View source for Honus Wagner

{{Short description|American baseball player (1874–1955)}}
{{About|the American baseball player|people with similar names|Hans Wagner (disambiguation)|the baseball card|T206 Honus Wagner}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Honus Wagner
|position=[[Shortstop]]
|image=Honus Wagner (crop).JPG
|image_size=270px 
|caption=Wagner in 1903
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|birth_date={{Birth date|1874|2|24}}
|birth_place=[[Carnegie, Pennsylvania|Chartiers Borough, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|1955|12|6|1874|2|24}}
|death_place=[[Carnegie, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=July 19
|debutyear=1897
|debutteam=Louisville Colonels
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=September 17
|finalyear=1917
|finalteam=Pittsburgh Pirates
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.328
|stat2label=[[Hit (baseball)|Hits]]
|stat2value=3,420
|stat3label=[[Home run]]s
|stat3value=101
|stat4label=[[Run batted in|Runs batted in]]
|stat4value=1,732
|stat5label=[[Stolen base]]s
|stat5value=723
|teams=
;As player
* [[Louisville Colonels]] ({{mlby|1897}}–{{mlby|1899}})
* [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] ({{mlby|1900}}–{{mlby|1917}})
;As manager
* [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] ({{mlby|1917}})
;As coach
*[[Pittsburgh Pirates]] ({{mlby|1933}}–{{mlby|1951}})
|highlights=
* [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|1909}})
* 8× [[List of Major League Baseball batting champions|NL batting champion]] (1900, 1903, 1904, 1906–1909, 1911)
* 4× [[List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders|NL RBI leader]] (1901, 1902, 1908, 1909)
* 5× [[List of Major League Baseball annual stolen base leaders|NL stolen base leader]] (1901, 1902, 1904, 1907, 1908)
* [[Pittsburgh Pirates#Retired numbers|Pittsburgh Pirates No. 33]] retired
* [[Pittsburgh Pirates#Pirates Hall of Fame|Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame]]
* [[Major League Baseball All-Century Team]]
* [[Major League Baseball All-Time Team]]
|hoflink = National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
|hoftype = National
|hofdate=[[1936 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1936]]
|hofvote=95.1% (first ballot)
}}

'''Johannes Peter''' "'''Honus'''" '''Wagner''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɒ|n|ə|s|_|ˈ|w|æ|ɡ|n|ər}} {{respell|HAW|nəs|_|WAG|nər}}; February 24, 1874<ref name="sabr">{{sabrbio|30b27632|Jan Finkel|April 4, 2016}}</ref> – December 6, 1955<ref name=birth>{{cite web|url=http://www.infoplease.com/ipsa/A0109730.html|title=Honus Wagner|access-date=September 16, 2008 |website=infoplease.com }}</ref>) was an American [[baseball]] [[shortstop]] who played 21 seasons in [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) from 1897 to 1917, mostly with the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]].<ref name="Complete">{{Cite web|title = Honus Wagner Statistics and History {{!}} Baseball-Reference.com|url = https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wagneho01.shtml|work= [[Baseball-Reference.com]]|access-date = September 20, 2023}}</ref>  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. He is widely regarded as the greatest shortstop of all time. In {{by|1936}}, the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]] inducted Wagner as one of [[1936 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|the first five members]].

At the age of 15, Wagner began his professional baseball career in the minor leagues in 1889. After being noticed by a talent scout, he made his MLB debut in 1897 with the [[Louisville Colonels]]. Wagner excelled at playing any position both in the infield and in the outfield, eventually becoming a regular shortstop by 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 (baseball)|National League]]'s premier star. Wagner won a joint-record eight NL [[List of Major League Baseball batting champions|batting titles]], led the league in slugging six times, stolen bases five times and RBIs four times. Wagner played at least ten career games at every position except [[pitcher]] and [[catcher]].{{efn|Wagner did appear in two games as a pitcher (once in 1900 and once in 1902). He threw {{frac|8|1|3}} [[innings pitched|innings]], gave up no [[earned run]]s, recorded six [[strikeout]]s, and finished with an [[earned run average]] of 0.00 and a [[Win–loss record (pitching)|win–loss record]] of 0–0.}} With Pittsburgh, Wagner appeared in two [[World Series]], including the inaugural [[1903 World Series]] and [[1909 World Series]], the latter of which was the Pirates' first World Series title.

After a brief stint as [[player-manager]], Wagner retired in 1917 having set numerous MLB career records, extra-base hits (996), most runs scored (1,739), most games played (2,794), most hits (3,420), most total bases (4,870), and most at-bats (10,439), all of which would be broken by [[Ty Cobb]] in the following decade. He also retained many other NL career records for decades, including most triples (252, still a league record), most stolen bases in the modern era (703){{efn|Prior to 1898, a player was credited with a stolen base if he took an extra base on another player's base hit. Wagner's stolen bases total (under modern rules) is 703, 20 fewer than his overall career mark of 723.}} until 1927, most runs scored until 1944, most doubles (640) until 1958, and most hits until 1962. Wagner still ranks in the top 10 for hits, doubles, triples, stolen bases, and [[Wins above replacement|WAR]] among all major league players; and among National League record holders, he maintains his ranking in the top 10 players for games played, at-bats, runs scored, runs batted in, and total bases. 

Wagner remained involved with baseball after retirement, serving as a [[Coach (baseball)|coach]] for the Pirates. During his tenure, he helped tutor future Hall of Famers [[Arky Vaughan]] and [[Ralph Kiner]]. He was widely praised by contemporary players and journalists alike for his playing ability. 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 to 1911, leaving only about 50 known copies in circulation. In 2021, a T206 Honus Wagner sold for $6.6 million, making it the [[List of most expensive sports cards|second-most expensive sports card in history]].

