Cardinals Trade Rogers Hornsby to the Giants for Frankie Frisch

On December 20, 1926, the St. Louis Cardinals traded Rogers Hornsby, their player-manager and reigning World Series hero, to the New York Giants for second baseman Frankie Frisch and pitcher Jimmy Ring. It remains one of the most shocking trades in baseball history, a deal that moved two future Hall of Famers and left St. Louis fans in an uproar.

Hornsby had just led the Cardinals to their first World Championship, batting .317 during the regular season and managing the club to a seven-game Series victory over the Yankees. He was widely regarded as the greatest right-handed hitter in the game, having hit over .400 three times in the previous six seasons. His .424 average in 1924 still stands as the modern record.

But Hornsby was impossible to work with. He had feuded with Cardinals owner Sam Breadon throughout the 1926 season, demanding a three-year contract at $50,000 per year. Breadon offered one year. The relationship was beyond repair. A financial complication added friction: Hornsby owned 1,167 shares of Cardinals stock, purchased at $43 per share, and demanded $105 per share in the sale.

Frisch, the "Fordham Flash," became the centerpiece of St. Louis baseball for the next decade. He hit .300 or better in seven of his next eight seasons, managed the "Gashouse Gang" Cardinals to the 1934 World Championship, and earned his own Hall of Fame plaque. Ring contributed almost nothing.

The trade was unpopular for years in St. Louis. But Breadon and Branch Rickey had judged correctly. Frisch was the better fit for the organization, and Hornsby, brilliant and difficult, would be traded again within two years.