Norwich bulletin., 1917-05-24
HORNSsY'S RISE TO
STARDOM SENSATIONAL
ST. Louis Shortstop is One of Great
est in National League.


From the obscurity of the sand lots
to stardom in the fastest baseball COM
pany seems a long jump, but it can be
negotiated both easily and quickly if
one has the ambition and courage to
try his hardest. Roger Hornsby, the
shortstop of the st. Louis Cardinals
stands today fitting proof of the as
sertion.
Roger Hornsby. at the age of twen-
ty-one. is one of the greatest stars
of the National League. Three years
ago this spring he played his first
professional engagement with Hugo,
Oki:N, in the Texas Oklahoma league.
year ago he was n fixture with the
Cardinals; he had won his spurs in
the few games he played with ST.
Louis in the fall of 1915.
A striplings of nineteen. fresh from
the plains and with practically no
minor league experience, who on his
first brief trip with club desper-
ately in need of strengthening could
osthit and outfeld such veteran fix
lures of the game the mighty
man and the gingery Herzog, might
be excused for betraying small traces
of egotism. Horsby is not of that
type.
Roger Hornsby is a modest. I'M
assuming, gentlemanly young man.
wore when he first arrived in st.
Louis. He radiates the cheeriness
and wholesomeness of youth and
health. His rudy fact and dark
bron eyes are as open as the plains.
Hornsby is a well knit lad just past
his majority. He is exactly six feet
in height and weighs lis pounds. On
close contact, when one can escape
the brown eyes. the most striking
characteristic, perhaps. is this young
fellows hands. They are hands of
size and power that would delight
even a Wagner. Horsby. like Wag
mes; is possessed of exceptional reach
and breadth of shoulders. He will be
a physical giant when he broadens out
in maturity. He is product of Fort
Worth Texas.
81 was born in Runnels County,
Texas. April 81. 1896" he said
Worth when I was very young. My
earliest recollections have to do with
Forth Worth. And baseball is one OF
my earliest recollections.
''The time of the baseball war be-
tween the National and American
leagues I used to hear the bigger boys
taking of the big salaries the stars of
those days received. From then un-
til I made the big league my every en-
ergy was bent to that purpose. Every
minute of my spare time I devoted to
practice. When I had no one to prac-
tice with I practiced alone. I have
spent hour after hour throwing at a
tarket.
This ractice I believe. is response
sib1e in a measure to my development.
You can see for yourself I am pretty
well equipped physically at least. In
those early DAYS. of course, could
see only one department of the game.
Sure, I wanted to be a pitcher. Did
you ever see a boy who started in
with any other aim2
q did some pitching at that"
Hornsby smiled TN fact. the boys
of Fort Worth High School thought me
a coming Mathewson at one time.
might have been an pitcher. too. if I
hadn't liked the game so well. We
every day, and. of course. I couldn't
pitch every day 1 wanted to be in
that lineup. however. and on every
occasion where a sub was wanted 7
infeld and outf1eld position on that
school team 1 even went behind the
bat about as often as I pitched.
Though I didn't give the matter
passing thought at the time, that ex
perience was a mighty good thing for
me. When I went to Hugo. Okla, is
the spring of 1914. to my first profess
sional engagement. was ready to
TACKLE any job the manager might put
up to me. I guess the manager took
my assurance for sheer nerve Any
how, my self-reliance did me no harm
81 have the self-reliance today to
go to any infield or outfeld position
if Manager Higgins believes my pres
dinals. You know, am a shortstop
of necessity. I went to st. Louis IS
a third baseman and played most of
my games at third last year.
II really belie%e that any one who
can play reasonably well at short can
outside the battery I believe the
take care of any of the other positions
short field position by far the most
difficult. Compared to it third base is
a cinch. Any one who has the speed
to come in for a bunt or a slow roller
can perform we'll at the near corner
OutfieIding is a question of practice
and application in the art of judging
quickly batted balls"
Hornsby has accomplished what
very. very few players ever accom-
plished-he has been star from the
first day he donned a major league