Rogers Hornsby

Rogers Hornsby, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, was born April 27, 1896, in Winters, Texas, and died January 5, 1963, in Chicago, Illinois. Nicknamed "The Rajah", Hornsby played most of his career in St. Louis (for the St. Louis Browns and the St. Louis Cardinals), with shorter stints for the Chicago Cubs, the Boston Braves, and the New York Giants.

Hornsby is considered by many followers of baseball's history to be one of the game's greatest hitters (and perhaps its greatest right-handed hitter of all time), on a level with Ted Williams, Stan Musial, and other Hall-of-Famers. He holds the modern record for highest batting average in a season, with .424 in 1924, and won baseball's Triple Crown in 1922 and 1925. He won the National League's MVP Award twice, in 1925 and 1929. At his peak ability, from 1920 to 1925, Hornsby led his league in batting average all six years, in RBI four years, and in home runs twice. His career batting average of .358 is the highest ever for a National League player, and second highest in Major League history, after Ty Cobb.

In addition to his success on the field, Rogers Hornsby was one of baseball's more talented player-managers, guiding his Cardinals to a World Series victory over Babe Ruth's New York Yankees in 1926.