Honus Wagner
Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner (/ˈhɒnəs ˈwæɡnər/ HON-əs WAG-nər; February 24, 1874 – December 6, 1955), was an American baseball shortstop who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1897 to 1917, almost entirely for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wagner won his eighth (and final) batting title in 1911, a National League record that remains unbroken to this day, and matched only once, in 1997, by Tony Gwynn. He also led the league in slugging six times and stolen bases five times. Wagner was nicknamed "the Flying Dutchman" due to his superb speed and German heritage. This nickname was a nod to the popular folk-tale made into a famous opera by the German composer Richard Wagner. 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.
| Honus Wagner | |
|---|---|
Wagner in 1903 | |
| Shortstop | |
| Born: February 24, 1874 Chartiers Borough, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| Died: December 6, 1955 (aged 81) Carnegie, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
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 | .329 |
| Hits | 3,430 |
| Home runs | 101 |
| Runs batted in | 1,732 |
| Stolen bases | 722 |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Member of the National | |
| Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1936 |
| Vote | 95.1% (first ballot) |
Most baseball historians consider Wagner to be the greatest shortstop ever and one of the greatest players ever. Ty Cobb himself called Wagner "maybe the greatest star ever to take the diamond". Honus Wagner is also the featured player of one of the rarest and the most valuable baseball cards in existence.