Honus Wagner

Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner, was an American baseball shortstop who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1897 to 1917, almost entirely for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wagner won his eighth batting title in 1911, a National League record that remains unbroken to this day, and matched only once, in 1997, by Tony Gwynn. He also led the league in slugging six times and stolen bases five times. Wagner was nicknamed "the Flying Dutchman" due to his superb speed and German heritage. This nickname was a nod to the popular folk-tale made into a famous opera by the German composer Richard Wagner. In 1936, the Baseball Hall of Fame inducted Wagner as one of the first five members. He received the second-highest vote total, behind Ty Cobb's 222 and tied with Babe Ruth at 215.

24 February 1874

Born on the same birth day (24 February): Ashley Walker (basketball) • Daniel Kaluuya • Dave Sands • Jamal Nazrul Islam • Mohammad Sami • O'Shea Jackson Jr. • Pope Clement VIII • Zell Miller

Born in the same month (February 1874): Amy Lowell • Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati • Bill Klem • Elsa Beskow • Ernest Shackleton • Gertrude Stein • Hugo von Hofmannsthal • Konstantin Päts • Mary Garden • Thomas J. Watson