Two Old Baseball Warriors: John McGraw and Honus Wagner

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John McGraw & Honus Wagner Photo Gallery

Click on any image below to see photos in full size and to start Photo Gallery:

: Honus Wagner

: A very young John McGraw

: John McGraw and Harry Wolverton

: Ty Cobb and John McGraw

: Rogers Hornsby and John McGraw

: Arky Vaughan, Gus Suhr, Pie Trainer, Honus Wagner

: John McGraw, Buck Herzog, Christy Mathewson

: Pie Traynor and Honus Wagner

: John McGraw with Fred Tenney

: Wagner with Bill Brubaker

: Honus Wagner in the last years of his life

: Wagner with a little fan

: Full-length of John McGraw as New York Giant manager

: John McGraw with Chief Meyers

: John McGraw and Honus Wagner

: Connie Mack, Gabby Street John McGraw

: John McGraw towards the end of his time as Giants’ manager

: Honus Wagner batting in game, Roger Bresnahan catching

: Clockwise; Orioles Willie Keeler, John McGraw, Hughie Jennings, Joe Kelley. All are in the Hall of Fame

: Chrsity Mathewson, John McGraw, Joe McGinnity, 1905

: A young John McGraw

: Honus Wagner early in his career with the Pirates

John McGraw and Honus Wagner

Wouldn’t you love to know what these two old baseball warriors were reminiscing about? That would probably give new meaning to “the good old days!” Here’s the caption I found with the photo:

“Two of the men who helped build baseball into a national institution during the century’s first two decades take a quiet moment together at New York’s Polo Grounds. Giants’ manager John McGraw is in conversation with the man he considered the greatest of all players, Pittsburgh’s Honus Wagner, then at the end of his long playing career. Honus seems to be having a deep and wistful look into the past, his large hands holding that bat with tender affection.”

Here’s a few words about McGraw’s Hall-of-Fame career as a manager:

McGraw is widely held to be “the best player to become a great manager” in the history of baseball. Over 33 years as a manager with the Baltimore Orioles of both leagues (1899 NL, 1901–1902 AL) and New York Giants (1902–1932), McGraw compiled 2,763 wins and 1,948 losses for a .586 winning percentage. He is second all-time in wins to Connie Mack, and first in the National League with 2,669. His teams won 10 National League pennants, three World Series championships and had 11 second place finishes while posting only two losing records. McGraw led the Giants to first place each year from 1921 to 1924, becoming the only National League manager to win four consecutive pennants. At the time of his retirement, McGraw had been ejected from games 131 times (at least 14 of these came as a player). This record stood until Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox broke it on August 14, 2007.

As a player, McGraw has the third highest on-base percentage of all time at .466. He also led the National League twice in runs scored. John McGraw was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1937.

-Gary Livacari

Photo Credit: “Classic Baseball Photographs” by Donald Honig; and public domain.
Information from same source; and from the John McGraw Wikipedia page.

Information: Excerpts edited from the Wikipedia page.

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