Take me out to the … birthday party: Historical Society of Carnegie to honor baseball great with three-day event
The Historical Society of Carnegie is ready to hit it out of the park with a three-day celebration next weekend, in honor of Honus “The Flying Dutchman” Wagner’s 150th birthday.
“He’s still recognized as the greatest shortstop to play the game,” said Don Trischler, a docent for the historical society and its Honus Wagner Museum. “Not only the greatest shortstop, but probably one of the greatest players to ever play the game.”
Trischler and other museum docents and Honus Wagner experts are looking forward to regaling visitors with tales of The Flying Dutchman during his birthday bash, which runs from Friday, Feb. 23, through Sunday, Feb. 25, at the Historical Society of Carnegie, 1 W. Main St., Carnegie. The museum will extend its hours on Friday and Sunday, welcoming visitors from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
On Feb. 24, Wagner’s birthday, folks are encouraged to drop in between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. for games – including Pirates cornhole and a home run derby, weather depending – contests, prizes and cake. Local celebrities, including longtime voice of the Pirates Lanny Frattere, will make appearances throughout the three-day event, and on Sunday, the historical society will welcome Dennis and Jeanne Burke DeValeria, co-authors of “Honus Wagner: A Biography,” for a Q&A session and book signing at 1 p.m.
“While the DeValerias are having their (question and answer session), over in the Honus, we’re gonna have the first game of the Pirates spring training playing,” Jeff Keenan, historical society secretary, said.
Honus Wagner was a lifelong Carnegian who spent 21 years in the Major Leagues, most of them with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and is considered one of the sport’s greatest athletes. The Flying Dutchman nickname is a nod to both his German heritage and his speed.
“He’s still in the top 10 in stealing bases. He’s still tied for the most batting titles in the National League, with Tony Gwynn, at eight. He batted over 300 17 consecutive years. He has 3,490 hits – he’s second on the Pirates because he has 2,999 with the Pirates. The rest were with the Louisville Colonels,” said Trischler.
In 1909, Wagner won the World Series with the Pirates. He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame’s inaugural class; in 1936, Wagner and Babe Ruth both received the second-highest vote total of all time, 215, behind Ty Cobb’s 222 votes.
Following his professional baseball career, Wagner coached basketball at Carnegie Tech (during his baseball days, the Dutchman played barnstorm basketball in the offseason to make money and stay in shape).
“In 1933, 16 years after he retired from baseball, he became a coach for the Pirates because they wanted him to work with a young shortstop. And that young shortstop became a Hall of Famer: Archie Vaughn,” Trischler said.
For all his fame and accolades, Wagner remained down to earth – and in Carnegie. He opened a sporting goods store in Pittsburgh and was known to walk from his home atop the hill on Beechwood Avenue down to a local watering hole, where he sipped cold beer and fraternized with locals.
“He’s one of, probably, the few players that was born here, raised here, played ball for his hometown team, passed away here, and he’s well-respected by everyone,” Trischler said.
Wagner was such a homebody that when asked to be in a magazine ad, he insisted his young neighbor pose alongside him, as the little boy in the advertisement. That ad, of course, is in the Honus Wagner Museum, one of five museums nationwide dedicated to a single baseball player.
“It’s not just the Honus Museum. We have the diorama of Miniature Main Street. We have the Sawhill Museum,” said Trischler, noting both exhibits will be open to the public during the Honus Wagner birthday weekend. “But for the work that we’ve put into the Honus Museum, I would put it up against anybody’s. People that haven’t been here need to get here and see it. The Honus Museum is probably one of the only – and I’m saying probably, I’m not sure – museums where you can touch, hold and have your picture taken with an artifact.”
Along with stamps and bottle caps bearing Wagner’s image and a one-of-a-kind Topps baseball card, the Honus Wagner Museum is home to a certified, game-played Honus Wagner baseball bat.
The bat was donated to the historical society in 2017, after the owner partnered with the Honus Wagner Museum to showcase the sports memorabilia and more than 500 people flocked to downtown Carnegie for the chance to swing the bat used by a hometown hero.
“We made a promise to Andy Castellanos, when he gave us the bat, that he wanted people to experience the weight of the bat. When you hold that bat, you’re connecting with history – and Honus’ DNA. We joke about, it will improve your score in any sports you play, whether it’s pickleball or badminton,” Keenan laughed. “It’s a great connection to an era of baseball that represented an era of America. Mostly, people are just thrilled that we have a baseball bat, an artifact that belonged to The Flying Dutchman, that we let people hold.”
Recently, Keenan said, a diehard baseball fan traveled from Illinois to the Honus Wagner Museum. The young man didn’t know the historical society housed a Wagner bat; he was just excited to be in a museum dedicated to one of the sport’s best.
“He was so moved by the fact that we let people hold the bat that he was brought to tears,” Keenan recalled.
Not only do visitors have the opportunity to pose for a photo with Honus Wagner’s bat, they are also given the opportunity to take home what Keenan cheekily calls “a genuine replica” of one of the world’s most valuable trading cards.
Only about 200 Honus Wagner baseball trading cards were ever printed, and of those, only 50 are still around today.
“Those remaining 50, in any condition, is worth a million dollars,” Trischler said.
A couple months ago, a Wagner baseball card missing one side of the Dutchman’s face sold at auction for $475,000, Trischler said.
The Honus Wagner replica cards, the baseball bat and the stories are part of the free museum experience. The historical society is looking forward to celebrating hometown hero and legendary baseball player Honus Wagner with folks all weekend long.
“One of the things that makes the Honus Wagner and the historical society so special is it’s an all volunteer organization. The volunteers bring a level of enthusiasm, excitement and, frankly, love for the game to their presentations, to their tours, to the history of this town where Honus Wagner was born, lived and died,” Keenan said. “We love what we do here. It’s the excitement, the fun, the history; we call it ‘The Honus Wagner Experience’ for a reason.”
For more information on the Historical Society of Carnegie and the Honus Wagner Museum, visit https://www.facebook.com/HistoricalSocietyofCarnegie.