July&nbsp;22, Hornsby got his final NL hit in a 9–5 loss to the Braves.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1933/B07220SLN1933.htm|title=Boston Braves 9, St. Louis Cardinals 5|publisher=Retrosheet|access-date=January 22, 2011|archive-date=September 9, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120909140056/http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1933/B07220SLN1933.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Through July&nbsp;23, Hornsby was batting .325 with two home runs and 21&nbsp;RBIs. However, that day, the Cardinals [[Major League Baseball transactions#Waivers|waived]] him. By this time, the Cardinals were in fifth place and long out of the pennant race, and Breadon was concerned that Hornsby was no longer able to play regularly.<ref>Alexander, p. 187</ref><ref name=SABR/>

===St. Louis Browns (1933–1937)===
Hornsby was claimed by the last-place [[St. Louis Browns]] of the [[American League]] on July&nbsp;26. The Browns immediately named him player-manager; [[Bill Killefer]] had just resigned as manager, and Browns owner [[Phil Ball (baseball)|Phil Ball]] wanted Hornsby as a replacement.<ref>Alexander, pp. 187–188</ref> It would be one of Ball's last acts before his death in October.<ref name=SABRBrowns>{{cite web|url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/topic/st-louis-browns-team-ownership-history/|title=St. Louis Browns team ownership history|author1=Dennis Pajot|author2=Greg Erion|publisher=[[Society for American Baseball Research]]|date=October 2, 2018|access-date=July 13, 2021|archive-date=September 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926092734/https://sabr.org/bioproj/topic/st-louis-browns-team-ownership-history/|url-status=live}}</ref> Hornsby appeared in 11&nbsp;games for the Browns. He had three hits, including a home run, in nine at-bats. The Browns finished in last place in the AL. That year, Hornsby began operating a baseball school in [[Hot Springs, Arkansas]], which he ran on and off between 1933 and 1951 with various associates.<ref>Alexander, pp. 183–184, 237, 258</ref> He played in a total of 57 games in 1933; he would never play in as much as 30 games in a season again.<ref name="br"/>
{{MLBBioHon
|Image = CardsRetiredSTL.PNG
|Name  = Rogers Hornsby
|Team  = St. Louis Cardinals
|Year  = 1997
|}}
In 1934, Hornsby appeared in 24 games, but started only two of them–one at third base, and the other in [[Right fielder|right field]]. In all of his other appearances, he was a pinch hitter.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1934/Ihornr1010211934.htm |title=The 1934 STL A Regular Season Batting Log for Rogers Hornsby |publisher=Retrosheet |access-date=January 22, 2011 |archive-date=September 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120911131804/http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1934/Ihornr1010211934.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> For the season, he batted .304 with one home run and 11&nbsp;RBIs.<ref name=br/> The Browns improved on their previous season, finishing in sixth place out of eight teams in the AL.<ref name="Orioles">{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BAL/ |title=Baltimore Orioles Team History & Encyclopedia |work=Baseball-Reference.com |access-date=January 4, 2021 |archive-date=January 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129032721/https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BAL/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Hornsby played in 10 games in the 1935 season, starting in four. From April&nbsp;16 through April&nbsp;21, he started at [[first baseman|first base]], and he started at third base on May&nbsp;22.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1935/Ihornr1010221935.htm |title=The 1935 STL A Regular Season Batting Log for Rogers Hornsby |publisher=Retrosheet |access-date=January 22, 2011 |archive-date=September 10, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120910130301/http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1935/Ihornr1010221935.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> He finished the year with five hits and a .208&nbsp;average, while the Browns slipped to seventh place.<ref name=br/> The regression came in part because Ball's estate, which was running the Browns pending a sale, refused to infuse badly needed capital into the team. The Browns had to sell promising players in order to pay the bills–a pattern that would continue throughout Hornsby's tenure with the Browns.<ref name=SABRBrowns/>

