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Honus Wagner Photo Gallery
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Let’s Remember the Great Honus Wagner’s Birthday!
“He was a gentle, kind man, a storyteller…He was the most beloved man in baseball before Ruth.” – Historian / Author Bill James
We can’t let this week go by without mentioning the birthday anniversary of Honus Wagner, born on February 24, 1874, 150 years ago yesterday.
Before I get into his career statistics, he’s a few more quotes about the man many consider one of the best ever:
“When he fielded grounders, his huge hands also collected large scoops of infield dirt, which accompanied his throws to first like the tail of a comet.” –Baseball Library, Honus Wagner page.
“He was the nearest thing to a perfect player no matter where his manager chose to play him. The way to get a ball past Honus is to hit it eight feet over his head.” – John McGraw
“Spike Honus Wagner? It would have taken quite a foolhardy man.” – Ty Cobb
“There is something Lincolnesque about him, his rugged homeliness, his simplicity…” – Sportswriter Arthur Daley
Honus Wagner’s Career
Honus Wagner, “The Flying Dutchman,” played 21 seasons in the major leagues (1897-1917). He started with Louisville (1897-1899) and then the rest of his career was with the Pirates (1900-1917). Wagner managed the Pirates briefly in 1917, and after retirement became a coach for 39 years, including hitting instructor from 1933-1951. Arky Vaughan, Ralph Kiner, Pie Traynor were some of his notable pupils.
Over his career, Wagner hit .329, with 3400 hits (7th all-time), 101 home runs, 1732 RBIs (21st all-time), 722 stolen bases (10th all-time), and a .391 on-base percentage. He won eight batting titles (tied for the most in National League history with Tony Gwynn). He was a five-time National League leader in RBIs and also in stolen bases; a six-time slugging average leader; and was the star of four pennant winners and the 1909 World Series.
There’s always been much debate as to who was the better player, Cobb or Wagner. Cobb is frequently cited as the greatest player of the Dead Ball Era, but many of their contemporaries regarded Wagner as the better all-around player. Many baseball historians consider Wagner to be the greatest shortstop ever. Cobb himself called Wagner “maybe the greatest star ever to take the diamond.”
Later this year, June 9, will mark the 110th anniversary of a significant milestone in his career. On that date in 1914, Wagner became the second player ever to collect 3000 hits when he doubled off the Phillies’ Erskine Mayer. Cap Anson was the only other major leaguer to have 3000 hits by this date. I hope to honor that date as well.
His number 33 has been retired by the Pirates. He was selected to both the major league All-Century team and the All-Time team. Honus Wagner was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1936 as one of the first five members.
Gary Livacari
Photo Credits: All from Google search
Information: Excerpts edited from the Honus Wagner Wikipedia page.
Statistics from Baseball Reference.com, Honus Wagner page
Gary Livacari
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Very nice article about a SS from a by-gone era : Honus Wagner. To expound on the never-ending debates that BB fans often have; {regarding the comparison of players from yesteryear to their counterparts that play today}, I pose the question….how would Wagner fare if he matched up against MLB players of today ? Would he have the same grace of going deep in the hole, to field a short hop back-hand, and then throw a perfect, off-balance seed to 1st base ? Probably so. Would he have the same {or near same} range of an Ozzie Smith ? or a Derek Jeter ? Probably so. And how would his power numbers compare to those of today’s short-stops ? His 101 career HRs in 21 seasons; {less than 5 on average per year}, would be considered meager by today’s standards. But of course, as we BHCA enthusiasts know, the game was played entirely different than it is today; with different tactics used to achieve success than the ones emphasized today. Not to mention larger field dimensions in his day. But, all things considered, Wagner was indeed a super-star of his era. He is deserving of every accolade. And as you mention, it’s often been noted that he had super huge hands. And…he had looooong; almost ape-like, arms. Enjoyed this piece of work, Gary. Thnx. {Hey, I see you guys re-signed Bellinger for a “mere” $80M. Maybe that’ll be added incentive for another good year like 2023 was ?} “PLAY BALL”
Seeing how powerfully built Wagner was, I gotta figure that with today’s lively ball he would be a 40-50 homers a year guy.
The story I heard about Wagner and Cobb is that in the 1909 World Series Cobb was on first base. He yelled down to Wagner, “Hey, Krauthead, I’m coming down”. He did. The throw beat Cobb to the base. Wagner was waiting there with the ball which he promptly slammed into Cobb’s face. Cobb got up, spitting blood and teeth. As belligerent as Cobb was, he did not challenge Wagner.
As for Cobb’s ethnic slur, well, things were different back then.
I think that if today’s players went to yesteryear to play the greats of 100 years ago, the 20th century players would win. If the old timers came to play today, the current crop would win. And I seem to remember that a play by play analysis of the 1909 Serious showed that the stolen base incident didn’t happen, but it’s a good story. Interesting that, alone among his contemporaries, Wagner still has some support for being the best ever at his position.