==Early life==
Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner was born on February 24, 1874, to German immigrants Peter and Katheryn Wagner in the borough of Chartiers, in what is now [[Carnegie, Pennsylvania]].<ref name="Hittner, Arthur D. pp.265">[[#Hittner96|Hittner, Arthur D.]], pp. 265</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Podurgiel|first=Bob|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=August 7, 2014|title=Honus Wagner's memorabilia finds new home in Carnegie|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/local/west/2014/08/07/Honus-Wagner-s-memorabilia-finds-new-home-in-Carnegie/stories/201407310024|access-date=October 28, 2015}}</ref><ref name="DeValeria, Dennis, Jeanne pp.8">[[#DeValeria14|DeValeria, Dennis, Jeanne]], pp. 8</ref>

Wagner was one of nine children. As a child, he was called Hans by his mother, which later evolved into Honus.<ref name="DeValeria, Dennis, Jeanne pp.8"/> "Hans" was also an alternate nickname during his major league career. Wagner dropped out of school at age 12 to help his father and brothers in the [[coal mines]]. In their free time, he and his brothers played sandlot baseball and developed their skills to such an extent that three of his brothers went on to become professionals as well.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Wagner__Honus.html |title=Honus Wagner |publisher=Pabook.libraries.psu.edu |access-date=February 10, 2015|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515184023/http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Wagner__Honus.html|archive-date=May 15, 2013}}</ref>

According to Wagner's own testimony, the name "Honus" (pronounced: ''"HAW-nus"'') was a shortened form of "Johannes", adopted by baseball teammates as a nickname.<ref>Honus Wagner, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8r6X3V2vV4 "Honus Wagner Asked if Baseball was Rougher When He Played Then,"] Audio file, source unspecified. Via YouTube.com, Aug. 22, 2024; time 1:00-1:20).</ref>

Wagner's older brother, [[Butts Wagner|Albert "Butts" Wagner]], who had a brief major league career himself, is often credited with getting Honus his first tryout. Butts persuaded his manager to take a look at his younger brother. Following his brother, Wagner trained to be a barber before becoming successful in baseball.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://canonsburgfriends.blogspot.com/2010/09/hoffman-wagner-barber-shop.html |title=Canonsburg Friends: The Hoffman & Wagner Barber Shop |publisher=Canonsburgfriends.blogspot.com |date=September 27, 2010 |access-date=February 10, 2015}}</ref>

In 1916, Wagner married Bessie Baine Smith, and the couple had three daughters: Elva Katrina (b. 1918, stillborn), Betty Baine (1919–1992), and Virginia Mae (1922–1985).<ref>[http://baseballthroughtime.blogspot.ca/2013/01/what-do-we-know-about-honus-wagner.html Stories from the National Pastime: Historical Records and Baseball: What do we know about Honus Wagner?<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

==Professional career==
===Early career===
[[File:Honus Wagner, Paterson Silk Sox.jpg|thumb|Wagner as a player on the Paterson Silk Sox team, 1897. He is third from left in the back row.]]

Honus' brother Albert "Butts" Wagner was considered the ballplayer of the family. Albert suggested Honus in 1895 when his Inter-State League team was in need of help. Wagner played for five teams in that first year, in three different leagues over the course of 80 games.

In 1896, [[Ed Barrow]] played with Wagner with the [[Wheeling Nailers (baseball)|Wheeling Nailers]], and decided to take him with him to his next team, the [[Paterson Silk Weavers]] ([[Atlantic League (1896–1900)|Atlantic League]]). Barrow proved to be a good talent scout, as Wagner could play wherever he was needed, including all three bases and the outfield. Wagner hit .313 for Paterson in 1896 and .375 in 74 games in 1897.<ref name="sabr"/>

{{quote box
 | quote = At shortstop there is only one candidate, the immortal Honus Wagner. He was just head and shoulders above anyone else in that position. Fellows like [[Marty Marion|Marion]], [[Dave Bancroft|Bancroft]], [[Roger Peckinpaugh|Peck]] and [[Billy Jurges]] were all great fielders. But Honus could more than out-field all of them. He was perhaps the greatest right-handed hitter of all time. He had remarkably long arms, hams for hands, and just drew the ball to him. Ed Barrow once told me he could have been as good in any position but he made his greatest name as shortstop. He led the National League seven times at bat and he was always up with the leaders when he was in his forties.
|source=&nbsp;—Babe Ruth<ref>{{Cite book|author1=Babe Ruth |author2=Bob Considine |title=The Babe Ruth Story|publisher=Scholastic|year=1948|page=224}}</ref>
| width = 40%
| align = right
}}

===Louisville Colonels (1897–1899)===
[[File:1897 Honus Wagner.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Wagner in 1897]]

Recognizing that Wagner should be playing at the highest level, Barrow contacted the [[Louisville Colonels]], who had finished last in the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] in 1896 with a record of 38–93. They were doing better in 1897 when Barrow persuaded club president [[Barney Dreyfuss]], club secretary [[Harry Pulliam]], and outfielder-manager [[Fred Clarke]] to go to Paterson to see Wagner play. Dreyfuss and Clarke were not impressed with the awkward-looking man, not surprising, as Wagner was oddly built: he was {{height|ft=5|in=11}} tall, weighed {{convert|200|lb|kg}}, and had a barrel chest, massive shoulders, heavily muscled arms, huge hands, and incredibly bowed legs that deprived him of any grace and several inches of height. Pulliam, though, persuaded Dreyfuss and Clarke to take a chance on him. Wagner debuted with Louisville on July 19 and hit .338 in 61 games.<ref name="sabr"/>

By his second season, Wagner was already one of the best hitters in the National League although he came up short a percentage point from finishing the season at .300. Following the {{Baseball year|1899}} season, the NL contracted from twelve to eight teams, with the Colonels one of four teams eliminated. Owner [[Barney Dreyfuss]], who had purchased half ownership in the Pirates, took Wagner and many of his other top players with him to the Pittsburgh team.

[[Tommy Leach]] recounted his impressions of joining the Louisville club in 1898 with hopes of winning the starting job at third base:

{{blockquote|text=I hardly had time to get settled before it hits me that this guy the Louisville club had at third base was practically doing the impossible. I'm sitting on the bench the first day I reported, and along about the third inning an opposing batter smacks a line drive down the third-base line that looked like at least a sure double. Well, this big Louisville third baseman jumped over after it like he was on steel springs, slapped it down with his bare hand, scrambled after it at least ten feet, and fired a bullet over to first base. The runner was out by two or three steps.