Hornsby appeared in only two games with the team during the 1936 season. On May&nbsp;31, his pinch-hit single in the ninth inning gave the Browns an 11–10 win over the [[Detroit Tigers]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1936/B05310DET1936.htm |title=St. Louis Browns 11, Detroit Tigers 10 |publisher=Retrosheet |access-date=January 22, 2011 |archive-date=September 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120908191137/http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1936/B05310DET1936.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In his other appearance on June&nbsp;9, he played first base in a 5–3 win over the Yankees.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1936/B06090NYA1936.htm |title=St. Louis Browns 5, New York Yankees 3 |publisher=Retrosheet |access-date=January 22, 2011 |archive-date=September 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120907162748/http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1936/B06090NYA1936.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The Browns again finished in seventh place.<ref name="Orioles"/> After the season, Hornsby publicly decried his team's lack of talent. He also claimed Ball's estate made it difficult to enforce discipline.<ref name=SABRBrowns/>

In the winter of 1936, the Ball estate sold the Browns to [[Donald Lee Barnes]], who retained Hornsby as manager on Rickey's advice.<ref name=SABRBrowns/> In 1937, Hornsby played in 20&nbsp;games. On April 21, in his first game of the year, Hornsby hit the final home run of his career in a 15–10 victory over the [[Chicago White Sox]].<ref>Alexander, p. 211</ref> On July&nbsp;5, he had the final hit of his career in a 15–4 loss in the second game of a [[doubleheader (baseball)|doubleheader]] with the [[Cleveland Indians]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1937/B07052SLA1937.htm|title=Cleveland Indians 15, St. Louis Browns 4 (2)|publisher=Retrosheet|access-date=January 22, 2011|archive-date=September 13, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120913074847/http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1937/B07052SLA1937.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

On July 20, Hornsby appeared in what would be his final game, a 5–4 loss to the Yankees. A day later, the last-place Browns fired Hornsby as manager and released him as a player. Accounts differ on the circumstances that led to his ouster. According to the [[Society for American Baseball Research]], Barnes had lost patience with Hornsby's [[Problem gambling|compulsive gambling]], and fired him after learning that Hornsby was actually placing horse racing bets during a game.<ref name=SABRBrowns/> However, according to biographer Charles C. Alexander, Hornsby won $35,000 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|35000|1937|r=-4}}}} today) from betting on a race on July 15. When he tried to use $4,000 of this money to pay off a debt to Barnes, Barnes refused to accept it, since it had come from a bookmaker. Hornsby protested to Barnes, "The money is as good as the money you take from people in the loan-shark business. It's better than taking interest from widows and orphans". Barnes released him five days later.<ref name="gambling">Alexander, pp. 212–214</ref> Hornsby finished the 1937 season with a .321&nbsp;batting average and 18&nbsp;hits in 20&nbsp;games, and was the oldest player in the AL that season.<ref name=br/>

==Later baseball career==
[[File:How to Play First Base Rogers Hornsby.jpeg|thumb|''How to Play First Base'' by Rogers Hornsby]]
Following his release from the Browns, Hornsby was unable to retire because he had lost so much money gambling over the years.<ref name="gambling"/> He signed as a player-coach with the [[Baltimore Orioles (minor league)|Baltimore Orioles]] of the [[International League]] in 1938 before leaving them to play for and manage the [[Chattanooga Lookouts]] of the [[Southern Association]] for the rest of the season. Hornsby then returned to the Orioles to manage them for 1939, but he did not return to the club following the season.<ref>Alexander, pp. 219–223</ref>

