Rogers Hornsby Baseball Cards are somewhat undervalued for how good of a player he was during his playing career.
Who is Rogers Hornsby
Rodgers Hornsby was born in 1896 in Texas. Hornsby dominated high school baseball. Apparently he was thin as a young teen and wore a wig to play on the Boston Bloomer Girls which was an all-women’s team… interesting.
He made his major league debut at the ripe age of 19 with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1915. Hornsby played lots of positions before he found his calling as a second basemen.
Rogers Hornsby was one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Across his 23-year career, he accumulated 2 MVPs, 2 Triple Crowns, a World Series Championship, 2900 hits, and 127 WAR.
While those stats sound insane, what’s crazier is that during a 5 year stretch from 1921-25, Hornsby hit .402. In 1922 he had one of his best seasons when he hit .401 with 42 Home Runs. It’s no surprise that he has a lifetime 175 OPS+ and a .358 Batting average.
Most Valuable Rogers Hornsby Baseball Cards
Rogers Hornsby Rookie Card
Depending on who you ask, Hornsby has two different Rookie cards. His 1916-1920 W-UNC and 1917 E135.
Due to distribution years with the strip card, it technically is his first card but spans over a few years. His E135 is his first single-year release.
1916-20 W-UNC #7
The W-UNC is also known as Big Heads were strip cards distributed from 1916 to 1920. Besides Hornsby, it also features a rookie card of George Sisler. Hornsby only has 12 graded with PSA so finding a copy of this card can be tough
1917 E135 #80
The E135 Hornsby is much more desirable than the Big Head. These were larger cards that had a black/white photo and an advertisement back. Each back was from a different company including the likes of Collins-McCarthy and Boston Store. In total, the set has 200 cards.
If you are looking for a low/mid-grade copy, expect to pay 5 figures or more. They are tough cards to find and have a strong collector base.
1917-20 Felix Mendelsohn
The Felix Mendelsohn cards are named after the photographer who took them. They are oversized cards and have the player’s name and team written in black
1921 E121 American Caramel Series of 80
This card shows Hornsby with a bat resting on his shoulder. In addition to this card, there is one that is just like it from the same year but it’s part of a Series of 120
1921 E253 Oxford Confectionery
This was a series of 20 candy cards released in 1921. The Rogers Hornsby Baseball card features a full image going across the top with a name underneath it.
1922 E120 American Caramel
I wanted to feature a Roger Hornsby baseball card from his best season. One which I’d argue is also one of the best seasons all-time by a baseball player. In 1922 he hit over .400 with 41 HRs while winning the Triple crown.
1922 Neilson's Chocolate
This card was made by a Chocolate company. It looks almost exactly the same as the previous card mentioned. The only difference is the stock of the card
1923 Fleer #55
This was Fleer’s first sports card release. The design on them lines up with the W515. The only difference is the back of the card. The W515 strip cards have a blank back whereas the fleer has a back saying Frank H. Fleer Corporation.
Pictured below is the W515 that I have in my collection
1923 Willard Chocolate
Aside from Neilson’s, another chocolate that was made cards during this era. This card depicts Rodgers swinging and looks unique compared to other cards around the same time period.
1926 Spalding Champions
This is a smaller sized card, but has the “batt on shoulder” pic. This card is from the same Spalding company that still makes sports equipment today.
1927 E210 York Caramel
Rodger’s Hornsby has a bat on his shoulder on this pose but it’s a different picture. The York Caramel picture appears darker than a normal card
1928 Yuengling's Ice Cream
This card looks similar compared to his other cards. The only major difference is the year and the Ice cream ad on the back
1929 R316 Kashin Publications
These is an oversized card with a unique image of Hornsby. it’s definite a bit of an oddball when compared to other cards but still cool to collect.
1933 Goudey #119 and #188
Card #119 Cardinals
Card #188 Browns
Hornsby has two Goudey cards within the set. One is a horizontal card that has him fielding. The other features him kneeling at the top of a dugout.
The horizontal card #119 has him with the Cardinals and the Vertical #188 is when he was with the Browns.
In 1933, the Cardinals had cut Hornsby mid-way throughout the season. Hornsby was still having a productive season batting .325 in only 46 games. After that, the St. Louis Browns picked him up. Hornsby would play the remainder of his career with them as a player-manager.
1933 Tattoo Orbit
Tattoo Orbits were another release in 1933 year. Produced in Chicago, they mainly focused on midwestern teams as the source of the players featured. The Rogers Hornsby baseball card is considered an SP within the set (Only HOF SP) and is the most expensive card from the release.
1937 O-Pee-Chee
Many people know that OPC created cards throughout the 60s when Topps gave them a license to print their cards. In fact, one of the rarest Nolan Ryan Cards is a 1968 OPC Rookie!
But in 1937 OPC had a baseball card set. It features early cards of Bob Feller and Joe DiMaggio. These cards are really tough to come across.
I’ve never seen one in person to this day. For Hornsby, his 37 OPC is considered to be the last playing day card in his career.
Longterm Potential of Rogers Hornsby Baseball Cards
Roger Hornsby baseball cards have continued to increase in value over the past few years. He is a pre war superstar and a Cardinals legend.
