Schnautz: A quiet place of rest for one of Texas’s, and baseball’s, best, Rogers Hornsby
From Aaron Schnautz at Reporting Texas on November 18, 2016:
Austin’s best-kept baseball secret lies off of FM 969, just east of Blue Bluff Road in eastern Travis County. Behind a metal gate, posted with signs to deter vandals, a narrow gravel path twists half a mile downhill toward the Colorado River and a time long forgotten.
Mesquite trees and cacti block the view on each side. Visitors pass a 1936 Texas Centennial marker commemorating the first house built in Travis County before the path opens to a field that is home to one of the oldest cemeteries in Texas.
Nine miles east of the capital, after the skyscrapers fade from view and congested city streets open to country highways, dedicated baseball fans and history buffs can find the final resting place of Rogers Hornsby, one of the greatest baseball players ever.
The 27th inductee of the National Baseball Hall of Fame was born in 1896 in Winters, Texas, the youngest of six kids. “The Rajah” signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1915 and would amass 2,930 hits, including 301 home runs, during his illustrious 23-year career. His .424 batting average during the 1924 season is a record that still stands today. At .366, Ty Cobb is the only player to better Hornsby’s .358 career average.
“Not many people know his grave is there,” said Hugh Hornsby, Rogers’ first cousin once removed.
Read the full article here: http://reportingtexas.com/a-quiet-place-of-rest-for-one-of-texas-and-baseballs-best/
Originally published: November 18, 2016. Last Updated: November 18, 2016.