Halfway through 1940, he signed to manage the [[Oklahoma City Indians]] of the [[Texas League]]. Hornsby led them from last place to the Texas League playoffs, where they fell to the [[Houston Buffaloes]] in four games. Hornsby began 1941 managing the Indians once again, but he resigned in the middle of the season. In November, he became the general and field manager of the [[Fort Worth Cats]], also of the Texas league.<ref>Alexander, pp. 224–226</ref> Fort Worth finished in third place and made the playoffs in 1942, but they were eliminated in the first round by the [[Shreveport Sports]].<ref>Alexander, pp. 219–229</ref> The league decided to suspend operations for the duration of [[World War II]] in 1943.<ref name=Quits>{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32438871/rogers_hornsby_quits_as_pilot_in/|title=Hornsby Quits as Pilot in Mexican Loop|newspaper=Lancaster New Era|date=April 5, 1944|page=10|access-date=June 8, 2019|archive-date=June 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624041932/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32438871/rogers_hornsby_quits_as_pilot_in/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In February 1944, Hornsby signed as a player-manager with the [[Azules de Veracruz]] of the [[Mexican League]] for the coming season.<ref name=Quits /> Hornsby won two games inserting himself as a [[pinch hitter]] in the ninth inning, including one occasion in which he drove in three runs with a bases-loaded double.<ref name=Quits/> His tenure in Mexico ended after only nine days, however, owing to financial differences with team owner [[Jorge Pasquel]].<ref name=SABR/> Hornsby announced:

<blockquote>
I'm perfectly willing to keep my own agreements if the other fellow keeps his, but in this case it's hopeless. I found out that I'd even have to pay my expenses on road trips, and that's unheard of. The management finally consented to pay my expenses but there were many other matters to iron out. I finally gave up.<ref name=Quits /></blockquote>

Hornsby indicated plans to return to Fort Worth, Texas.<ref name=Quits />

Following his return to the United States, Hornsby spent 1945 out of baseball for the first time in 31 years. There were rumors that Commissioner [[Kenesaw Mountain Landis]] had informally blackballed him from the majors because of his persistent gambling. However, Hornsby had a long wait to get another full-time major-league job even after Landis died in November 1944.<ref name=SABR/> He did some commentary for radio station [[WAMV (Illinois)|WTMV]] in [[East St. Louis, Illinois]], served as a spring-training hitting instructor for the [[Chicago White Sox]] in 1946 and the [[Cleveland Indians]] in 1947,<ref>Alexander, pp. 232–237</ref><ref name=SABR/> and became a TV announcer for Chicago Cubs games in 1949.<ref>Kavanagh, p. 59</ref>

Hornsby did not become a manager or coach again until 1950, when he was hired to manage the Texas League's [[Beaumont Exporters|Beaumont Roughnecks]]. He led the Roughnecks to the pennant, but they were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the [[San Antonio Missions]].<ref>Alexander, pp. 241, 247</ref> The next year, in 1951, Hornsby managed the [[Seattle Rainiers]] of the [[Pacific Coast League]]. Under Hornsby's leadership, the Rainiers won the pennant.<ref>Alexander, pp. 248, 253</ref>

===St. Louis Browns (1952)===
With Hornsby's success in Beaumont and Seattle, both of St. Louis' major-league teams offered him three-year contracts. He decided to return to the Browns, apparently believing there was a greater upside to rebuilding a perennial loser than there was to managing a perennial contender. The Browns' owner, [[Bill Veeck]], was the son of former Cubs president William Veeck Sr. Hornsby was not well received by the players, however. He reportedly spoke to players only to criticize them. As the season wore on and the losses piled up, Hornsby's fuse became even shorter.<ref name=SABR/>

On June&nbsp;9, he was fired after a disagreement with Veeck over an incident against the Yankees the day before. During the game, a fan prevented [[Gil McDougald]] of the Yankees from catching a fly ball, and the umpire ruled that it was [[fan interference]]. Hornsby did not initially argue the call, coming out of the dugout only on orders from Veeck (when it was already too late to do anything about it). This led to Hornsby and the Browns parting ways. The Browns players were so happy about Hornsby's firing that they gave Veeck an engraved trophy to thank him.<ref>Alexander, pp. 254–266</ref>

