Coach Wagner

Jingoist asked a good question in the comments thread for the 1941 photo of old Honus Wagner with the team (scroll two posts down for the link). He wanted to know how long Wagner was associated with the team. I went to the Pittsburgh Pirates Encyclopedia by David Finoli and Bill Ranier and found this answer:

Wagner stayed on with the Pirates as a coach until 1952, although in later years the designation was part-time and he seldom made road trips after 1942. During his years as a coach, Wagner developed a grandfatherly persona and became known for telling tall tales and spending time with children. . . .

Wagner's legend continued to grow during his coaching days, helped along by his own gift for spinning a yarn. It is said that during a threatened players' strike in 1946 Pirates owner William Benswanger claimed he would "play seventy-four-year-old Honus Wagner at shortstop" rather than forfeit a game. The story goes that an elderly gentleman flew from North Carolina with his grandson to Pittsburgh, hoping the lad would get a chance to see Honus play. . . .

In failing health, Wagner attended the dedication of a statue in his honor of April 30, 1955 in Schenly Park outside his former ballyard. Although he passed away on December 6 that year, the statue has kept his contributions in the minds of fans at Forbes, then Three Rivers Stadium and now at PNC Park. It is still a common meeting place for fans going to watch his favorite team.

This is a great book to be reading when there's not much else to occupy your baseball-addicted mind.