I'm sitting on the bench and my eyes are popping out. So I poked the guy sitting next to me, and asked him who the devil that big fellow was on third base.

"Why, that's Wagner," he says. "He's the best third baseman in the league."

And it also turned out that while Honus 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. That was in fielding. And since he led the league in batting eight times between 1900 and 1911, you know that he was the best hitter, too. As well as the best base runner.|author=Tommy Leach, as told to Lawrence Ritter|source=''[[The Glory of Their Times]]''}}

===Pittsburgh Pirates (1900–1917)===
The move to the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] signified Wagner's emergence as a premier hitter. In 1900, Wagner won his first batting championship with a .381 mark and also led the league in [[double (baseball)|doubles]] (45), [[triple (baseball)|triples]] (22), and [[slugging percentage]] (.573), all of which were career highs. For the next nine seasons, Wagner's average did not fall below .330.

[[File:1905 Honus Wagner National Police Gazette.jpg|thumb|right|Honus Wagner in 1905]]

In {{Baseball year|1901}}, the [[American League]] began to sign National League players, creating a bidding war, which depleted the league of many talented players. Wagner was offered a $20,000 contract by the [[Chicago White Sox]], but turned it down and continued to play with the Pirates.

Prior to 1904, Wagner had played several positions but settled into the shortstop role full-time that season, where he became a skilled fielder. His biography on BaseballBiography.com describes his gritty style:

<blockquote>Bowlegged, barrel-chested, long-limbed ... he was often likened to an octopus. 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.<ref>[https://baseballbiography.com/honus-wagner-1874 Honus Wagner<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref></blockquote>

In 1898, Wagner won a distance contest in [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]] by throwing a baseball more than {{convert|403|ft}}.<ref>[https://baseballbiography.com/honus-wagner-1874 Honus Wagner|BaseballBiography.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>  In August 1899, he became the first player credited with stealing second base, third, and home in succession under the new rule differentiating between advanced bases and stolen bases. He repeated the feat in 1902, 1907, and 1909. Wagner retired with the National League record for most steals of home (27), which was broken by [[Greasy Neale]] in 1922.

In September 1905, Wagner signed a contract to produce the first bat with a player's signature, the [[Louisville Slugger]], becoming the first sportsperson to endorse a commercial product;<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Surowiecki |first=James|url=https://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2009/12/21/091221ta_talk_surowiecki|title=The Tiger Woods scandal and celebrity endorsements |magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|date= December 21, 2009|access-date=September 28, 2012}}</ref> the Honus Wagner was to become a best-seller for years. One month later, with one point separating him from Reds center fielder [[Cy Seymour]] for the batting title, Wagner fell short in a head-to-head matchup on the final day of the season, with Seymour collecting four hits to Wagner's two, as contemporary press reports stated that the fans were far more interested in the Seymour-Wagner battle than in the outcome of the games.

Shortly before the {{Baseball year|1908}} season, Wagner retired. In desperation, owner Barney Dreyfuss offered him $10,000 per year, making him the highest-paid Pirate for many years. He returned to the Pirates early in the 1908 season, and finished two home runs short of the league's [[Major League Baseball Triple Crown|Triple Crown]], leading the league in hitting (for the sixth time)‚ hits‚ total bases‚ doubles‚ triples‚ RBI‚ and stolen bases. Wagner took over the batting lead from the [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]]' flamboyant outfielder [[Mike Donlin]] during a July 25 game against the Giants and their star pitcher [[Christy Mathewson]]. Wagner was 5-for-5 in the game; after each hit, he reportedly held up another finger to Donlin, who went hitless, and who had just beaten runner-up Wagner by a wide margin in a "most popular player" poll.

[[Bill James]] cites Wagner's 1908 season as the greatest single season for any player in baseball history. He notes that the league ERA of 2.35 was the lowest of the dead-ball era and about half of the ERAs of modern baseball. Since Wagner hit .354 with 109 RBI in an environment when half as many runs were scored as today, he asks, "if you had a Gold Glove shortstop, like Wagner, who drove in 218 runs, what would he be worth?"<ref>The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, by Bill James, The Free Press, 2001, pp. 548–549.</ref>

He was the first winner of The World's Championship Batsman's Cup, in 1908, made by Welshman [[George "Honey Boy" Evans]].

===1903 and 1909 World Series===
[[File:Honus Wagner by Conlon c1910-11.jpg|thumb|left|Wagner in 1910]]

In {{Baseball year|1903}}, the Pirates played the [[Boston Americans]] in [[Major League Baseball]]'s inaugural [[World Series]]. Wagner, by this point, was an established star and much was expected of him, especially since the Pirates' starting rotation was badly depleted by injury. Wagner himself was not at full strength and hit only .222 for the series. The Americans, meanwhile, had some fans, called the "[[Royal Rooters]]" who, whenever Wagner came to bat, sang "Honus, Honus, why do you hit so badly?" to the tune of "[[Tessie]]", a popular song of the day. The Rooters, led by Boston bartender [[Michael T. McGreevy|Michael "Nuf Ced" McGreevy]], even traveled to Pittsburgh to continue their heckling. Pittsburgh lost in the best-of-nine series, five games to three, to a team led by pitchers [[Cy Young]] and [[Bill Dinneen]] and [[third baseman]]–[[manager (baseball)|manager]] [[Jimmy Collins]]. [[Christy Mathewson]], in his book "Pitching in a Pinch" wrote: "For some time after "Hans" Wagner's poor showing in the world's series of 1903 ... it was reported that he was "yellow" (poor in the clutch). This grieved the Dutchman deeply, for I don't know a ballplayer in either league who would assay less quit to the ton than Wagner ... This was the real tragedy in Wagner's career. Notwithstanding his stolid appearance, he is a sensitive player, and this has hurt him more than anything else in his life ever has."<ref name=guide>{{Cite book|last=Mathewson|first=Christy|title=Pitching In A Pinch|publisher=Read Books|year=2008|pages=324 pgs|isbn=978-1-4086-9102-1}}</ref>