===Cincinnati Reds (1952–1953)===
A little over a month later, on July&nbsp;26, Hornsby was hired to replace [[Luke Sewell]] as manager of the [[Cincinnati Reds]]. The Reds went 27-23 for the rest of the season. However, late in a lackluster 1953 season, the Reds announced that he would not return for 1954.<ref>Alexander, pp. 269–281</ref> He resigned with eight games to go in the season; coach [[Buster Mills]] replaced him.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/89af0f16 |title=Buster Mills |author=Bill Nowlin |publisher=[[Society for American Baseball Research]] |access-date=January 24, 2020 |archive-date=June 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624132626/http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/89af0f16 |url-status=live }}</ref> He finished his MLB managerial career with a record of 701–812.<ref name=manager/>

Following his dismissal from the Reds, Hornsby worked as a coach for the Cubs from 1958 to 1960 before becoming a scout and third base coach for the [[New York Mets]] in 1962.<ref>Alexander, pp. 290–297</ref>

==Managerial record==

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="5"|Regular season !! colspan="4"|Postseason
|-
!Games!!Won!!Lost!!Win %!!Finish!! Won !! Lost !! Win % !! Result
|-
|-
![[1925 St. Louis Cardinals season|STL]]|| 1925
||115||64||51||{{Winning percentage|64|51}}|| 4th in NL || – || – || – || –
|-style="background:#FDE910"
![[1926 St. Louis Cardinals season|STL]]|| 1926
||154||89||65||{{Winning percentage|89|65}}|| '''1st in NL''' || 4 || 3 || .571 || '''Won [[1926 World Series|World Series]] ([[1926 New York Yankees season|NYY]])'''
|-
! colspan="2"|STL total || 269 || 153 || 116 || {{Winning percentage|153|116}} || || 0 || 0 || – ||
|-
![[1927 New York Giants (MLB) season|NYG]]|| 1927
||32||22||10||{{Winning percentage|22|10}}|| interim || – || – || – || –
|-
! colspan="2"|NYG total || 32 || 22 || 10 || {{Winning percentage|22|10}} || || 0 || 0 || – ||
|-
![[1928 Boston Braves season|BSN]]|| 1928
||122||39||83||{{Winning percentage|39|83}}|| 7th in NL || – || – || – || –
|-
! colspan="2"|BSN total || 122 || 39 || 83 || {{Winning percentage|39|83}} || || 0 || 0 || – ||
|-
![[1930 Chicago Cubs season|CHC]]|| 1930
||4||4||0||{{Winning percentage|4|0}}|| 2nd in NL || – || – || – || –
|-
![[1931 Chicago Cubs season|CHC]]|| 1931
||154||84||70||{{Winning percentage|84|70}}|| 3rd in NL || – || – || – || –
|-
![[1932 Chicago Cubs season|CHC]]|| 1932
||99||53||46||{{Winning percentage|53|46}}|| fired || – || – || – || –
|-
! colspan="2"|CHC total || 257 || 141 || 116 || {{Winning percentage|141|116}} || || 0 || 0 || – ||
|-
![[1933 St. Louis Browns season|SLB]]|| 1933
||52||19||33||{{Winning percentage|19|33}}|| 8th in AL || – || – || – || –
|-
![[1934 St. Louis Browns season|SLB]]|| 1934
||152||67||85||{{Winning percentage|67|85}}|| 6th in AL || – || – || – || –
|-
![[1935 St. Louis Browns season|SLB]]|| 1935
||152||65||87||{{Winning percentage|65|87}}|| 7th in AL || – || – || – || –
|-
![[1936 St. Louis Browns season|SLB]]|| 1936
||152||57||95||{{Winning percentage|57|95}}|| 7th in AL || – || – || – || –
|-
![[1937 St. Louis Browns season|SLB]]|| 1937
||77||25||52||{{Winning percentage|25|52}}|| fired || – || – || – || –
|-
!colspan="11"|
|-
![[1952 St. Louis Browns season|SLB]]|| 1952
||51||22||29||{{Winning percentage|22|29}}|| fired || – || – || – || –
|-
! colspan="2"|SLB total || 636 || 255 || 381 || {{Winning percentage|255|381}} || || 0 || 0 || – ||
|-
![[1952 Cincinnati Reds season|CIN]]|| 1952
||51||27||24||{{Winning percentage|27|24}}|| 6th in NL || – || – || – || –
|-
![[1953 Cincinnati Reds season|CIN]]|| 1953
||146||64||82||{{Winning percentage|64|82}}|| resigned || – || – || – || –
|-
! colspan="2"|CIN total || 197 || 91 || 106 || {{Winning percentage|91|106}} || || 0 || 0 || – ||
|-
! colspan="2"|Total<ref name=manager/> || 1513 || 701 || 812 || {{Winning percentage|701|812}} || || 4 || 3 || .571 || 
|}

