This card features the Greatest Second Baseman as determined by the Baseball Writers of America after the first 100 years of baseball - Rogers Hornsby.
I first learned about Hornsby's hitting by playing a baseball board game that a neighbor had. Was there a Strat-O-Matic version that had sheets for the all-time best players from each team?
As of 1969 Hornsby held the highest lifetime average (.358) for a righty. That won't change anytime soon. He's also second all-time to Ty Cobb, something I learned from Topps in 1973.
The card says he played for four teams, which seems like a lots for star player in that era. He actually played for five - they missed the Boston Braves.
He had the highest single-season average - .424. He led the league in batting seven times. Like others from this era, averages are higher since the league averages were the highest ever seen in baseball. (Cochrane's Card From This Set). I knew all of that but I didn't know that he held the NL HR record when he hit 42 in 1922.
His last baseball job was as a scout for the Mets. Not something to brag about since that was a horrible expansion team, but he made his debut in 1915 and he was still in baseball in 1962. He did in January of 1963, so I assume he didn't even retire.
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