1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #44 Rogers Hornsby MG

Rogers Hornsby

St. Louis Browns

Manager-First Base

Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 5'11" Weight: 175

Born: April 27, 1896, Winters, TX

Major League Teams: 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

World Series Appearances: St. Louis Cardinals 1926; Chicago Cubs 1929

As a Manager: St. Louis Cardinals 1925-1926; New York Giants 1927; Boston Braves 1928; Chicago Cubs 1930-1932; St. Louis Browns 1933-1937, 1952; Cincinnati Reds 1952-1953

Died: January 5, 1963, Chicago, IL (66)

Hall of Fame Induction: 1942

1961 Topps #404

Regarded as one of the best hitters in the history of the game, Rogers Hornsby, "The Rajah," played in parts of 23 seasons, winning two MVP titles, two Triple Crowns and hitting over .400 in three different seasons. Hornsby rose to stardom with the Cardinals in the 1920s, winning his first of six consecutive batting titles in 1920 with a .370 mark. He won his first Triple Crown in 1922, batting .401 with 42 home runs and 152 RBIs, and he's the only player ever to amass 40 home runs while batting .400 in a season. Hornsby batted .424 in 1924, still the single-season highest mark. The accomplishments continued to mount as he won the league MVP honors in 1925, and he'd guide the Cardinals to a World Series title in 1926 as their player-manager. He'd win his second MVP award in 1929 with the Cubs.

His days as an everyday player ceased in 1933, but he continued to play occasionally through the 1937 season while managing. His final managing stop came in the early 1950s with the Reds. Hornsby's career average of .358 is third all-time behind Ty Cobb (.366) and Oscar Charleston (.364). He ranks towards the top of just about every all-time list, including on-base percentage (10th at .434), hits (40th with 2,930), and triples (25th with 169). He collected 301 home runs and 1,584 RBIs. Hornsby's record as a manager was 701-812 over 15 seasons, and by all accounts he was a difficult man to play for. He was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1942 and in 1999 was ranked ninth on The Sporting News' list of Baseball's Greatest Players.

Building the Set
December 3, 2022 from The Philly Show (Goodman's Sportscards) - Card #69
This was one of two fairly major "bonus" purchases acquired for our Diamond Stars set at The Philly Show, the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. We arrived at the show in a steady rain right after doors opened at 9am, secured our autograph tickets and started walking the floor prior to the arrival of most of the crowd. My goal for the show was simple: Find the last four cards needed to complete our 1965 Topps set. I wrote a full summary of the show in this post over at The Phillies Room. And I wrote about acquiring those last four cards over at my 1965 Topps set blog.

A table for Goodman's Sportscards had caught my eye early in the show, as they had a nice collection of Diamond Stars cards featured prominently in one of their glass cases. Having already spent way beyond my budget for the show, I opted to push forward and add a few more high priced Diamond Stars cards. Emboldened by my recent negotiations, and having already successfully bundled a pair of cards in large purchases twice already, I went for the trifecta with this Hornsby card and the card of fellow Hall of Famer Chick Hafey (#18). Somewhat surprisingly, the dealer accepted my first offer and the two cards were added to the massive haul from the day. These two cards would be my final baseball card purchases from a great year of collecting, and the pricier of the two, Hornsby, would find its way under the Christmas tree as a present from my sons. And with the addition of this card, I'm 50 cards away from my version of a complete Diamond Stars set.

Variations Available

1 - 1935 / green back / 1934 statistics / 1935 copyright

The Card / Browns Team Set

I would say this is probably one of the more well-known cards from the Diamond Stars set, along with the card of Jimmie Foxx (#64). Hornsby is shown leaning on the dugout with a collection of dapper looking fans behind him in anticipation of the start of a game. The tip on the back of the card recommends practicing your swing in front of mirror, and never taking your eye off the ball. According to this write-up, the only time Hornsby was ever hit with a pitch was when he turned to talk to the catcher, taking his eye off the ball. He must have done that quite a bit, as his Baseball Reference stats shows he was hit by a pitch 48 times between 1915 and 1934.

1935 Season

Now 39 years old and in his third season of managing the Browns, Hornsby would appear in only 10 games as a player, batting .208 (5 for 24) with three doubles. He'd name himself the club's opening day first baseman, but he'd make only four starts overall and none after May. The Browns finished the season at 65-87-3, in seventh place in the American League, and kept out of the basement only by the 58-91 Philadelphia Athletics. Pitcher Ivy Andrews went 13-7 with a 3.54 ERA in 50 games pitched, and the club's best hitter was outfielder Moose Solters (#85) who batted .330 with 18 home runs and 104 RBIs.