Wagner was distraught by his performance. The following spring, he refused to send his portrait to a "Hall of Fame" for batting champions, citing his play in the World Series.  "I was too bum last year", he wrote. "I was a joke in that Boston-Pittsburgh Series. What does it profit a man to hammer along and make a few hits when they are not needed only to fall down when it comes to a pinch?  I would be ashamed to have my picture up now."<ref name=ashamed>{{Cite book|last=Valeria| first=Dennis and Jeanne Burke|title=Honus Wagner: A Biography|publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press|year=1995|pages=85–86|isbn=0-8229-5665-9}}</ref>

Wagner and the Pirates were given a chance to prove that they were not "yellow" in {{Baseball year|1909}}. The Pirates faced [[Ty Cobb]]'s [[Detroit Tigers]]. The series was the only meeting of the two superior batsmen of the day, and the first time that the batting champions of each league faced one another (this later occurred three more times, in 1931, 1954, and 2012 World Series). Wagner was by this time 35 years old, Cobb just 22.

This time, Wagner could not be stifled as he outhit Cobb, .333 to .231, and [[stolen base|stole]] six bases, establishing the new Series record. The speed demon Cobb only managed two steals, one of which Cobb himself admitted was a botched call. Wagner recounted: "We had him out at second. We put up a squawk, but [[Silk O'Loughlin]], the [[umpire (baseball)|umpire]], overruled it. We kept the squawk going for a minute or so, making no headway of course, and then Cobb spoke up. He turned to O'Loughlin, an American League umpire, by the way, and said, 'Of course I was out. They had me by a foot. You just booted the play, so come on, let's play ball.'"<ref name=williams>{{Cite book | last=Williams | first=Joe | title=The Joe Williams Baseball Reader|publisher=Algonquin Books|year=1989|pages=[https://archive.org/details/joewilliamsbaseb0000will/page/205 205 pgs]|isbn=0-945575-07-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/joewilliamsbaseb0000will/page/205}}</ref>

There was also a story that was widely circulated over the years and famously recounted in Lawrence Ritter's ''The Glory of Their Times'', that at one point Cobb was on first; he bragged to Wagner that he was going to steal second and threatened to assault him physically doing it; Wagner defiantly dared him to try it and placed an especially rough tag to Cobb's mouth; and the two exchanged choice words. Cobb denied it in his autobiography, and the play-by-play of the 1909 World Series confirms that the event could not have happened as stated: Cobb was never tagged out by Wagner in a caught-stealing. 
The Pirates won the series in seven games behind the pitching of rookie [[Babe Adams]].

===Later career===
[[File:Honus Wagner by Conlon, 1914.jpg|thumb|right|Wagner in 1914]]
In 1910, Wagner's average fell to .320, his lowest average since {{Baseball year|1898}}. Nevertheless, he aged exceptionally well; the three highest [[OPS+]] seasons by any shortstop aged 35 or older belong to Wagner, and even his age-41 season ranks eighth on the list.

Wagner won the 1911 batting title by the narrowest of margins. He went hitless in a 1–0 win against the Cubs on May 30, but a successful league protest by the Cubs wiped out the result (and Wagner's at-bats). Wagner ended up edging the [[Boston Rustlers]]' [[Doc Miller]], .334 to .333. The Pirates were in contention into August, but an ankle injury sidelined Wagner for 25 games and the team slid from the race.

[[File:Honus_Wagner_c1915.jpg|thumb|left|170px|Wagner in 1915]]
On June 28, {{Baseball year|1914}}, at age 40, Wagner recorded his 3,000th [[hit (baseball)|hit]], a single off rookie [[Cincinnati Reds]] pitcher [[Pete Schneider]], the second player in baseball history to reach the figure after [[Cap Anson]]. [[Nap Lajoie]] would join them three months later in the season. This accomplishment, however, came during a down period for Wagner and Pirates. Wagner hit only .252 in 1914, the lowest average of his career. In July 1915, he became the oldest player to hit a [[Grand slam (baseball)|grand slam]], a record which stood for 70 years until topped by 43-year-old [[Tony Pérez]]. In 1916, Wagner became the oldest player to hit an inside-the-park home run.

[[File:1915 Honus Wagner by Charles M Conlon-crop.jpg|thumb|right|Wagner in 1916]]
In {{Baseball year|1917}}, following another retirement, Wagner returned for his final, abbreviated season. Returning in June, he was spiked in July and played only sparingly for the remainder of the year, batting .265. He briefly held the role of interim manager, but after going 1–4, Wagner told owner Dreyfuss the job was not for him. He retired as the NL's all-time hit leader, with 3,430.  (Subsequent research has since revised this total to 3,418.)  It took 45 years for St. Louis' [[Stan Musial]] to surpass Wagner's hit total.

[[File:1917 Honus Wagner.jpg|thumb|left|Wagner in 1917]]
Wagner has been considered one of the very best all-around players to ever play baseball since the day he retired in 1917. Baseball historian and statistician [[Bill James]] named Honus Wagner as the second-best player of all time after Babe Ruth, rating him as the best major league player in 1900 and each year from 1902 to 1908.<ref>The New Bill James Historical Baseball Almanac, by Bill James, The Free Press, 2001</ref><ref>{{Cite book|author=Bill James|title=The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract|publisher=Villard|year=1988|page=448}}</ref> Statisticians John Thorn and Pete Palmer rate Wagner as ninth all-time in their "Total Player Ranking".<ref name=ranking>{{Cite book| last=Thorn|first=John|title=Total Baseball | publisher=Penguin USA|year=1997|pages=2464 pgs|isbn=0-670-87511-2}}</ref> Many of the greats who played or managed against Wagner, including Babe Ruth, [[Ty Cobb]], [[Rogers Hornsby]], and [[Walter Johnson]], list him at shortstop on their All-Time teams.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Bill James|title=The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract|publisher=Villard|year=1988|page=157}}</ref>