==Legacy==
[[File:1920-Rogers-Hornsby-by-Charles-Conlon.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Hornsby in 1920]]
Baseball experts and sportswriters consider Hornsby to be one of the greatest hitters of all time. His lifetime batting average of .358 is only exceeded by [[Ty Cobb]]'s career mark of .366, and [[Oscar Charleston]]'s .364.<ref>{{cite web|title=Career Leaders & Records for Batting Average|work=Baseball-Reference|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/batting_avg_career.shtml|access-date=November 30, 2021|archive-date=April 13, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413224624/http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/batting_avg_career.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> He won seven batting titles in total, number three all-time at the time of his retirement, and a feat tied or exceeded by only five players (Cobb [11 or 12, depending on the source], [[Tony Gwynn]] [8], [[Honus Wagner]] [8], [[Rod Carew]] [7], and [[Stan Musial]] [7]). Hornsby led the National League in slugging percentage nine times, a record that still stands. He also hit more home runs, drove in more runs, and had a higher batting average than any other National League player during the 1920s, which makes him one of four players in baseball history (along with Honus Wagner, [[Ted Williams]], and [[Albert Pujols]]) to win a decade "triple crown".<ref>{{cite web|last=Kurkjian|first=Tim|author-link=Tim Kurkjian|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=kurkjian_tim&id=4753935|title=Selecting the All-Decade team|publisher=[[ESPN]]|date=December 18, 2009|access-date=December 28, 2010|archive-date=February 9, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100209124736/http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=kurkjian_tim&id=4753935|url-status=live}}</ref> He hit a career total of 301&nbsp;home runs and was the first player to reach 300 while playing mostly in the National League.<ref name="Hall of Fame"/> His 264&nbsp;home runs as a second baseman was a major league record for that position until [[Joe Morgan]] surpassed him in 1984. Hornsby was also a very consistent hitter whether he was playing at home or on the road. His lifetime home batting average was .359, and his lifetime away batting average was .358. Ted Williams, who had the highest career batting average since Hornsby, said that Hornsby was the greatest hitter for power and average in baseball,<ref>Williams and Underwood, p. 118</ref> and [[Frankie Frisch]] said of him, "He's the only guy I know who could hit .350 in the dark."<ref name="Hall of Fame">{{cite web |url=http://baseballhall.org/hof/hornsby-rogers |title=Hornsby, Rogers |publisher=Baseball Hall of Fame |access-date=December 28, 2010 |archive-date=July 12, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110712014614/http://baseballhall.org/hof/hornsby-rogers |url-status=live }}</ref> Hornsby also holds second place on the unofficial major league record list of "consecutive games with two or more hits" with 13&nbsp;games,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mathaware.org/mam/2010/essays/RothmanLeStreaking.pdf |title=Streaking:Finding the Probability for a Batting Streak |first=Stanley |last=Rothman |author2=Le, Quoc |publisher=American Mathematical Society |work=Math Awareness Month/Mathematics and Sports (www.mathaware.org) |date=April 2010 |page=13 |access-date=January 3, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928025510/http://www.mathaware.org/mam/2010/essays/RothmanLeStreaking.pdf |archive-date=September 28, 2011 }}</ref> two behind [[Count Campau]], a nineteenth-century player who retired in 1894.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sabr.org/cmsFiles/Files/records_FEB2010.pdf|title=Most Consecutive Multi-Hit Games|editor=Spatz, Lyle|publisher=Society for American Baseball Research (Baseball Records Committee)|date=February 2010|page=1|access-date=January 3, 2011|archive-date=March 7, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110307185733/http://www.sabr.org/cmsFiles/Files/records_FEB2010.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Hornsby is only the second right-handed batter in history to hit over .400 three times<ref>Nemec and Wisnia, p. 107</ref> and is considered, according to the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', to be the greatest right-handed hitter in history.<ref name=obit>{{cite news|title=Hornsby, 66, Dies of Heart Attack|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=January 6, 1963|page=C1}}</ref> He led the National League in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and total bases every year from 1920 to 1925.<ref name=br/>

