Monster Card Monday: 1908 Honus Wagner

It’s hard to believe that after all these years this card hasn’t been posted yet. I’m talking about Honus Wagner’s 1908 APBA card.

The Flyin’ Dutchman was in the prime of his career and led the NL in multiple offensive categories including hitting, slugging, hits, rbis, and steals.

With Wagner at short, Pittsburgh won 98 games but that was one shy of Chicago who won the championship in 1908.

1908 Honus Wagner

Led NL with:

  • .354/.415/.542
  • 201 hits
  • 109 rbis
  • 39 doubles
  • 19 triples

Card Breakdown

For the deadball era, this card can rake. It has four 0s with five 1s in the second column. Honus led the NL in triples with 19 and it shows. He has ten 2s.

Wagner’s true strength is the three 11’s which are automatic hits no matter the grade of the opposing pitcher. On top of that, he has a 44-7.

His three 14s certainly help him get on base (as if he needs any help). I’m looking for a 13 on his card but there are none to be found. Another perk: Honus Wagner has three 31s and his card is perfect for the hit & run.

1908 Wagner is fast and a SS-9. A side note… Wagner was known for being versatile in the field but in the 1908 season, he only played shortstop.

Note that there are two error numbers on Wagner’s 1908 card. He has a 53-18 and 23-20. All players in this 1908 set received two error numbers as Wagner did.

This brought back memories of when I visited Honus Wagner’s grave eight years ago. Pittsburgh is a great sports town!

Thanks to Scott Fennessy for the card!

Thomas Nelshoppen

I am an IT consultant by day and an APBA media mogul by night. My passions are baseball (specifically Illini baseball), photography and of course, APBA. I have been fortunate to be part of the basic game Illowa APBA League since 1980 as well as a frequent participant of the Chicagoland APBA Tournament. I am slogging through a 1966 NL replay and hope to finish before I die.

2 Comments:

  1. That truly is a fantastic card. The 22-0 was a real bonus and that 51–11 is a killer.

  2. During my replay the 4 zeros and 3 elevens made this one of the few cards that was immune from A starters, and there are a ton of them in this set.

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