In 1936, Honus Wagner, "The Flying Dutchman," became one of the first five players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. When the Pittsburgh Pirates' shortstop retired in 1917, he had accumulated more stolen bases, total bases, RBIs, hits, and runs than any player to that point. He also hit over.300 for seventeen consecutive seasons, while winning the National League batting title eight times. In 1910, Wagner, a nonsmoker, asked for his American Tobacco Company baseball card to be recalled because he objected to being associated with tobacco promotion; the recalled card sold for $451,000 during a 1991 auction. He died in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, at the age of 81.

Honus Wagner

Further Reading:

Hageman, William. Honus: The Life and Times of a Baseball Hero. Champaign, IL, Sagamore Publishers, 1996.

Hittner, Arthur D. Honus Wagner: The Life of Baseball's "Flying Dutchman." Jefferson, North Carolina, McFarland, 1996.