1874-1955
Baseball Player

The Flying Dutchman.

One of baseball's greatest shortstops, Honus Wagner earned the nickname of "The Flying Dutchman" because of his Germanic heritage and great speed. John Peter Wagner was one of five sons and four daughters of Katrina and Peter Wagner, a coal miner. At age twelve Wagner began working in the coal mines and steel mills of western Pennsylvania. He learned to play baseball on a sandlot team with his brothers and mastered each position. "While Wagner was the greatest shortstop," remarked New York Giants manager John J. McGraw, "he could have been the number one player at any position he might have selected."

A Decade of Dominance.

Wagner ranked as the most dominating offensive player of the 1900s. After playing for the National League's Louisville Colonels for two years, he joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1899, where he remained until he retired...