Books and articles about Paul Waner

Always a threat to break up a ball game but never a party, Waner had the sharpest bloodshot eyes in baseball. He hit doubles and triples during games and drank them after. Nonetheless, he amassed 3,152 hits with good power. One year he announced he was on the wagon, but when his batting average hovered around .250, his manager personally shepherded him to his nearest watering hole. Within a few weeks, he was back over .300.

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Waner's merchant father wanted him to be a teacher, but he dropped out of college to join San Francisco (Pacific Coast League), where he compiled batting averages of .369, .356, and .401. In 1926 the Pirates purchased his contract in a $100,000 deal ($40,000 for Waner, $60,000 for second baseman Hal Rhyne). Paul broke into the NL with a .336 batting average and led in triples (22). The next year, he was joined by his brother Lloyd in the Pirate outfield. Together they paced Pittsburgh to the 1927 pennant. Right fielder Paul led the NL in hitting (.380), base hits (237), triples (17), and RBI (131) and was named NL MVP; centerfielder Lloyd hit .355 and led the league in runs scored (133). Between them, the Waners totaled 460 hits.

They starred for the Pirates throughout the 1930s, continuing their yearly assault on pitchers. Paul led the league in hitting again in 1934 (.362) and 1936 (.373). One day a frustrated Brooklyn fan complained: "Them Waners! It's always the little poison on thoid and the big poison on foist!" From then on Paul and Lloyd were Big Poison and Little Poison. Both were speedy outfielders, and Paul possessed perhaps the strongest arm seen in a Pittsburgh outfield until Roberto Clemente arrived.

After the Pirates released him, Paul played into WWII with the Braves and Dodgers, pursuing 3,000 hits. In 1942 the Braves visited Forbes Field with Waner at 2,999. The shortstop knocked down a drive but Paul beat it out. It might have been a hit, but Paul quickly and openly signaled he didn't want a tainted 3,000th. The scorer obliged by charging the shortstop with an error. On June 19, 1942 he lined the ball off Forbes's right-field wall to become the sixth player ever to reach 3,000 hits.

