Rajah Deposed

Rogers Hornsby, one of baseball's all-time greats, is a hard man to live and work with. A Hall of Fame player, big, easy-moving Second Baseman Hornsby piled up a lifetime batting average for 23 seasons of .358, topped only by Ty Cobb's .367. But as a manager, Hornsby has achieved less continuity. He was fired as manager of the Cardinals in 1926 after bringing St. Louis its first pennant (and world championship) in 50 years. He was fired as Chicago Cubs manager in 1932 by Bill Veeck Sr. He was fired again in 1937 as manager of the St. Louis Browns. Last week Bill Veeck Jr. fired the Rajah once more from the Browns.

Hornsby earned his second job with the Browns by managing Beaumont to the Texas League pennant in 1950, Seattle to the Pacific Coast League pennant in 1951. When he took over management of the Browns this spring, he insisted on an understanding: he would stand for no tactical interference from Owner Veeck, whose fondness for Barnum & Bailey attendance tricks (midgets, fireworks, jitter-buggers) goes against Hornsby's rough-hewn grain. All through spring training, Hornsby drove his players ruthlessly, trying to instill a little of his own spark into the lackluster group. Impatient with imperfection, he bawled them out repeatedly and publicly. Off the field, crusty Manager Hornsby had little to do with his players. "I know of only one way of running a ball club. That's to drive it," he said. "I never did get chummy with players and I never will."

Hornsby's drive paid off for a while, and the Browns led the American League. But last week the Browns were back on their annual slide to the cellar and already in seventh place. Owner Veeck, admitting his mistake, fired unpopular, hard-driving Hornsby and replaced him with Marty ("Mr. Shortstop") Marion, who was fired last year as the St. Louis Cardinals manager because he did not have enough "drive."

Hornsby's firing would have been routine except for a loving cup, supposedly presented to Veeck by a group of disgruntled players. Inscribed on the cup: "To Bill Veeck for the greatest play since the Emancipation Proclamation, June 10, 1952. From the players of the St. Louis Browns." The cup, by an odd coincidence, was engraved and ready to be presented shortly after Hornsby was fired. Few believed that the players thought up this tawdry stunt. If the Browns' front office conceived it, publicity-hungry Bill Veeck had bitten off a large chunk of unfavorable press notices.

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