Honus Wagner, whose career in baseball stretched from 1895 to 1917, was the first American sports superstar of the twentieth century. One of the first five players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in its first year (1939), he was arguably the best shortstop in baseball history. His great career and the dawn of baseball as a popular entertainment occurred simultaneously, and he has become an icon of the early game; his 1909 baseball card, one of which sold for $451,000, is a holy grail of American memorabilia. This first major biography shows why Wagner was America’s favorite image of sport during baseball’s transition to the modern era.
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“The DeValerias have produced a clean hit…the ‘Flying Dutchman’ emerges as a shy man who loved the game and loved to play it…His biographers treat him with the same respect he treated the game, and propel themselves with the same thoroughness, doggedness, and care that Wagner displayed on the field.”
— Amazon.com, editorial review
“A valuable book for baseball fans, this is the most comprehensive biography of Wagner…Esmo’s reading is as relaxing as a summer afternoon. His voice has a soothing quality that makes the book interesting and informative.”
— AudioFile“As the only serious biography of a player many still consider one of the game’s ten best, this is a must for baseball collections.”
— Booklist“A superb portrait, painted with thorough research on the canvas of one of baseball’s most fascinating eras…This book takes you behind the numbers and introduces you to the man who turned on his generation to the national pastime.”
— Gene Carney" Another in a long line of good baseball books I read. It was a while since I read this, so details are a little foggy, but I know I liked it. If you like baseball biographies this is another good one. "
— Hillary, 5/26/2007
Dennis and Jeanne DeValeria are writers and historians who live and work in Pittsburgh. They are widely recognized as the foremost experts on Honus Wagner’s life and career. Their book, Honus Wagner, received the annual Baseball Weekly Award at the 1995 national convention of the Society for American Baseball Research.
Ian Esmo is an audiobook narrator who specializes in athlete and sports biographies.
Ian Esmo is an audiobook narrator who specializes in athlete and sports biographies.