June 15, 1927: Rajah Returns To St. Louis

     On June 15, 1927, Rogers Hornsby returned to St. Louis for the first time since being traded to the New York Giants in December of 1926. It was said Hornsby was given the town before the contest, took place, then was ceremoniously introduced before being given a gold watch that was presented by the Mayor of St. Louis, Victor Miller.  After the pregame  festivities came to a close, his former teammate Jessie Haines proceeded to two-hit Rajah's new club, which led to a 5-0 Cardinals victory over the New Yorkers.

     Burleigh Grimes got the nod for the Giants, and was rocked for three runs quickly, with Billy Southworth put one in the seats with two men on in the first. Grimes was tossed in the second inning for arguing balls and strikes after walking in a run with two outs. His successor, Don Songer inherited a bases loaded jam and walked in another run before he could get out of it. From there Songer settled down enough to keep the Cardinals off the board, but that hardly mattered, as Haines spun a gem. The only hits he surrendered were a second inning single to Edd Roush and a fifth inning single to Travis Jackson. The dominating performance earned Haines his 10th win of the season. He would go onto win 24 by the time that 1927 came to a close.

     When the trade for Hornsby went down there was bit of shock and outrage. However, Frankie Frisch, who Hornsby was traded for had already begun endearing himself to the St. Louis fans by the time Rogers made his way back to the park in which he had celebrated as a champion the previous October. While Hornsby was cheered before the game, Frisch was cheered during it. He played spectacular defense, reached on an error, stole a base, scored a run, and picked up a double as well. "Hornsby Day" in St. Louis turned out to be a big hit. It was big hit for Rajah before the contest began,  then it was a big hit for those boys who wore those Birds on the Bat thereafter. As history would have it, both Hornsby and Frisch would forever be celebrated members of the St. Louis Cardinals. Their tales would be told time and time again, as they both helped bring Championships to the Mound City.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN192706150.shtml