Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1914-12-17
HANS WAGNER TELLS
OF HIS EARLY LIFE
When Pressed Gives a BIT OF Infor-
nation Concerning His First
Professional Engagement.
PLAYED FOR $50 MONTHLY
Was Then With SteubenyiiIe, Ohio,
Team Under George Moreland.
Went With OIL City as Manager,
Finishing in Second Place.

Hans Wagner never talks for publi-
cation. This custom OF his IS almost
as well accepted and accredited as the
laws which govern the game. But
there is one rule that superccdcs all
others. the rule that there are excep-
tons In all cases. Here is the cxcep-
ton in the Wagner policy, for here are
some interesting facts given for pub
LEGATION by the immortal Honus him
self. The following is from the Spc-.
cial Wagner Issue of the Baseball
Magazine:
II was born on February "a 1874. SO
II ! live till that date this winter l
shall be forty-One years old. That is
old for ball player they say At
least there are not many OF us hang
ing around the big leagues at that age
| guess. / won't say that l am the
Oldest ball player in the big Leagues
for don't know. But / guess l am
in the senior class.
Il was born in Carnegie and always
lived here. though the town wasn't
named Carnegie then. 1t was called
Mansfield when I first saw It, but as
1t was great mining and milling
place. Mr.. Carnegie had considerable
reputation hereabouts, and the citi-
Zcns decided to rename 1t for him
| guess the old town hasn't suffered
any from the change
Il was born three or four blocks
from where l now live. and had four
brothers and one sister. My brothers
were. In the order OF their age, Charles.
Al, Loiis, myself and BIZ. had also
Il sister Carrie. now Mrs. Gallagher.
Carrie was younger than I and older
than Bill. Bill was the baby OF tho
family.
Charles and Bill took UP the bar
bers trade. One of them lives in Ohio
and one in Pennsylvania, though not
in Carnegie. My brother Al works for
the Pittsburgh club. also work for
tho Pittsburgh club. Lou makes n liv-
Ing here in Carnegie.
In Not Married.
None OF us IS married. The three of
us who live in Carnegie bach in our
house. and take our meals outside
There are hotels in Carnegie where Won
can get something to eat IL YOU have
the price.
II played baseball when ] was kid
and liked the game. 1 liked all kinds
OF outdoor sport then. and do now
was pretty fast on my feet when
was n Kid. j know we used TO run foot
races every night up and down this
very street, which is now called Rail-
road Avenue. We used to run in the
dirt and thought nothing of running
fifteen or twenty sprints in an evening
! have competed In n sprint with semi
professionals and won the race. ] have
been timed quite often. once at n hun
drcd yards In ten seconds. This Is fast,
not many can do II, ard I won't say
that my timer was correct. People
have been led astray by my style of
running. In my prime / WIS told
did not look as though l was running
fast. because took such long strides
SO does BcScher. who is Il deceiving
runner too. But Beschcr gets there.
and that was my object. 1t never made
any difference TO me how many strides
| took rs long as I took enough to
land me where I was going.
Played baseball When IA KID.
Il played baseball when I was n kid.
hut that didn't amount to much. There
was no money in it. | went to school
here In Carnegie and learned few
things. Then had to go to work 1t
is n mining country here and the coal
mines are what they call surface mines.
That is, they don't sink n shaft as
they do I'm some parts. but work into a
side hill from the surface. was a
coal miner for about year. I didn't
do any breaker work like some OF the
other ball players, who have started
that way. I was pretty husky for my
age and did general work in tho mine
Tor pay. II was hard work, but good
exercise. l did not work a whole year
in the mine Then l went into mill
and worked for about year. That
was also good exercise.
When | was sixteen ] started play
Ing ball here in earnest. I began In
1891 and played that season, also in
80 and 80. In % played with the
st. Lukes Club of Mansfield, which was
then the name OF this town before il
was changed to Carnegie.
stnrtH mt Dennison, o.
The latter part OF the season OF "a
l went away to pay ball That was
on account OF my brother AL He was
playing with tho club at Dennison, o..
and told the manager he had a brother
who could play ball. They believed
him and sent for me. finished the
season there.
I'm 95 / played with three different
cfubs. One Of them was Steubcnvillc.
o., which was managed by George
Moreland. Morcland sent for me and
wanted me TO play. He said he would
give me S3o month. | told him I
wanted $40 He wrote RE, L will nav
You s35 a month, ana that is all | will
! pay You; If YOU don't want il YOU can
stay home. So ! won't. There weren't
! so many jobs open in baseball in those
days. y player didn't have so much
| choice Ms to where he would 20 or what
/ he would get And needed the
money. ] stayed ut Stcubcnvillc only
few weeks l was also at Warren.
! OF the Iron and Oil League, but most
} OF the season I spent ut Adam. Mich.
where ! played between two and thrc,
+ months. I managed the club there
and did pretty well. We finished In
second place.
My legs have slowed up some in
the past few years. That has hurt my
7 iicldipG little. AS ! can't cover so
much ground as I used to do. IT has
/ slowed me UP as base stealer too
( though so long as man can get the
/ start on the pitcher and slide we'll he
! can steal fair number OF bases n
year even after he has slowed up a
bit"
DIniIh6nhn iraNtt-