Honus: The Life and Times of a Baseball Hero [Hardcover]

William Hageman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1996

Honus: The Life and Times of a Baseball Hero is a biographical look at the life and times of the great Honus Wagner. Not many fans know the full story of Honus Wagner, and Wagner himself was largely responsible for the public's ignorance. Being notoriously shy, he declined to talk about himself or baseball to sportswriters of his time. Through thousands of hours of exhaustive research and interviews, plus the help of Wagner's granddaughter, Leslie Blair, author William Hageman was able to get the story of the great baseball legend.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 235 pages
• Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC; 1st ed edition (January 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571670424
• ISBN-13: 978-1571670427
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,478,508 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A little disappointing, February 6, 2002

By 

The Nostalgist (Omaha, NE United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Honus: The Life and Times of a Baseball Hero (Hardcover)

This book was a bit disappointing because there really was not a lot of in-depth background information on Honus Wagner the man. Seasons were covered in five pages and, in one instance, the text reviewed one game by stating that Honus had hit, "a three-run double, but the Pirates lost 5-2." How can the Pirates lose 5-2 if Honus hit a three-run double? There seemed to be many errors of this nature in the book as the editing was not very crisp.

I tried not to be too harsh in my review as I know the material on Honus is not easy to find, but even the material that is available in the text is not presented very well. Honus Wagner was arguably the greatest player of his time and a simple, interesting person off the field, so his story is indeed an important one to baseball fans. Unfortunately, I don't think this biography is the one you want to read if you want a well-written, in-depth portrait of Honus Wagner.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I Wish this Book Did Justice to a Great Baseball Player, August 22, 2010

By 

Roger D. Launius "Historian" (Washington, D.C., United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Honus: The Life and Times of a Baseball Hero (Hardcover)

Honus Wagner was one of the greatest baseball players of the dead ball era before Babe Ruth. Although known to few beyond the diehard baseball fan, he was a member of the first class of inductees into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. His career batting average of .327 is one of the highest in MLB history, as is his 722 career stolen bases. Indeed, Wagner earned eight National League batting titles, tied with Tony Gwynn for the most in league history. Wagner's 101 home runs, is less impressive, but his 3,430 career hits is outstanding. Small wonder he is enshrined in Cooperstown.

Honus Wagner came up with Louisville in 1897, but that team went under and in 1900 he moved to the Pittsburgh Pirates and played shortstop there the rest of career, retiring after the 1917 season. During his playing days he led the Pirates to pennants in 1903 and in 1909, and gaining a World Series victory in the latter season. He went on to work as a coach with the Pirates for many years after retirement. He died in 1955 at the age of 81.

"Honus: The Life and Times of a Baseball Hero" is a basic baseball biography of this player. We get the standard accounts of his baseball career, but those interested in his personal life or a sophisticated analysis of the individual will be disappointed. I certainly was. Then there are the disconcerting aspects of this book, such as the fact that it has no index whatsoever. This is unforgivable for a work of non-fiction. I shall have to read other books on Honus Wagner to see what I have missed about his life and career.

5 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honus: The life and Times of A Baseball Hero, July 6, 2000

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Ellen C (Palm Harbor, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Honus: The Life and Times of a Baseball Hero (Hardcover)

I thought this book was a great biography of one of baseball's least appreciated stars. It starts with his beginnings in the mines to his death in 1955. I thought this book had too many minor details in his retirement ventures. I think this is a book that all baseball fans will enjoy.