Waner found steady employment as a hitting coach after his retirement as a player, but his distaste for discipline made him an inappropriate candidate for managing. (JK)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » October 13, 1925: The Pirates buy SS Hal Rhyne and OF Paul Waner from San Francisco (PCL). » August 26, 1926: Pittsburgh RF Paul Waner goes 6-for-6, including 2 doubles and a triple, in a game against St. Louis. » May 1, 1927: The Pirates rally in the 9th inning to beat the Cubs, 7–6. Cubs' starter Charlie Root walks the bases loaded before Paul Waner singles in the winning run. Chicago went ahead in the 7th inning when Chuck Tolson hits the first pinch grand slam in Cubs' history. » May 30, 1927: Unassisted triple plays are a rarity, but SS Jimmy Cooney makes one for the Cubs against Pittsburgh in the opener of the Memorial Day doubleheader. He catches Paul Waner's line drive, steps on 2B to retire Lloyd Waner, and tags Clyde Barnhart going back to 1B. Paul Waner still collects three hits and two RBI, but the Cubs win 7–6 in 10 innings to snap the Pirates 11-game win streak. The Bucs win the nitecap, 6–5, in 10 innings as Lloyd Waner has seven hits for the day. » June 3, 1927: Paul Waner of Pittsburgh homers off Claude Willoughby of the Phils in a 11–1 rout at Forbes Field. Wright and Grantham also homer as Vic Aldridge allows the visitors just one hit till the 9th inning. For Waner, his homer is the start of a National League record 14 straight games in which he'll have at least one long hit (12 doubles, five triples, three home run). » June 11, 1927: The Dodgers spoil Paul Waner Day in Pittsburgh beating the Bucs, 11–10. Waner, who's wedding was last night, collects three hits, including a double, and a 7-passenger car and teammate Barnhart has two triples and a double, but it's not enough. Brooklyn has 15 hits and scores four times in the 9th to give Vance the win. » June 12, 1927: For the 2nd day in a row, Brooklyn and Pittsburgh play an 11–10 game, with the Pirates losing again, but this time at Brooklyn. Reliever Norm Petty wins the game with a single in the 8th, while Paul Waner collects another three hits for the Bucs. » June 16, 1927: The Pirates Lee Meadows wins his 9th of the season to beat Boston 6–0 as red-hot Paul Waner hits in his 19th straight game, and the 12th straight game he's had two or more hits. Waner also has three RBI, the 12th straight game he has knocked in a run, and the 11th straight game he has tallied an extra base hit. His extra base streak will reach a record 14 games before it is stopped on the 20th. » June 18, 1927: Continuing a feud that dates back to Smith's days with the Braves, Pirates C Earl Smith decks Braves manager Dave Bancroft with a right to the jaw after they exchange words in the 7th inning. Bancroft is carried off the field. Smith draws a $500 fine and 30-day suspension. The Pirates score three in the 1st led by Paul Waner's 2-run triple en route to a 7–4 win. Waner extends his hitting streak to 21 games and 13 straight games with extra base hits. He'll have a pair of doubles tomorrow. » June 21, 1927: A day after his extra-base hit streak is stopped at 14 straight games, a National League record, Pirates OF Paul Waner's 23-game hitting streak ends. Waner, in his 2nd season, will lead the NL with a .380 BA, 237 hits, and 131 RBI. His brother Lloyd will gather 223 hits for a .355 BA in this, rookie year. They pace the 1927 Pirates to a team BA of .305. Today the Reds win 7–6, in 10 innings. Barnhart has a hit to run his streak to 21 straight games. » December 4, 1927: Pirates OF Paul Waner noses out Frank Frisch for National League MVP honors with 72 points to 66. Rogers Hornsby, Cubs P Charlie Root, and Giants SS Travis Jackson also score high. » December 2, 1928: Cardinals 1B Jim Bottomley is voted National League MVP with 76 points to 70 for Giants 3B Fred Lindstrom, whose .358 BA was 3rd behind Rogers Hornsby and Paul Waner. » August 18, 1931: Paul Waner chalks up five hits to lead Pittsburgh to a 14–5 win over the Phils. » September 22, 1931: In a 13-inning game at Forbes Field, Hal Finney, Pirates C, has no putouts in a 3–2 win over Philadelphia. Paul Waner draws five walks, and 20 runners are left on base, as Heine Meine wins his 19th game to tie for the lead in the NL. » May 20, 1932: Paul Waner ties the major-league record with four doubles in five at bats in the Pirates 5–0 win over the Cards. He will break Chuck Klein's National League season doubles record with 62. Rip Collins' double in the 7th is the first of only two hits off Larry French. » September 25, 1932: Paul Waner sets a new NL record with his 62nd double, as the Pirates defeat the Cardinals 7–1. The 2nd place Pirates will be the first team to finish above .500 (86-68) while scoring fewer runs (701 to 711) than their opponents. The NL won't see it again in a full season until the 1984 Mets, while it won't happen in the AL until 1948. » November 3, 1934: Although Lou Gehrig wins the Triple Crown with 49 home runs, 165 RBI, and a .363 BA, Mickey Cochrane, with two home runs, 76 RBI, and a .320 BA, is named American League MVP. Cochrane has 67 points to finish ahead of teammates Charlie Gehringer (65 points) and Schoolboy Rowe (59 points). Lefty Gomez of the Yankees polls 60. Dizzy Dean, with a 30-7 record, is chosen as National League MVP easily outdistancing Pitt's Paul Waner. » June 10, 1935: Paul Waner, Arky Vaughan, and Pep Young hit successive home runs in the 8th inning off Al Hollingsworth in the Pirates 14–1 win against the Reds. Arky Vaughan's homer is his 2nd of the day as he continues to lead the N.L. in hitting with a .400+ average. » July 7, 1936: The National League, having lost the first three All-Star Games, wins 4–3 at Boston's National League Park with four different Cub players (Galan, Herman, Hartnett, and Demaree) scoring runs. After Dizzy Dean and Carl Hubbell each pitch scoreless 3-inning stints, Curt Davis is hammered by the American League, including Lou Gehrig's home run, but Lon Warneke shuts the door. Meanwhile, the NL is helped by Joe DiMaggio's loose fielding and error and Augie Galan's home run. DiMag is the first rookie to play in an All-Star game. NL plays its starting lineup except for two late-inning pinch hitters. Local favorite and 3-time starter Wally Berger doesn't appear. Missing from the NL roster are Dolph Camilli and Buck Jordan, co-leaders at .348, as well as the eventual batting champ Paul Waner. » April 9, 1937: The 1936 batting champ, Paul Waner, ends his holdout and signs a contract with Pittsburgh. » September 18, 1937: Pittsburgh OF Paul Waner establishes a 20th-century NL record with his 8th year of 200 or more hits. » September 15, 1938: Brothers Lloyd and Paul Waner of the Pirates hit consecutive HRs off Cliff Melton in the 5th inning at the Polo Grounds. » May 8, 1940: The Waner brothers, Lloyd Waner and Paul Waner, lose their places in the Pittsburgh OF when new manager Frank Frisch acquires Vince DiMaggio for Johnny Rizzo, who hit 23 home runs as a rookie in 1938 with Cincinnati. Vince takes over CF, flanked by Maurice Van Robays and Bob Elliott, each playing their first full season. Yesterday the Bucs sold OF Fern Bell to Toronto. » January 31, 1941: Paul Waner, released by Pittsburgh in December 1940, signs with Brooklyn. He'll play 11 games before moving onto the Braves, but he'll return to Brooklyn in 1943. » May 31, 1942: In Game One of a twinbill sweep at Brooklyn, Dixie Walker of the Dodgers is credited with an inside-the-park grand slam as the Braves aging Paul Waner searches for the ball under the bullpen bench. Walker follows Pee Wee Reese, Pete Reiser, and Arky Vaughan over the plate. The Dodgers win, 10–2. Brooklyn wins the nitecap, 3–1, behind Whit Wyatt's 10th straight win over Boston. » June 19, 1942: Paul Waner, now with the Braves, joins Cap Anson and Honus Wagner as NL players with 3,000 hits. He hits a single off Pittsburgh's Rip Sewell at Boston. » January 19, 1943: The Braves release veterans Paul Waner and Johnny Cooney. » January 31, 1952: Harry Heilmann with 203 votes and Paul Waner with 195 become the newest members of the Hall of Fame.