THE BASEBALL HISTORY COMES ALIVE BLOG

A Young Kid Meets Rogers Hornsby!

And you’ll never guess who that young kid was…that’s right, me!

(If you’ve heard me tell this story before, I ask for your indulgence…it’s my only connection to baseball greatness; or, as I like to say, it’s “my 15-minutes of baseball fame!”)

The story dates back to July 1960. That’s the month my widowed grandfather, Lou Livacari, moved into my family’s home in Lincolnwood, Illinois. I was ten years old at the time. My grandfather didn’t have a lot of interests or hobbies, but the one thing he loved was playing the ponies. I know he had a bookie at times, but he loved being there in person. Amidst the wonderful ambiance of the track, the excitement of racing, the nearness of horses, and being around kindred folks, he was definitely in his element. And since Lincolnwood was about a forty-five minute car ride from Arlington Park race track, you can imagine where he spent most of his time.

Then in the evenings, he would spend hours scouring over racing forms, getting ready for the next day’s action. He was always trying to devise a system that could bring him consistent winners. Quite often I would hear him say, “Gary, I think I’ve finally got the system worked out. This could be it…”

Now if you know anything about Rogers Hornsby, I think you can tell where this story is headed. By 1960 Hornsby was coming off the last two years as a coach for the Cubs, so he was living in the Chicago area. I remember he had an apartment on Sheridan Road, not far from Wrigley Field.

It’s been said of Hornsby that he had only two interests in life: baseball, and going to the track. Once he stepped off the baseball diamond, where he was one of the game’s all-time greats, I don’t think Rajah was particularly good at picking winners. You can read many stories of him losing his shirt at the track, and even borrowing gambling money from his players when he managed the Browns. I believe he was suspended once for just such a thing.

Well, I don’t know how it happened, but somehow the two “track junkies” got hooked up together. I never asked my grandfather how it happened, but I have a hunch that someone told Hornsby that this guy Lou Livacari had a winning system and was cleaning up. That may have been all Rajah needed to hear.

Anyway, sometime after my grandfather moved in, the great Rogers Hornsby suddenly started showing up at our house. He would drive there, park his car in front of our house, and then the two of them would take off in my grandfather’s car for Arlington Park, with my grandfather’s daily “picks” ready in hand.

Even at the age of ten, I was a huge baseball fan, with the Cubs already indelibly etched into my young psyche (little did I know what I was in for in the years ahead!). I remember being well aware of just who Rogers Hornsby was, and I was excited to learn my grandfather had become friends with him. Knowing this, he introduced me to Mr. Hornsby. I remember on several occasions meeting him and shaking hands with him while uttering a few polite things. I also remember speaking to him on the phone a couple times. My grandfather even got him to sign a ball for me.

Of course, the ball is long since gone. I vividly remember playing with it with my friends on our driveway and seeing the autograph gradually fade away as the ball went through rainwater and mud. Someone told me recently that an autographed Hornsby ball could be worth about five grand. Well, that’s five grand I’ll never see!

My recollection is that the two of them continued their friendship and treks to Arlington Park for most of the three years until Rogers Hornsby passed away in January of 1963. My grandfather lived until 1986. I do remember my grandfather making a few comments about the great Hall-of-Famer with his well-known abrasive personality, but I don’t remember specifically what they were about. What I wouldn’t give to be able to go back in time and ask him to tell me more about his friendship with Rogers Hornsby!

All-in-all this was quite a thrill for a young 10-year old kid—just staring on a life-long love affair with baseball—to have a baseball megastar showing up in front of his house.

Here’s a nice, modern-day epilogue to the story. About two years ago, I became Facebook friends with Brad Hornsby, Rajah’s grandson. As a matter of fact, I’m playing a Words with Friends game with him right now (he’s winning). What a coincidence that 61 years later, the grandsons of these two race track junkies, Rogers Hornsby and Lou Livacari, would meet up on something called Facebook! Whoever would have guessed it!

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