Rogers Hornsby was so respected as a hitter that once, when a rookie pitcher complained to umpire [[Bill Klem]] that he thought he had thrown Rogers a strike, Klem replied, "Son, when you pitch a strike, Mr. Hornsby will let you know."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/quotes/quohorn.shtml|title=Rogers Hornsby Quotes|access-date=April 28, 2012|work=[[Baseball Almanac]]|archive-date=May 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120520144400/http://www.baseball-almanac.com/quotes/quohorn.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Quote box |width= 18em |border= 4px |align= right |bgcolor= #FAF0E6 |halign= center | title=''Line-Up for Yesterday''|quote=''H is for Hornsby;''<br/>''When pitching to Rog,''<br/>''The pitcher would pitch,''<br/>''Then the pitcher would dodge.''
|source= —[[Ogden Nash]], [[Sport (US magazine)|''SPORT'']] (January 1949)<ref>{{cite journal |last=Nash |first=Ogden |title=Line-Up for Yesterday |journal=[[SPORT (magazine)|SPORT]]|date=January 1949}}</ref>}}
Hornsby was also renowned for his speed, and was considered to be the fastest player in the National League in his prime.<ref name=obit/> He did not try to steal very often but used his speed to take extra bases. Between 1916 and 1927 Hornsby had 30&nbsp;[[inside-the-park home run]]s, and he led the league with 17&nbsp;triples in 1917 and 18&nbsp;triples in 1921; he had 20&nbsp;triples in 1920.<ref name=br/>

Hornsby never went to movies or read books, convinced that it would harm a batter's eyesight, and he never smoked or drank.<ref>Alexander, p. 4</ref> He was notoriously difficult to get along with, a major reason he changed teams so frequently in the last decade of his career. He usually left due to falling out with the front office. Most of the players he managed did not like him due to his insistence that others follow his lifestyle, although some (like [[Woody English]] and [[Clint Courtney]]) did.<ref>Alexander pp. 152, 266</ref><ref>Kavanaugh, p. 31</ref> As one contemporary writer put it, "Hornsby knew more about baseball and less about diplomacy than any player I knew."<ref name=SABR/> Hornsby never played cards, but he did bet frequently on horse races, and he lost more than he won.<ref>Alexander, pp. 6, 309</ref> His compulsive gambling was often a factor in his dismissal from a team; by one account, he lost at least one managerial job for placing a bet during a game. He was forced to play in the minors well into his 40s to make up for losing so much money on bets that went sour.<ref name="gambling"/>

