Honus Wagner

Honus Wagner
Birthdate 2/24/1874
Death Date 12/6/1955
Debut Year 1897
Year of Induction 1936
Teams Pirates
Positions First Base, Right Field, Shortstop

Honus Wagner and Tony Gwynn share the NL record with 8 batting championships. Wagner also led the league in slugging percentage 6 times.

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In the collection:

Honus Wagner was one of 17 men to earn an original solid gold lifetime pass

Honus Wagner was one of 17 men to earn an original solid gold lifetime pass

Imagine having a lifetime pass to any game in the National League. That’s what NL President Ford Frick bestowed upon Honus Wagner 18 years after the Flying Dutchman retired. Overjoyed by the gesture Wagner, one of the first five Hall of Fame inductees, sent a handwritten thank-you letter to Fr
19th century star Bill Dahlen calls Wager & Cobb the greatest

19th century star Bill Dahlen calls Wager & Cobb the greatest

“Bad Bill” Dahlen played from 1891-1911 and retired as baseball’s all-time leader in games played. He also ranked in the top ten in most offensive categories. From 1897 to 1911 Dahlen witnessed Honus Wagner’s first 15 big league seasons. In ten of those campaigns, Wagner was
Barney Drefuss owned the team for each of Wagner's 21 seasons

Barney Drefuss owned the team for each of Wagner's 21 seasons

All of Honus Wagner’s 21 years in the big leagues as a player were spent with owner Barney Dreyfuss‘ Louisville Colonels and Pittsburgh Pirates. In the collection is a letter handwritten by Dreyfuss who alludes to a feud with newspaper men before closing the letter with an assessment of
In 1915 Honus Wagner became the oldest player to hit a grand slam

In 1915 Honus Wagner became the oldest player to hit a grand slam

Only July 29, 1915, Honus Wagner hit a bases-loaded inside-the-park home run off of Brooklyn’s Jeff Pfeffer. The hit made the 41-year-old Wagner the oldest player in baseball history to hit a grand slam. Wagner held the record for 70 seasons. Wagner’s slam came at Pittsburgh’s Fo
Wagner held the grand slam record for 70 seasons

Wagner held the grand slam record for 70 seasons

When Honus Wagner hit a bases-loaded inside-the-park home run in 1915 at age 41, he became the oldest player in baseball history to claim a grand slam. Ole Honus went to the grave in 1955 with the record intact. Wagner’s mark was finally surpassed 70 seasons after it was set. Cincinnati’
As a coach Honus Wagner regaled players with,

As a coach Honus Wagner regaled players with, "tall stories"

After retiring as a player in 1917, Honus Wagner went through a series of jobs including coaching basketball and baseball at Carnegie Institute of Technology. Then the Great Depression wiped out his fortunes. Pirates ownership heard of Wagner’s financial hardships and offered him a job coachin
Honus Wagner mentored generations of Pirates players

Honus Wagner mentored generations of Pirates players

Upon retirement as a player, Honus Wagner stayed with the Pittsburgh organization as a coach. Along the way he mentored many Pirate greats including future Hall of Fame outfielder Lloyd Waner. In this handwritten letter of March 3, 1958 three years after Wagner’s death Little Poison writes, &#

A Story about Honus Wagner

Lifetime passes were the brainchild of NL President Ford Frick; here’s a pictorial history

June 18th, 2016 Leave a comment

Lifetime pass

A newspaper man turned league publicist turned league president came up with a brilliant idea in 1934 — reward longtime National League players with a lifetime pass to all NL games. Senior Circuit owners approved Ford Frick’s proposal at the league meeting in December of ’34. A few months later, Frick sent out ornately decorated paper Lifetime Passes to the NL’s greatest players. He even sent one to Babe Ruth who appeared in all of 28 games for the Boston Braves in 1935. A 21-year veteran of the American League, the Babe was grateful if not surprised when he remarked, “At least the National League has a heart”. An image of the original paper pass presented to Hall of Fame outfielder Sliding Billy Hamilton can be seen below. A similar pass curiously issued to Stan Coveleski, a lifetime American Leaguer is also shown. Perhaps shamed by Ruth’s remarks, the American League joined forces in 1936 to issue a pass to all Major League contests. Players with twenty or more years of service received a solid gold pass. Seventeen men qualified for the true “golden ticket” — Ruth, Fred Clarke, Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, Bill Dahlen, Harry Davis, Red Faber, Walter Johnson, […]

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"Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball…"

~Jacques Barzun, 1954