Rogers Hornsby

July 3, 1995
Hornsby (1896-1963) was ill-educated and taciturn. After playing sandlot and minor league ball, the Texan went to St. Louis in 1915 to play for the Cardinals. Within years he developed from a weak-hitting, error-prone shortstop to a hard-hitting, power-producing second baseman (topping out at .424 in 1924), at his time perhaps the best player in the game after Babe Ruth. The author delves into Hornsby's professional and personal life: his relationship with managers Miller Huggins, Branch Rickey and John McGraw; his scandalous affair and subsequent 20-year marriage to a ``flapper''; his personal prohibition on drinking and smoking; his reluctance to watch movies because they might impinge on his eyesight; and his obsession with horse racing-although he never learned to read a racing form. Alexander reviews Hornsby's successful tenure as player-manager of the Cardinals; his subsequent stints with the Giants, Braves, Cubs and Browns; and his career as manager and coach. Alexander (Our Game) has written a thorough if uninspired biography about one of baseball's most talented, yet least recognized, players. Photos not seen by PW.

December 1, 1998
Alexander has done a thorough job of investigating the public and private lives of Hornsby, acknowledged by his peers and baseball experts as the greatest right-hand hitter the game has ever known. It remains to be seen, considering Mark McGwire's (slugger for St. Louis Cardinals who recently made baseball history) youth and the marvelous season he just completed, if Hornsby's renown will soon be challenged. He was blunt to the point of rudeness, a nonsmoker and nondrinker, an inveterate horse racing gambler, Hall of Fame player, and major and minor league player-manager. The man who would talk baseball with anyone would talk about his personal life with no one. There's not a lot of excitement in this program, though it is well read by Ian Esmo and well produced. Recommended for strong sports collections and big baseball fans only.--Cliff Glaviano, Bowling Green State Univ. Libs., OH