Hornsby Out

Famed equally as one of the ablest and one of the most temperamental baseballers currently functioning in the major leagues, Rogers Hornsby has lost more good jobs than most of his confreres ever hope to hold. Last week the latest uproar in

Hornsby's uproarious career began when President Donald Barnes of the St. Louis Browns, of which Hornsby has been manager since 1933, announced to the press that Hornsby had been ousted, along with his coach, Charlie O'Leary, and a clubhouse boy named Milton ("Alabama") Delmas. Picked to replace Hornsby was the Browns' good-natured First Baseman Jim Bottomley. Picked to replace O'Leary was Charles E. ("Gabby") Street, onetime (1930-33) manager of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Hornsby had done as well as could be expected this season by keeping the feeble Browns out of last place in the American League. By last week, the Browns had drawn over 100,000 spectators to their home games, more than watched them all last year. Like many professional baseballers who, because they work half days and half years, find the problem of diversion difficult and pressing, Hornsby was fond of betting on horse races. Last week, sportswriters who knew that a special clause in Hornsby's $20,000-a-year contract bound him not to let his betting interfere with his baseball, soon guessed that a difference of opinion about what "interference" meant had caused the ousting. Their guess was substantiated by Rogers Hornsby himself. His version of the ousting: When called to President Barnes's office and asked if he still bet on horses, "I looked him straight in the eyes and said, 'Yes, Mr. Barnes. What about it?' . . . He reached for ... my release." Unconfirmed by President Barnes, Hornsby's story was corroborated by Clubhouse Boy Delmas, whose job with the Browns appeared to have consisted principally in telephoning to bookmakers. He said he had been shadowed for five days, questioned by club officials.

Holder of the major-league batting record (.424 in 1924), the National League's leading hitter six years in a row (1920 through 1925), a star player since 1916, Hornsby has played on five major-league teams and managed four (St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Browns) in the past eleven years. Cardinals Owner Sam Breadon used to say that listening to him was like "having a rock crusher emptied over your head."

Major result of the uproar caused by Hornsby's ousting last week was an announcement in Chicago by baseball's Tsar Kenesaw Mountain Landis that he would start an immediate investigation of betting on horse races by baseballers in general. Said Tsar Landis: "I'll have to roll up my sleeves and go to work. . . ."

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