===Life after baseball===
[[File:Honus Wagner 1940 Play Ball card.jpeg|thumb|Wagner as a Pirates coach, c. 1940]]

Wagner was not finished playing baseball after his retirement from major league baseball. He managed and played for a semi-pro team.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=djft3U1LymYC&dat=19260523&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|title=The Old Boy Himself|work=[[The Pittsburgh Press]]|date=May 23, 1926|page=Sporting Section, p.7, c.4}}</ref> After retirement, Wagner served the Pirates as a coach for 39 years, most notably as a hitting instructor from {{Baseball year|1933}} to {{Baseball year|1952}}. [[Arky Vaughan]], [[Ralph Kiner]], [[Pie Traynor]] ([[player-manager (baseball)|player-manager]] from {{Baseball year|1934}}–{{Baseball year|1939}}), and [[Hank Greenberg]] (although Greenberg was in his final major league season in 1947, his only season with the Pirates, and very well established) all future Hall of Famers, were notable "pupils" of Wagner. During this time, he wore uniform number 14 but later changed it to his more famous 33, which was later the number retired for him. (His entire playing career was in the days before uniform numbers were worn.) His appearances at National League stadiums during his coaching years were always well received and Wagner remained a beloved ambassador of baseball. Wagner also coached baseball and basketball at Carnegie Institute of Technology, which is now part of [[Carnegie Mellon University]].

In 1928, Wagner ran for the office of [[Sheriff]] of [[Allegheny County, Pennsylvania]], but lost. He was appointed as a deputy of the [[Allegheny County Sheriff's Office]] in 1942. He also ran a well-known [[sports equipment|sporting goods]] company. A sporting goods store bearing the name "Honus Wagner" operated in downtown Pittsburgh for 93 years before closing permanently in 2011.<ref name="close">{{cite news|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11005/1115586-28.stm|title=Downtown Honus Wagner store has finally struck out|author=Mark Belko|date=January 5, 2011|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|access-date=January 20, 2011}}</ref>

The Pirates hosted the [[1944 Major League Baseball All-Star Game]] at Forbes Field. Wagner was invited to be an honorary coach for the National League squad, the first time this honor was bestowed in Major League Baseball's All-Star Game.<ref>{{cite news |title=National League Managers Pick 6 Cardinals for All-Star Squad; Munger and Lanier Lead Hurlers, With Walters of Reds – Musial, Walker of Brooks and Nicholson Top Hitters|author=Louis Effrat|author-link=Louis Effrat|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 4, 1944|url=https://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F70E1FF73B55157B93C6A9178CD85F408485F9|page=23 }}</ref>

Wagner lived the remainder of his life in Pittsburgh, where he was well known as a friendly figure around town. He died on December 6, 1955, at the age of 81,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hageman |first1=William |title=Honus: The Life and Times of a Baseball Hero |date=1996 |publisher=Sports Publishing LLC |isbn=978-1-57167-042-7 |page=182 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TgTzWFCV1HoC&pg=PA182 |language=en}}</ref> and he is buried at Jefferson Memorial Cemetery in the South Hills area of [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]].

===Film legacy===
Wagner, along with his famous baseball card, was one of the earliest athletes to make the crossover into pop culture film. He starred as a sports hero in 1919's ''Spring Fever'' with [[Moe Howard]] and [[Shemp Howard]] of the [[Three Stooges]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ourgame.mlblogs.com/lost-and-found-baseball-part-2-12163c87037b|title=Lost (and Found) Baseball, Part 2|date=May 24, 2019}}</ref> and has been depicted as the subject of ''[[The Winning Season (2004 film)|The Winning Season]]'' (2004) and in a brief scene in ''[[Cobb (film)|Cobb]]'' (1994).

===Baseball legacy===
[[File:Honuswagnerstatue.JPG|thumb|upright|right|[[Frank Vittor]]'s [[Statue of Honus Wagner|''J. P. "Honus" Wagner'']] statue at [[PNC Park]]]]
{{MLBBioRet
|Image  = Pirates_33HW.png
|Name   = Honus Wagner
|Number = 33
|Team   = Pittsburgh Pirates
|Year   = 1956
|}}

When the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] held its first election in 1936, Wagner tied for second in the voting with [[Babe Ruth]], trailing Cobb. A 1942 [[The Sporting News|''Sporting News'']] poll of 100 former players and managers confirmed this opinion, with Wagner finishing 43 votes behind Cobb and six ahead of Ruth. In 1969, on the 100th anniversary of professional baseball, a vote was taken to honor the greatest players ever, and Wagner was selected as the [[Major League Baseball Centennial All-Time Teams|all-time shortstop]]. In 1999, 82 years after his last game and 44 years since his death, Wagner was voted Number 13 on ''The Sporting News''' list of the 100 Greatest Players, where he was again the highest-ranking shortstop. That same year, he was selected to the [[Major League Baseball All-Century Team]] by the oversight committee, after losing out in the popular vote to [[Cal Ripken Jr.]] and [[Ernie Banks]].<ref name=century>{{cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/limc100.shtml|title=All Century Team|access-date=September 15, 2008|publisher=baseball-almanac.com}}</ref>

[[Christy Mathewson]] asserted that Wagner was the only player he faced who did not have a weakness. Mathewson felt that the only way to keep Wagner from hitting was not to pitch to him.<ref>Mathewson, Christy. "Pitching in a Pinch." Brunauer Press, 2008.</ref>

"A stirring march and two-step", titled "Husky Hans", and "respectfully dedicated to Hans Wagner, Three-time Champion Batsman of The National League" was written by William J. Hartz in 1904.

[[Bill James]] says that Wagner is easily the greatest shortstop of all time, noting that the difference between Wagner and the second greatest shortstop, in James' estimation [[Arky Vaughan]], is roughly the same as the gulf between Vaughan and the 20th greatest shortstop.

Wagner is mentioned in the poem ''[[Line-Up for Yesterday]]'' by [[Ogden Nash]].

