Cards player-manager Rogers Hornsby is named the MVP in the National League, gathering 73 out of a possible 80 votes. Hornsby was runner-up in 1924 to Dazzy Vance. Other strong contenders are Kiki Cuyler, the Pirates’ top hitter at .357; the Giants’ George Kelly; Pirates’ SS Glenn Wright; Brooklyn’s Vance; and Dave Bancroft, who hit .319 and topped NL shortstops in fielding average while managing the 5th-place Braves.
The Cardinals score five runs in the 9th to break the first-place Pirates’ 9-game win streak, winning 9 – 3. Rogers Hornsby, the majors’ leading hitter at .387, has three hits including his 37th homer of the year to pace the attack. Babe Adams, who takes over for Emil Yde in the 9th, is hammered for four hits and five runs, but the loss goes to Yde. Art Reinhart is the winner.
On June 11, 1925 Four days after his average tops .400‚ Rogers Hornsby buys 1‚167 shares in the Cardinals at $42.85 a share. Hornsby pays $5‚000 in cash and borrows the rest from the bank with owner Sam Breadon endorsing his note. Breadon retains the right to buy back the stock at 6% interest.
Rogers Hornsby is named manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, replacing Branch Rickey, who remains as general manager. Hornsby will be the only player-manager to win the Triple Crown, which he does by topping a .400 batting average for the third time in four years, hitting .403 with 39 home runs and 143 RBI. Hornsby assumes his new position halfway through a twin bill in Forbes Field, both ends of which are won by the World Series-bound Bucs, and each of which feature opposite field home runs from Rajah.
On May 7, 1925, at Forbes Field, In the top of the ninth, Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Glenn Wright turns an unassisted triple play against the St. Louis Cardinals. The play involves two future Hall of Famers. Jim Bottomley hits a line drive that is caught by Wright, who steps on second base for the second…
Rogers Hornsby finishes the season with a .424 batting average to lead the National League. The Cardinal second baseman easily outdistances Zack Wheat, who finishes second in the race, batting .375 for the Dodgers.
1925 – In a doubleheader split with the Braves in St. Louis, the Cards’ player-manager, Rogers Hornsby, hits his 38th and 39th home runs of the year, along with a single, double, and triple to push his average to .403. In batting practice tomorrow, Hornsby will foul a ball off his foot splitting his toenail, and will sit the last three games. The Rajah calls reporters into the clubhouse to view his bloody toe, “because some of those in the East may say I’m stallin’ because I want to save my .400 average.” Hornsby will be the only player-manager to win the triple crown, which he does by topping .400 for the 3rd time in four years, while his 39 home runs and 143 RBI are National League highs. His .756 slugging average will be the NL record until topped by Barry Bonds in 2001. The Cards take the opener, 6 – 5, and lose the nitecap, 7 – 6.
1924 – Bill Sherdel is called out of the Cardinals bullpen to pitch to pinch-hitter Johnny Mokan of the Phillies. There are no outs in the 2nd with runners on first and second base. Sherdel throws one ball, and Mokan bunts it in the air to Jim Bottomley coming in from first. He throws to SS Jimmy Cooney, who doubles the runner at second base and throws to Rogers Hornsby who goes covering first base. A triple play on one pitch. Sherdel stays in the game until the end and gets the win for the Cards, 9 – 8.
The National League announces it will join the AL in awarding a thousand dollars to the player selected by writers as the league’s Most Valuable Player. Dazzy Vance, who posts a 28-6 record along with an ERA of 2.16 for the Dodgers, easily outpoints Rogers Hornsby to become the Senior Circuit’s first MVP.
1923 – Rogers Hornsby is fined $500 and suspended indefinitely by the Cardinals when, feeling ill, he refuses to take the field for a game against the Robins, despite the team doctor’s opinion that he is in condition to play. Raj is not needed as Jesse Haines tops Brooklyn, 4 – 1, for his 20th win.
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