By most contemporary accounts, he was at least as mean and nasty as Cobb, who was known in his time for his aggressive attitude and dirty play.<ref name=purdy>{{cite book |title=The Team-by-Team Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball|last=Purdy|first=Dennis|year=2006|page=936|publisher=Workman Publishing Company|location=New York City|isbn=0-7611-3943-5}}</ref><ref> {{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/page2/s/list/readers/dirtiest/players.html|title=Page 2 mailbag – Readers: Dirtiest pro players|access-date=September 12, 2011|work=[[ESPN.com]]|year=2007|archive-date=October 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004124909/https://www.espn.com/page2/s/list/readers/dirtiest/players.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He received attention for deciding to play in the [[1926 World Series]] and honor his dying mother's wish rather than go to her bedside; Hornsby asked that her body to be held for funeral services after the Series ended.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hornsby's Mother Dies; He Will Play; Cards' Manager Heeds Her Deathbed Request to Stay With Team in Series |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/09/30/archives/hornsbys-mother-dies-he-will-play-cards-manager-heeds-her-deathbed.html |work=The New York Times |date=September 30, 1926 |access-date=12 April 2024}}</ref><ref>James, p. 486.</ref> "Some thought it was heartless," wrote [[Fred Lieb]], "but it was just like Rogers Hornsby."<ref>James, p. 486.</ref>

Hornsby was elected into the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|National Baseball Hall of Fame]] in 1942. In 1999, Hornsby was ranked ninth on ''[[The Sporting News]]'' list of Baseball's Greatest Players.<ref>{{Cite news|date=April 1999|title=Baseball's 100 Greatest Players|work=The Sporting News|page=20}}</ref> Later that year, he was named to the [[Major League Baseball All-Century Team]].<ref>{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |url=http://static.espn.go.com/mlb/news/1999/1023/129008.html |title=All-Century Team final voting |work=ESPN |access-date=December 28, 2010 |archive-date=January 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121164625/http://static.espn.go.com/mlb/news/1999/1023/129008.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2001, writer [[Bill James]] ranked him as the 22nd-greatest player and the third-greatest second baseman in baseball history, while at the same time documenting his unpopularity and his difficult personality.<ref>James, pp. 361, 485.</ref><ref>James, p. 486.</ref> He is also tied for eighth overall with [[Stan Musial]] in [[wins above replacement]] for position players.<ref name=br/> Hornsby has also been recognized on the [[St. Louis Walk of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stlouiswalkoffame.org/inductees/?view=achievement|title=St. Louis Walk of Fame Inductees|publisher=St. Louis Walk of Fame|access-date=April 25, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121031162946/http://www.stlouiswalkoffame.org/inductees/?view=achievement|archive-date=October 31, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> In January 2014, the Cardinals announced Hornsby among 22 former players and personnel to be inducted into the [[St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum]] for the inaugural class of [[2014 St. Louis Cardinals season|2014]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Cardinals Press Release |url=http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/print.jsp?ymd=20140118&content_id=66822534&c_id=stl |title=Cardinals establish Hall of Fame & detail induction process |publisher=www.stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com |date=January 18, 2014 |access-date=January 29, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230230326/http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/print.jsp?ymd=20140118&content_id=66822534&c_id=stl |archive-date=December 30, 2017 }}</ref> The [[San Antonio–Austin metroplex]] chapter of the [[Society for American Baseball Research]] is named in honor of Hornsby.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rogers Hornsby Chapter |url=https://sabr.org/chapter/rogers-hornsby-chapter/ |website=Society for American Baseball Research |access-date=November 19, 2024}}</ref>

==Personal life==
On September&nbsp;23, 1918, Hornsby married Sarah Elizabeth Martin, whom he had known since he played for the Denison Railroaders, in [[Philadelphia]].<ref>Alexander, pp. 41, 48</ref> They had a son, Rogers Hornsby Jr., on November&nbsp;15, 1920.<ref>Alexander, p. 63</ref> Rogers Jr. died in a plane crash on December 23, 1949, near [[Savannah, Georgia]].<ref>Plane Crash Claims Eleven: Rogers Hornsby Jr. One of Men Killed.''Spartanburg Herald-Journal'', December 24, 1949, page 1.</ref>

During 1922 he began seeing Jeanette Pennington Hine, who was married to an automobile-supply salesman named John Hine.<ref>Alexander, pp. 74–75</ref> On June&nbsp;12, 1923, Hornsby divorced Sarah, and Hine divorced her spouse in 1923 as well; the two were married on February&nbsp;28, 1924. As a result of the divorce, Sarah took custody of Rogers Jr.<ref>Alexander, pp. 79, 87</ref>

