{"id":1021,"date":"2014-01-27T11:01:00","date_gmt":"2014-01-27T11:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=1021"},"modified":"2015-01-09T15:47:42","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T20:47:42","slug":"the-twilight-years-of-pittsburghs-first-baseball-superstar-honus-wagner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/01\/27\/the-twilight-years-of-pittsburghs-first-baseball-superstar-honus-wagner\/","title":{"rendered":"The twilight years of Pittsburgh\u2019s first baseball superstar, Honus Wagner"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Wagner <\/a>
Wagner Day at Forbes Field, June 1, 1933. (Photo credit: unknown) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Brooklyn <\/a>
Brooklyn baseball fans turned out en masse for Wagner Day at Ebbets Field on May 5, 1933. A street parade preceded the game. (Photo credit: International News Photograph Service) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Five <\/a>
Five years into his coaching career, here\u2019s Wagner with infielder Lee Handley. (Photo credit: unknown) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"In <\/a>
In March 1945, Wagner stood inside the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Station en route to Muncie, Ind., for Pirates training camp with a group of players. (Photo credit: unknown) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Wagner <\/a>
Wagner was fond of teasing adulating children with often made-up tales. Here he is at his Carnegie home with neighborhood children in January 1947. (Photo credit: unknown) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Here <\/a>
Here is the Wagner statue behind Forbes Field in 1971. It was first erected there in 1955. (Photo credit: Morris Berman\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The Wagner statue today at PNC Park. (Photo credit: Ethan Magoc\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

The upcoming baseball season marks the 105th anniversary of 1909 World Series, when Honus Wagner\u2019s Pirates took on rival Ty Cobb and the Detroit Tigers. That year, Pittsburgh\u2019s slogan was \u201cYou might Ty Cobb \u2013 but you can\u2019t Tie Wagner.\u201d<\/p>\n

All baseball geeks know the rest of the story: The Pirates prevailed in seven games. Despite Wagner\u2019s somewhat advanced age for a baseball player, the 35-year-old shortstop batted .333 with 8 RBI.<\/p>\n

Known as \u201cThe Flying Dutchman\u201d due to his impressive speed, Wagner had a remarkable, stocky build. As part of a 1955 obituary series, Les Biederman of The Pittsburgh Press wrote, \u201cIn his prime he was a strong man. He weighed 200 pounds and his legs took off at the ankles in an outward and upward direction\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bowed legs were his trademark, looking like this ( \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0).\u201d<\/p>\n

His name, Honus, wasn\u2019t really his name. In the same obituary series, Biederman wrote, \u201cWagner\u2019s full name was John Peter Wagner. The nickname \u2018Honus\u2019 came because John in German means \u2018Johannes\u2019 and by the time his friends began pronouncing \u2018Johannes,\u2019 it came out \u2018Honus.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

A Carnegie native, Wagner retired from playing in 1917 \u2013 opening one of Carnegie\u2019s first automobile garages \u2013 but returned to coach Pittsburgh\u2019s hitters at Bill Benswanger\u2019s request in 1933. He was a hitting coach for more than 15 years.<\/p>\n

Wagner died in Carnegie on Dec. 6, 1955 at age 81.<\/p>\n

But the statue of Wagner, \u201cThe Flying Dutchman,\u201d standing tall, bat raised, still greets Pirates fans arriving at PNC Park. The inscription on the Frank Vittor statue reads: \u201cSo that future Pirate fans will be reminded of Honus Wagner\u2019s contributions to baseball in Pittsburgh.\u201d<\/p>\n

Be sure to check out Bob Dvorchak\u2019s \u201cSports \u2018n\u2019at\u201d on\u00a0Honus Wagner<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 1909, Pittsburgh\u2019s slogan was \u201cYou might Ty Cobb \u2013 but you can\u2019t Tie Wagner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesThe twilight years of Pittsburgh\u2019s first baseball superstar, Honus Wagner<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1022,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[944],"tags":[956,969,1262,977,1014,1047],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/tumblr_mzx8km5Gjk1rr5swxo2_1280-e1418794117464.jpg?fit=1000%2C560&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5085,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2015\/03\/11\/john-gruber-pittsburghs-pioneering-sports-editor-and-scorekeeper\/","url_meta":{"origin":1021,"position":0},"title":"John Gruber, Pittsburgh’s pioneering sports editor and scorekeeper","date":"March 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Gruber spent nearly 40 years as the Pirates' scorekeeper and many of those as sports editor for Pittsburgh newspapers.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/John-Gruber045-e1425667662748.jpg?fit=1200%2C629&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8706,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2018\/05\/21\/great-moments-in-pittsburgh-sports-history-early-days\/","url_meta":{"origin":1021,"position":1},"title":"Great moments in Pittsburgh sports history: early days","date":"May 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Post-Gazette\u2019s Out of the Archives: Sports is a photographic tour through the city\u2019s rich sports history. From the Penguins\u2019 Stanley Cup championship this past June to the Pirates\u2019 World Series victory in 1909, fans can both learn by peering decades into the past and relive more recent glory by\u2026","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/6.-Pirates-World-Series-Victory-Yankees-1960PG-ARCHIVE9ir00krz.jpg?fit=1062%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1918,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/04\/01\/exposition-park\/","url_meta":{"origin":1021,"position":2},"title":"Exposition Park","date":"April 1, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Fred Carroll was, by all accounts, an outstanding catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and he made history at Exposition Park.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/tumblr_mke4xbydGB1rr5swxo1_r1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C773&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1513,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/08\/12\/josh-gibson-a-pittsburgh-guy\/","url_meta":{"origin":1021,"position":3},"title":"Josh Gibson, a Pittsburgh guy","date":"August 12, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"In a perfect world, Gibson would have played major league baseball in a Pirates uniform.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/tumblr_mr9wx8TNB51rr5swxo3_1280.jpg?fit=1080%2C711&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":295,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/09\/03\/1960-pittsburgh-pirates-hands-in-detail\/","url_meta":{"origin":1021,"position":4},"title":"1960 Pittsburgh Pirates hands in detail","date":"September 3, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"They belong to two battery mates in Pittsburgh: catcher Smoky Burgess and relief pitcher ElRoy Face.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/tumblr_nbaldpTNMN1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C698&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1365,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/09\/25\/the-last-time-the-pirates-reached-the-playoffs\/","url_meta":{"origin":1021,"position":5},"title":"The last time the Pirates reached the playoffs","date":"September 25, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Until two days ago, some Pirates fans may have thought the playoffs were unreachable for their favorite team.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/tumblr_mtnjep4kH81rr5swxo4_r1_1280.jpg?fit=1020%2C661&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1021"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1021"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4056,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1021\/revisions\/4056"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}