What happened exactly 100 years ago : The great things two men accomplished
- Makio Mukai
- Oct 31
- 3 min read
One hundred years ago, in 1925, a remarkable event took place in Major League Baseball. This year, 2025, marks the 100th anniversary of that event, yet it's not even mentioned in Japan. What about in the United States?
That remarkable event was Rogers Hornsby winning the Triple Crown. This was Hornsby's second Triple Crown. He was the first player in Major League Baseball history to win the Triple Crown twice (later Ted Williams was the only player to do so twice). Furthermore, his batting average that year was over .400, making him the last Triple Crown winner to do so. Furthermore, his Triple Crown win that year was the only one in Major League Baseball history to do so while also serving as a manager.
I've been an avid Major League Baseball fan since I was eight years old, but since high school I've also developed a strong interest in American literature. For me, 1925, 100 years ago, marks the publication of a masterpiece novel that will remain in the history of American literature: F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby."
Whenever I visit the United States, I always make it a point to spend an entire day in a large bookstore. This is because I want to keep up with the latest American publishing trends in all genres.
About 10 years ago, I spent an entire day in one large bookstore. The walls and pillars of the store were adorned with large posters of famous authors' masterpieces. Among them, there were three authors who had two of their works on display: Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls," John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Of Mice and Men," and F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" and "This Side of Paradise." Of these, only "The Great Gatsby" was on display in two places. Although this was merely an experience in one bookstore, I was impressed by the special treatment that "The Great Gatsby" received as a masterpiece in the United States.
Two men from completely different fields accomplished great things that will go down in history 100 years ago, and these two, Rogers Hornsby and F. Scott Fitzgerald, were both born in 1896.
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote some great novels, but he is said to have lived a flamboyant lifestyle, become addicted to alcohol, and even started writing screenplays to make money...Some say he only had one film credit.
However, he seemed to have recognized the importance of baseball in American culture and seems to have been a baseball fan. Therefore, F. Scott Fitzgerald would have known that Rogers Hornsby had won the Triple Crown for the second time in 1925, the year he published “The Great Gatsby”, and he likely acknowledged that Rogers Hornsby was a great baseball player.
On the other hand, Rogers Hornsby is said to have never drunk alcohol, and also to have never read books or watched movies because he thought it was bad for his eyes. So, I think he had no interest in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novels and film.
“The Great Gatsby” is undoubtedly a masterpiece that will be read by many, but I don't think every literary fan will be moved by it. Some may dislike its overflowing sentimentality. But I'm sure every Major League Baseball fan will be moved and continue to talk about Rogers Hornsby's records: he won the Triple Crown twice, led the batting average seven times, batted in the .400 range three times, and had the highest career batting average of .358 for a right-handed hitter...
Rogers Hornsby is said to be the greatest right-handed hitter in Major League history, and I agree.
( If I’ve made a mistake or left out something important, please let me know. I’ll try to make corrections or additions.)