Hornsby and Jeanette had a son, Billy, on June&nbsp;2, 1925.<ref name="Alexander, p. 103"/> Billy played baseball for several years in the minor leagues, but never reached the majors.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=hornsb002wil|title=Bill Hornsby Minor League Statistics & History|work=Baseball-Reference|access-date=January 25, 2011|archive-date=November 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110101312/http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=hornsb002wil|url-status=live}}</ref> Hornsby and Jeanette became estranged in December 1944,<ref>Alexander, p. 233</ref> and Hornsby began seeing a woman named Bernadette Harris, whom he called his "personal good friend and secretary", in 1945.<ref>Alexander, p. 234</ref> They lived together after 1948. Harris died of suicide when she jumped out of a third-story window on September&nbsp;7, 1953. Her suicide was attributed to depression.<ref>Alexander, pp. 234, 279–280</ref> Following Jeanette's death on June&nbsp;1, 1956, Hornsby married Marjorie Bernice Frederick Porter on January&nbsp;27, 1957.<ref>Alexander, p. 287</ref> They remained together until Hornsby's death.<ref>Alexander, p. 304</ref> In 1963, Hornsby died of a [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]]. He was buried in Hornsby Bend Cemetery near [[Austin, Texas]].<ref name="br" /><ref>Alexander, pp. 302, 305</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of St. Louis Cardinals team records]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball doubles records]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball hit records]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball player-managers]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career triples leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

===Book sources===
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book|last=Alexander|first=Charles C.|title=Rogers Hornsby: A Biography|publisher=Henry Holt and Company|location=New York City|year=1995|isbn=0-8050-2002-0|url=https://archive.org/details/rogershornsbybio00alex}}
*{{cite book|last=D'Amore|first=Jonathan|title=Rogers Hornsby: a biography|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|location=Westport, Connecticut|year=2004|isbn=978-0-313-32870-1}}
*{{cite book|last=James|first=Bill|title=The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract|publisher=Free Press|location=New York City|year=2001|isbn=0-684-80697-5|url=https://archive.org/details/newbilljameshist00jame}}
*{{cite book|last=Kavanagh|first=Jack|title=Rogers Hornsby (Baseball Legends)|publisher=Chelsea House Publications|location=New York City|year=1991|isbn=978-0-7910-1178-2|url=https://archive.org/details/rogershornsby00kava}}
*{{cite book|last=Lowenfish|first=Lee|title=Branch Rickey: Baseball's Ferocious Gentleman|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|location=Lincoln, Nebraska|year=2009|isbn=978-0-8032-2453-7}}
*{{cite book|last1=Nemec|first1=David|last2=Wisnia|first2=Saul|title=100 Years of Major League Baseball: American and National Leagues, 1901–2000|publisher=Publications International, Ltd|location=Lincolnwood, Illinois|year=2000|isbn=978-0-7853-4395-0|url=https://archive.org/details/100yearsofmajorl00neme}}
*{{cite book|last1=Veeck|first1=Bill |last2=Linn |first2=Ed|title=Veeck as in Wreck: the autobiography of Bill Veeck|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|year=2001|isbn=978-0-226-85218-8}}
*{{cite book|last1=Williams|first1=Ted|last2=Underwood|first2=John|title=My Turn at Bat: The Story of My Life|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York City|year=1969|isbn=0-671-63423-2|url=https://archive.org/details/myturnatbatstory00will_0}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*{{baseballstats|mlb=116156|br=h/hornsro01|espn=23082|fangraphs=1006030|brm=hornsb001rog|retro=H/Phornr101}}
*{{baseball-reference manager|hornsro01}}
*{{bbhof|hornsby-rogers}}
*{{sabrbio|rogers-hornsby}}

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