{{quote box |width= 18em |border= 4px |align= center|bgcolor= #FAF0E6 |qalign= center|title=''Line-Up for Yesterday''|quote=''W is for Wagner,''<br />''The bowlegged beauty;''<br />''Short was closed to all traffic''<br />''With Honus on duty.''
|source=&nbsp;— [[Ogden Nash]], ''[[Sport (US magazine)|Sport]]'' magazine (January 1949)<ref name=nashpoem>{{cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/poetry/po_line.shtml |title=Line-Up For Yesterday by Ogden Nash |access-date=2008-09-16 |work=Ogden Nash |publisher=Sport Magazine }}</ref>}}

[[File:HONUS WAGNER LOCKER.JPG|thumb|right|Honus Wagner's locker on display at the Hall of Fame]]

A life-size [[Honus Wagner (Vittor)|statue of Wagner]] swinging a bat, atop a marble pedestal featuring admiring children, was forged by a local sculptor named [[Frank Vittor]], and placed outside the left-field corner gate at [[Forbes Field]]. It was dedicated on April 30, 1955, and the then-frail Wagner was well enough to attend and wave to his many fans. The Pirates have relocated twice since then, and the statue has come along with them. It now stands outside the main gate of [[PNC Park]]. The statue roughly faces the site of the Pirates' original home, [[Exposition Park (Pittsburgh)|Exposition Park]], so in a sense, Wagner has come full circle.

Wagner is honored in the form of a small stadium residing behind Carnegie Elementary School on Washington Avenue in Carnegie, Pennsylvania. The stadium serves as the home field for Carlynton High School varsity sports. The Historical Society of Carnegie History Center houses the Honus Wagner Sports Museum which includes many Wagner collectibles and memorabilia. Visitors receive replicas of the famous card.

In the 1992 episode "[[Homer at the Bat]]", the popular TV show [[The Simpsons]] made a reference to Wagner. The character [[Mr. Burns]] lists three ringers he wants for his company's baseball team, but they are Honus Wagner, [[Cap Anson]], and "[[Mordecai 'Three Fingers' Brown]]". His assistant has to point out that they are not only retired but long-dead ... Anson having played in the late 19th century.

In 2000, Wagner was honored with a [[United States Postal Service|U.S. postage stamp]]. The stamp was issued as part of a "Legends of Baseball" series that honored 20 all-time greats in conjunction with MLB's All-Century team.

===T206 Baseball card===
{{Main|T206 Honus Wagner}}
[[File:Honus wagner t206 baseball card.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Honus Wagner card issued by the [[American Tobacco Company]]]]

The '''T206 Honus Wagner baseball card''' is one of the rarest and most expensive [[baseball card]]s in the world, as only 57 copies are known to exist.<ref>{{Cite book|last=James| first=Bill|author-link=Bill James|title=[[The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract|The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract]]|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York|year=2001|isbn=0-684-80697-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/newbilljameshist00jame/page/358 358] }} James, one of baseball's premier historians and statisticians, ranked Wagner as the second-best player of all time, behind [[Babe Ruth]]. Wagner was selected the shortstop on the [[Major League Baseball All-Time Team]] in 1997 and was one of three shortstops named to the [[Major League Baseball All-Century Team]] in 1999.</ref> The card was designed and issued by the [[American Tobacco Company]] (ATC) from 1909 to 1911 as part of its [[T206]] series. While sources allege that Wagner, a nonsmoker, refused to allow the production of his baseball card to continue, the more likely reason was the sum ATC was willing to pay Wagner.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Posnanski|first1=Joe|title=The Baseball 100: Honus Wagner|url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/1673294/2020/03/18/the-baseball-100-no-12-honus-wagner/|website=The Athletic |date=March 18, 2020 |access-date=March 18, 2020}}</ref> The ATC ended production of the Wagner card and a total of only 57 to 200 cards were ever distributed to the public, as compared to the "tens or hundreds of thousands" of T206 cards, over three years in 16 brands of cigarettes, for any other player.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/watch/series/0514c1ad-efd1-4d3a-ad82-41ca579a94a2/30-for-30-spotlight |title=Holy Grail: The T206 Honus Wagner (ESPN Films' 30 For 30 Shorts)|author=quote by [[Keith Olbermann]] |publisher=Prospect Productions & ESPN Films |date=March 25, 2013 |access-date=May 28, 2014}}</ref> In 1933, the card was first listed at a price value of [[United States dollar|US]] $50 in [[Jefferson Burdick]]'s ''[[The American Card Catalog]]'', making it the most expensive baseball card at the time.

The typical card in the T206 series had a width of {{convert|1+7/16|in|cm}} and a height of {{convert|2+5/8|in|cm}}. Some cards were awkwardly shaped or irregularly sized, which prompted a belief that many of the cards in the series had been altered at one point or another. In his work ''Inside T206: A Collector Guide to the Classic Baseball Card Set'', Scot A. Reader wrote that, "It is not at all uncommon to find T206 examples that have been altered at some point during their near-century of existence."<ref>{{Cite book| last=Reader| first=Scot A.| title=Inside T206: A Collector's Guide to the Classic Baseball Card Set| year=2006| edition=3rd| url=http://www.oldcardboard.com/t/t206/InsideT206-3-edition.pdf|page=13|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029014224/http://www.oldcardboard.com/t/t206/InsideT206-3-edition.pdf|archive-date=October 29, 2008}}</ref> These discrepancies were taken advantage of by "card doctors" who trimmed corners and dirty edges to improve the appearance of the card. The front of all T206 series cards, including the Wagner card, displayed a [[lithography|lithograph]] of the player<ref>Reader, p11.</ref> created by a multi-stage printing process in which a number of colors were printed on top of each other to create a lithograph with the appropriate design. The backs of the cards featured the monochromatic colors of the 16 tobacco brands for which the cards were printed.<ref>Reader, p12.</ref> The Wagner cards in particular advertised the Piedmont and Sweet Caporal brands of cigarettes and were produced at Factory 25 in [[Virginia]], as indicated by the factory stamp imprinted on the back of the cards.<ref>Reader, p45.</ref>

