| Birthdate | 4/16/1903 |
| Death Date | 8/29/1965 |
| Debut Year | 1926 |
| Year of Induction | 1952 |
| Teams | Braves, Dodgers, Pirates, Yankees |
| Position | Right Field |
With 3,125 hits and a .333 career average, three-time batting champion Paul Waner is an underappreciated member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Three-time batting champ and 1927 Most Valuable Player Paul Waner in an underappreciated Hall of Famer. A lifetime .333 hitter with 3,125 hits, and a .404 on-base percentage, Waner enjoyed a 20-year playing career in the Major Leagues.
His ’27 campaign was his second as a big leaguer. That season he led the NL in hits, triples, RBI, batting average, and total bases.
He also set a still-standing record by collecting an extra-base hit in 14 consecutive games. During that span he slugged 12 doubles, 5 triples, and 3 home runs.
Waner had 200 or more hits on 8 occasions and hit .350 or better in six seasons. He received support in MVP balloting 8 times, including four top-5 finishes.
In the collection is this autographed page from Who’s Who in Baseball from 1933. Notice the listing of Waner’s home address at the time near top of the page.
These books contained a page for each Major Leaguer and manager and remain a sought after collectible in their own right.
The story of how Paul Waner tallied his 3,000th hit is now just a footnote in baseball history. It’s also a story worth telling.
Before Waner collected his landmark knock, just six inner-circle Cooperstown men reached the milestone. In chronological order the 3,000-hit club included Cap Anson (1897), Honus Wagner (1914), Nap Lajoie (1914), Ty Cobb (1921), Tris Speaker (1925), and Eddie Collins (1925).
Waner neared the mark in his 16th season in 1942. In the second game of a doubleheader on June 17th that year Waner’s first-inning single pushed his total to 2,999. After a 3rd-inning fly out, Waner came up again in the 5th.
That’s when something special happened.
With one out and Braves rookie Tommy Holmes on first base, Waner hit a sharp grounder to the second-base side of shortstop Eddie Joost. The Reds infielder got his glove on the ball but did not make the play. Jerry Moore, the official scorer ruled it a hit.
It was a moment most men would cherish. Not Paul Waner. Big Poison didn’t want a scoring decision – even a correct one – to give him hit #3,000.
Waner waved angrily to the press box, demanding that the call be changed to an error. Eventually the scorer relented; Waner would have to wait to collect #3,000.
After an off day for Boston, Waner and the Braves faced off against Rip Sewell and the Pittsburgh Pirates. In the top of the 5th Waner laced an RBI single to center and got what he wanted – a clean 3,000th hit.
Baseball waited more than a decade and a half before Stan Musial followed Waner as the 8th member of the 3,000-hit club. Since then, other baseball batsmen have tallied the magic number. Of them all, only Paul Waner refused the moment and demanded to do it on his terms.
In the collection is this government postcard signed by Waner and postmarked 7 years after he recorded his big hit.
Shown here is the reverse of the government postcard signed by Paul Waner. Such cards offer insight into when and where the item was signed.
By virtue of the postmark, we see this one was signed near his home in Sarasota, Florida on January 12, 1949. This was Waner’s final year as a scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Shortly after retiring from the game, Waner opened a batting cage in Sarasota. In 1952 he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Paul Waner is one of the forgotten members of the 3,000-hit club. The 20-year MLB veteran finished his career with 3,152 hits, a .333 average and a 134 OPS+.
Though he slugged only 113 home runs, Waner did bang out 605 doubles. When he retired in 1945, only Tris Speaker, Ty Cobb, Nap Lajoie, and Honus Wagner had more two-base hits. Today Waner’s total is surpassed by only 14 men in big league history. In the above letter, former Pirates teammate Mace Brown reflects on Waner’s Hall of Fame career.
Brown writes in part, “Paul was one of the best hitters ever. He would lead the league in doubles because he was one of the very few hitters who could hit down each line. He would foul off until he got a pitch he could hit to either line that he wanted.
Brown closes the letter with high praise for the 5’8”, 153-pound Waner. “Pound for pound, he was the greatest hitter I ever saw.”
Brown won 35 games for Pittsburgh from 1935-1941, including a career-high 15 games in 1938. That performance resulted in his lone All Star selection. Brown led the NL by appearing in 51 games, 49 coming out of the bullpen. All 15 of his wins came in relief.
Paul and Lloyd Waner combined to for 5,611 big league hits, the most ever by a brother combination. In fact, Big Poison and Little Poison tallied more base knocks than memorable brother trios of DiMaggio — Joe, Dom, and Vince had 4,853 hits — and Alou — Felipe, Matty, and Jesus had 5,094 hits.
From 1927-1940, the Waner brothers roamed the outfield together for the Pirates. They combined to play 32 seasons for Pittsburgh and 38 big league seasons overall.
Shown here is an autographed National Chicle Diamond Star baseball card of Lloyd Waner. Diamond Stars were issued continuously from 1934 to 1936.
Honus Wagner was still coaching for the Pirates when Paul and Lloyd Waner broke into the big leagues. Wagner often regaled rookies with tall tales of his playing days.
In this handwritten letter of March 3, 1958 Lloyd Waner writes to the organizer Honus Wagner Dedication Day. “Will be glad to help out on ole Honus Dedication Day — I have given about all my old Baseball things away — but I’ll try to rake up a few things.” The rest of the content bears reading as well.
After boldly signing his name, Waner writes the Sarasota, Florida address of his older brother Paul at the bottom of the letter.
Lloyd Waner finished with solid career numbers – a .316 career average 2,459 hits and a .316 lifetime average. His counting stats compare nicely to other Cooperstown men.
Raw stats alone don’t tell the whole story. Though he made the Hall of Fame, Lloyd Waner’s career OPS+ stands at 99. Statistically speaking, that means he was 1% worse than league-average.
Quite simply, Waner played in one of the greatest offensive eras in baseball history. His career WAR of 29.6 is shared by men nobody ever accused of being Hall of Famers – Marquis Grissom, and Dick McBride. The number is just a tick below the 29.7 of Phil Garner and Javy Lopez.
Little Poison’s 1967 election to Cooperstown remains one of the Veterans Committee’s more puzzling selections.
Shown here is a letter dated November 27, 1973 handwritten by Lloyd Waner. He responds to a collector’s question about the great players Waner suited up with.
“Yes there was a quite a bunch of great players at Pittsburgh. Hard to say who was the best.” Though he fails to identify his greatest teammate he does write, “One of my greatest thrills as the World Series against the Yankees in 1927.”
Waner continues with other recollections of his 18-year playing career before signing his name at the bottom.
The story of how Lloyd Waner tallied his milestone 3,000th hit is now a mere footnote in baseball history.
It’s also a story worth knowing.
In an unlikely turn of events, an angry Paul Waner rejected a scorer’s decision.
Waner demanded a chance to record his memorable knock cleanly – and got his wish.
This is the forgotten tale of how the 7th MLB batter to total 3,000 hits joined baseball’s exclusive club.
Read More >"Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball…"
~Jacques Barzun, 1954
Terrific story on his 3,000th hit. Thank you for sharing it!