The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-06-23
/ ALKING
IT OVER
BY JOE WILLIAMS

-
y days ago. one Of the custo-
mers wrote in and demanded a ire
quest" column on Rogers Hornsby,
manager Of the Cubs, and one Of
the greatest right-hand hitters in
the history of baseball.
1t occurred to me at the time
that had written about all there
is to be written about Hornsby. with
this exception:
OF all the popular heroes baseball has
produced. this Young Texan has more
articulate traducers than anyone else I
ever heard Of. For every worshipper he
has a defamer HIS worshippers VIII go
from here 20 Little America to sing his
virtues: his defamers will 20 equally as
far and manifest Just as much heat.
This IS unusual in baseball where the
hssdliners generally are universally ac-
claimed. With the public the Ruths. the
Cobbs. the Cochranes and the Johnsons are
clear cut. blue white. perfect idols. There
IS never any doubt as TO their status.
Even in failure they are sure OF sympathy
Not 50 with Hornsby. He Is one Of the
few outstanding stars who has failed to
stay on the team he started with. 70
grow 10 and become a sort Of civic instt-
tuition. Baseball in Detroit was written
around Cobb. Just as It was written around
Johnson IN Washington. Hornsby started
IN St. Louis. For a while he was a fixture
there. In recent years he has moved sue
oessively from St. Louis to New York to
Boston and finally to Chicago.
OF course there is nothing
Ostrange about a man having
enemies. Most men who achieve
conspicuous success have enemies.
Only in sports is the emotional
situation different, and this is due,
I suppose, to the eagerness OF the
sports followers to make gods OF
any one that can hit the ball or
land a knockout.
Another notable exception was Gene
Tunney. His case was not unlike Horns
bv's except that it is more easily ex-
planned Tunney made no conscious ef-
fort 10 be uopular. on the contrary ne
discouraged a large personal following.
His ambition extended beyond sports ana
he was interested only in those VINO prom
ICED to fit into his ultimate scheme Oh
living Prize hghting made him mil
uonaire. vet he had no enthusiasm LOT
the business as q business. At MS peaA
he renounced the championship.
Now consider Hornsby. Baseball Is his
business. too It has made him wealthy
mar. I know OF nobody in the game VINO
,s mora intensely interested in oaseoaH'
To him It is something more than busl-
ness. It comes close to being religion
I don't believe 1t is fantastic to say that
no scientist makes a greater sacrince a.
the altar OF labor research and nope
with Hornsby, baseball is life. Nothing
else interests him. He has never tried 70
become interested in anything else. he
will not talk with you unless you taIh
baseball. He is intolerant OF other pan
plavers who play golf. and particularly
such PLAYERS as bring their got BACK 10
the dressing room or the hotel lobby
He is always the first TO report 10 the
ball field. If there is no one else around
he will talk baseball with the ground
Keeper. the caterers the ushers. and the
taxi cab drivers He has mid-Victorlan
IDEAS about physical fitness. If he had his
way a pitcher would unhinge his arm ana
hang it up in the locker until he was due
10 pitch again. A pitcher who bowls foT
instance is abusing his arm.
DEING a hitter himself he has
D similar ideas about vision,
which in his mind, is the more i'm
portant part of hitting. Hornspy
won't 20 to show or movie dur
ing the playing season. He thinks
this is a strain on his eyes. II there
is a movie he wants to see he VIII
wait until the season is finished and
trail it to some obscure theater.
All ball players read the sports pages |
With avldity. Hornsby reads them only |
in the of season In the summer. he
checks the box scores to keep tab on the
enemy pitching and hitting. but that IS all |
He doesn't even read the accounts OF the
games in which his team participates. To /
some ball players reading is a strain on |
the mind. to Hornsby it Weakens the eyes |
Here. then. is a made to order sports |
hero. A magnetic personality, tremendous
hitter. devout apostle Of the game he is
in. a man who would rather win ball
game than rule a race, and yet for every |
Hornsby booster you will meet Hornsby
knocker. There is no middle ground
either The boosters boost with enthusiasm
and the knockers knock with venom.
had breakfast with the young man
recently. I asked him if he was aware
OF the situation. how he felt about it and
what was his explanation.
sure, know there are lot of people /
that dislike me-" he answered. But then
there a lot of people I don't care for. I
don't go around trying to make enemies
but somehow seem to make a lot of
them. There's nothing can and nothing
I intend to do about it,
AN my life I'm been outspoken. /
igure II you can't be honest with your
self which means saying what you think.
then you might as well crawl into hole.
I've said some things I have been sorry for
later. 7 mean sorry for the way I said
them. but have never been sorry for the
stand I took"