{{quote box
 |quote = When I was a boy growing up in Kansas, a friend of mine and I went fishing and as we sat there on the warmth of a summer afternoon we talked about what we wanted to do when we grew up. I told him I wanted to be a major league baseball player, a genuine professional like Honus Wagner. My friend said that he'd like to be president of the United States. Neither of us got our wish.
|source=&nbsp;—Dwight D. Eisenhower<ref>{{Cite book|author=Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns|title=Baseball: An Illustrated History|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|year=1994|page=49}}</ref>
| width = 33%
| align = right
}}

Starting from January 1909, the ATC sought authorization from baseball players for inclusion in the T206 series, which featured 524 major league players, 76 of whom were later inducted into the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]].<ref>Reader, p9.</ref><ref>{{Cite book| last=Wong | first=Stephen | title=Smithsonian Baseball: Inside the World's Finest Private Collections | publisher= HarperCollins| location=New York | year = 2005|isbn=0-06-083851-5 | page=66 }}</ref> Wagner had been at the top of his game throughout the decade and was even considered the game's greatest player at the time.<ref>James, p132.</ref> He had appeared on advertisements for a number of other products such as chewing gum, gunpowder, and soft drinks. Unsurprisingly, the ATC asked for Wagner's permission to have his picture on a baseball card. According to an October 12, 1912, issue of ''[[The Sporting News]]'', Wagner did not give his consent to appear on the baseball card. In response to the authorization request letter sent by John Gruber, a Pittsburgh sportswriter hired by the ATC to seek Wagner's permission, Wagner wrote that he "did not care to have his picture in a package of cigarettes". He threatened to seek legal action against ATC if they went ahead and created his baseball card.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Davis|first=Ralph S.|title=Wagner A Wonder: One Player In Game Who Is Not Money Mad |url=http://www.explorepahistory.com/~expa/cms/pbfiles/Project1/Scheme40/ExplorePAHistory-a0b9s7-a_514.pdf|magazine=The Sporting News|date=October 12, 1912 |access-date=October 19, 2007|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009110746/http://www.explorepahistory.com/~expa/cms/pbfiles/Project1/Scheme40/ExplorePAHistory-a0b9s7-a_514.pdf|archive-date=October 9, 2007 }}</ref>

A near mint-mint condition T206 Wagner card sold in 2007 for $2.8 million, the highest price ever for a baseball card. In 2010, a previously unknown copy of the card was donated to the [[School Sisters of Notre Dame]] in Baltimore. The card, which was in poor condition, sold in November 2010 to a collector for $262,000, well over the $150,000 that was expected at auction. The card came with Sister Virginia Muller's brother's handwritten note: "Although damaged, the value of this baseball card should increase exponentially throughout the 21st century!"<ref>[https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Nuns-cash-in-big-on-sale-of-Honus-Wagner-T-206-c?urn=mlb-282866 Nuns cash in big on sale of Honus Wagner T-206 card – Big League Stew – MLB Blog – Yahoo! Sports<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

On April 20, 2012, a New Jersey resident purchased a VG-3 graded T206 Wagner card for more than $1.2 million.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/columns/joe-holleman/rare-baseball-card-tops-million-in-auction/article_ce495b48-8996-11e1-98ed-0019bb30f31a.html|title=Rare baseball card tops $1 million in auction|newspaper=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]|first=Joe|last=Holleman|date=April 20, 2012|access-date=April 21, 2012}}</ref>

On April 6, 2013, a 1909–11 T206 baseball card featuring Honus Wagner sold at auction for $2.1 million.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2013/04/06/honus-wagner-baseball-card-sells-for-21m-at-auction | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130407005908/http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2013/04/06/honus-wagner-baseball-card-sells-for-21m-at-auction/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=April 7, 2013 | work=Fox News | title=Honus Wagner baseball card sells for $2.1M at auction|date=April 6, 2013}}</ref>

On October 1, 2016, a T206 Wagner card [[Professional Sports Authenticator#Grading scale|graded PSA-5]] sold for $3.12 million, setting yet again the record for the highest price paid for any baseball card.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beckett.com/news/world-record-price-for-t206-honus-wagner-baseball-card-3-million-and-counting/|title=Excellent Honus Wagner sets new record|date=October 1, 2016}}</ref>

On May 29, 2019, a Honus Wagner T-206 sold for $1.2 million by SCP Auctions in Southern California. The same card had been previously auctioned for $657,250 in 2014 and $776,750 in 2016. The encapsulated card was rated as only a 2 on a scale to 10.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/mlb/la-sp-baseball-notes-20190528-story.html|title=A Honus Wagner Baseball Card has been sold privately for $1.2 million|date=May 28, 2019|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=November 29, 2020|quote=SCP Auctions in Southern California says the 1909-11 T206 card was graded in Good 2 condition}}</ref>

In May 2021, one example sold for a new record $3.75 million. In doing so, it became the second most expensive baseball card sold at auction at the time.<ref>{{cite news |last1=negeley |first1=cassandra |title=Rare Honus Wagner card sells for record $3.75 million, trails only Mike Trout in MLB cards |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb-rare-honus-wagner-card-sells-for-record-375-million-trails-mike-trout-155658961.html |website=yahoo}}</ref>

In August 2021, another example sold for $6.6 million exceeding the previous high for most valuable sports card at the time.<ref>{{cite web |last1=hajducky |title=T206 Honus Wagner baseball card sells for $6.606 million, shattering previous record |date=August 16, 2021 |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/32031670/t206-honus-wagner-baseball-card-sells-6606-million-shattering-previous-record}}</ref>

On August 3, 2022, a T206 Honus Wagner was sold in a private sale for a sports card record high of $7.25 million, eclipsing the previous high of $6.6 million.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 4, 2022 |title=Rare T-206 Wagner card sold for record $7.25M |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/34347728/rare-t-206-honus-wagner-baseball-card-sold-record-725-million-private-sale |access-date=August 5, 2022 |website=ESPN |language=en}}</ref>

