Thursday, November 22, 2018

Dissecting the Baseball Hall of Fame's Plaques: Class of 1942

Since there were no Hall of Famers added in 1940 and 1941, we'll look at the sole member of the class of 1942, Rogers Hornsby.

Image: A-. Not a big fan of plaque images that aren't facing forward, but this one isn't that bad. Especially because even though the middle of Hornsby's cap is obscured, no logo is hidden from view This is because the classic St. Louis Cardinals' hats of the 1920s did not have their now-classic "STL" symbol. I can't find a strong candidate for which image this plaque was based on.
Name: A. Hard to mess this one up, as Hornsby did not have a middle name. The only possible inclusion could have been his "Rajah" nickname. 
Teams: F. Only one club is mentioned on his plaque, the Cardinals, which comes at the end of the text, and only when it is discussing the 1926 World Series team. Does this mean that he played/managed only one year with the Redbirds, or is the reader suppose to infer that this is the only team that matters for him? Well, both of those would be wrong, as he played parts of 11 seasons with four different clubs besides the Cardinals. In fact two of his best five seasons by WAR came outside of St. Louis (1927 with the New York Giants and 1929 with the Chicago Cubs). 
Text: A. Every bit of trivia is correct on this plaque. Hornsby had many accomplishments, but most of the major ones are included here. Missing are his near-3000 hits (2930) and two Triple Crowns (1922 and 1925).