Honus Wagner | |
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Wagner in 1903 | |
Shortstop | |
Born: Chartiers Borough, Pennsylvania, U.S. | February 24, 1874|
Died: December 6, 1955 Carnegie, Pennsylvania, U.S. | (aged 81)|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
July 19, 1897, for the Louisville Colonels | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 17, 1917, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .328 |
Hits | 3,420 |
Home runs | 101 |
Runs batted in | 1,732 |
Stolen bases | 723 |
Teams | |
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Career highlights and awards | |
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Member of the National | |
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Induction | 1936 |
Vote | 95.1% (first ballot) |
Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner (/ˈhɒnəs ˈwæɡnər/ HON-əs WAG-nər; February 24, 1874[1] – December 6, 1955[2]), was an American baseball shortstop who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1897 to 1917, mostly with the Pittsburgh Pirates.[3] Nicknamed "the Flying Dutchman" due to his superb speed and German heritage, Wagner was a prototypical five-tool player, known for being a versatile defender who could combine a strong throwing arm with the ability to play almost any defensive position as well as being capable of hitting for average and for power. In 1936, the Baseball Hall of Fame inducted Wagner as one of the first five members. He received the second-highest vote total, behind Ty Cobb's 222 and tied with Babe Ruth at 215.
Wagner began his professional baseball career in the minor leagues at the age of 15. After being noticed by a talent scout, he made his major league debut in 1897 with the Louisville Colonels. Wagner excelled at playing any position both in the infield and in the outfield. Tommy Leach, who played with Wagner for 15 years, said he was "the best third baseman in the league, he was also the best first baseman, the best second baseman, the best shortstop, and the best outfielder." He would later find fame as a shortstop, a position he wouldn't primarily play until 1903. After the Colonels folded in 1899, club president Barney Dreyfuss bought the Pittsburgh Pirates and brought along Wagner with him, where he would spend the rest of his career. He quickly established himself as the National League's premier star. Wagner won a joint-record eight NL batting titles, led the league in slugging six times, stolen bases five times and RBIs four times. With Pittsburgh, Wagner appeared in two World Series, including the inaugural 1903 World Series against the Boston Americans and the 1909 World Series against the Detroit Tigers. In the latter, Wagner hit .333 with 6 RBIs to help the Pirates win their first World Series title.
After a brief stint as manager, Wagner retired in 1917 having set numerous major league career records, including most career position player Wins Above Replacement (131.0), most extra-base hits (996), most games played (2,794), most total bases (4,870) and most at-bats (10,439), all of whom would be broken by Ty Cobb in the following decade. He also retained many other National League career records for up to nearly half a century or more, including most triples (252, still a league record), the modern record for most stolen bases (703)[a] until 1927, most runs scored (1,739) until 1944, most doubles (640) until 1958, most hits (3,420) until 1962 and most singles (2,424) until 1979. Wagner still ranks in the top 10 for hits, singles, doubles, triples and stolen bases in major league history and in the top 10 for games played, at-bats, runs scored, runs batted in and total bases in the National League.
Over a century after he retired, Wagner is still widely considered the greatest shortstop of all time, praised by fellow players and journalists alike for his playing ability. Contrasting Babe Ruth's popularity among fans with Cobb's reputation as an individualistic player, Lou Gehrig named Wagner "a ballplayer's ballplayer," always willing to help his team win. Cobb himself, who played against Wagner in the 1909 World Series, called Wagner "maybe the greatest star ever to take the diamond"[4] and his teammate Sam Crawford considered Wagner the greatest player who ever lived. Journalist Hugh Fullerton wrote of Wagner: "“If a man with a voice loud enough to make himself heard all over the United States should stand on top of Pike’s Peak and ask ‘Who is the greatest ballplayer?’ 27,806,009 persons would shout ‘Wagner.'"[5] Among shortstops, Wagner ranks first in career WAR and tenth overall for all major league players. Wagner is also the subject of the T206 Honus Wagner baseball card, one of the rarest baseball cards in existence. Its production ran from 1909–1911, leaving only about 50 known copies in circulation. In 2021, a T206 Honus Wagner sold for $6.6 million, making it the second-most expensive sports card in history.
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