==Statistics==
The numbers shown below are the figures officially recognized on MLB.com.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! [[Games played|G]]
! [[At bat|AB]]
! [[Run (baseball)|R]]
! [[Hit (baseball)|H]]
! [[Double (baseball)|2B]]
! [[Triple (baseball)|3B]]
! [[Home run|HR]]
! [[Run batted in|RBI]]
! [[Stolen base|SB]]
! [[Caught stealing|CS]]
! [[Base on balls|BB]]
! [[Strikeout|SO]]
! [[Batting average (baseball)|AVG]]
! [[On-base percentage|OBP]]
! [[Slugging percentage|SLG]]
! [[OPS+]]
! [[Total bases|TB]]
|-
! 2,792
! 10,430
! 1,736
! 3,430
! 640
! 252
! 101
! 1,732
! 722
! 15
! 963
! 327
! .329
! .392
! .466
! N/A
! 4,862
|}

The figures on Baseball-Reference.com are as follows.<ref name=BaseballRefWagnerCareerStats>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wagneho01.shtml Honus Wagner] ''Baseball-Reference.com''</ref>  Other private research sites may have different figures. Caught Stealing is not shown comprehensively for Wagner's MLB.com totals because the stat was not regularly captured until 1920. Strikeouts are not shown comprehensively for Wagner's MLB.com totals, because the stat was not regularly captured until 1910. Note that mlb.com's Total Bases do not correspond to the number of hits, 2B, 3B, and HR listed.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! [[Games played|G]]
! [[At bat|AB]]
! [[Run (baseball)|R]]
! [[Hit (baseball)|H]]
! [[Double (baseball)|2B]]
! [[Triple (baseball)|3B]]
! [[Home run|HR]]
! [[Run batted in|RBI]]
! [[Stolen base|SB]]
! [[Caught stealing|CS]]
! [[Base on balls|BB]]
! [[Strikeout|SO]]
! [[Batting average (baseball)|BA]]
! [[On-base percentage|OBP]]
! [[Slugging average|SLG]]
! [[OPS+]]
! [[Total bases|TB]]
! [[Sacrifice hit|SH]]
! [[Hit by pitch|HBP]]
|-
! 2,794
! 10,439
! 1,739
! 3,420
! 643
! 252
! 101
! 1,732
! 723
! 26
! 963
! 735
! .328
! .391
! .467
! 151
! 4,870
! 221
! 125
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Baseball}}
{{div col}}
* [[3,000 hit club]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career triples leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball doubles records]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball triples records]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball batting champions]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual runs scored leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual stolen base leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball player-managers]]
* [[Major League Baseball titles leaders]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oxCbT7PxWo0C|title=Honus Wagner: The Life of Baseball's "Flying Dutchman"|last=Hittner|first=Arthur D.|year=1996|isbn=9780786418114|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|access-date=September 20, 2023|ref=Hittner96}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3uSbqUm8hSAC|title=The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract|last=James|first=Bill|year=2010|isbn=9781439106938|publisher=[[Simon and Schuster]]|access-date=September 20, 2023|ref=James10}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LglOAgAAQBAJ|title=Honus Wagner: A Biography| last1=DeValeria | first1=Dennis | last2=DeValeria | first2=Jeanne Burke |year=2014|isbn=9781466862883|publisher=[[Henry Holt and Company]]|access-date=September 20, 2023|ref=DeValeria14}}

==Bibliography==
* [http://thehalloffamenetwork.wordpress.com/2008/05/20/honus-wagner-as-mona-lisa/ Hall of Fame Network: "Honus Wagner as Mona Lisa"], HOFMAG.com. 
*''Honus Wagner: A Biography'', by Dennis DeValeria and Jeanne Burke DeValeria, [[Henry Holt and Company]], New York, 1995. {{ISBN|9781466862883}}
*Hittner, Arthur D. ''Honus Wagner: The Life of Baseball's "Flying Dutchman."'' Jefferson, North Carolina: [[McFarland & Company|McFarland]], 1996 and 2003 (softcover). {{ISBN|9780786418114}}. Winner of the 1996 [[Seymour Medal]], awarded by the [[Society for American Baseball Research]].
*''[[Honus and Me]]'' by [[Dan Gutman]] (novel), Perfection Learning Corporation, 1999. {{ISBN|9780780790216}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*{{baseballstats|mlb=123784|espn=27684|br=w/wagneho01|fangraphs=1013485|brm=wagner004joh|retro=W/Pwagnh101}}
*{{bbhof|wagner-honus}}
*{{sabrbio|honus-wagner}}
*{{Find a Grave}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-ach}}
{{Succession box| before = [[Bert Daniels]] | title = [[Hitting for the cycle]]| years = August 22, 1912 | after = [[Ed Lennox]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{navboxes
|list=
{{Pittsburgh Pirates HOF}}
{{Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame}}
{{1901 Pittsburgh Pirates}}
{{1902 Pittsburgh Pirates}}
{{1909 Pittsburgh Pirates}}
{{3000 hit club}}
{{MLBACT}}
{{MLBATT}}
{{NL batting title}}
{{NL RBI champions}}
{{NL stolen base champions}}
{{Pittsburgh Pirates retired numbers}}
{{1936 Baseball HOF}}
{{Baseball Hall of Fame members}}
{{Pittsburgh Pirates managers|width=100}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Honus}}
[[Category:19th-century baseball players]]
[[Category:19th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Louisville Colonels players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball shortstops]]
[[Category:National League batting champions]]
[[Category:National League RBI champions]]
[[Category:National League stolen base champions]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh Pirates managers]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh Pirates players]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh Pirates coaches]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Washington County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball players with retired numbers]]
[[Category:Carnegie Mellon University faculty]]
[[Category:1874 births]]
[[Category:1955 deaths]]
[[Category:American people of German descent]]
[[Category:Minor league baseball managers]]
[[Category:Adrian Reformers players]]
[[Category:Adrian Demons players]]
[[Category:Steubenville Stubs players]]
[[Category:Akron Akrons players]]
[[Category:Lima Kids players]]
[[Category:Mansfield Kids players]]
[[Category:Paterson Silk Weavers players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball player-managers]]
[[Category:American sportsmen]]
[[Category:People from Carnegie, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania]]