Background
Paul Glee Waner was born on a farm at Harrah, Okla. , the son of Ora Lee Waner and Etta Lenora Beavers. Both parents were members of prosperous farming families who migrated from Germany to Oklahoma during the land rush of 1889.
(Batting instructional by the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of F...)
Batting instructional by the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame baseball player.
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Paul Glee Waner was born on a farm at Harrah, Okla. , the son of Ora Lee Waner and Etta Lenora Beavers. Both parents were members of prosperous farming families who migrated from Germany to Oklahoma during the land rush of 1889.
Waner graduated from high school in nearby Oklahoma City in 1921 and then entered State Teachers College at Ada.
During the summer of 1923, a scout for the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League persuaded Waner to sign a $500 contract to play baseball. Waner began his professional career as a pitcher. His success on the mound was short-lived, and arm trouble forced him to become an outfielder. In 1924, his first Coast League season, he hit . 356. The following year he hit . 401 and had 280 hits, including 75 doubles, a Coast League record. At the end of the season he was purchased by the Pittsburgh Pirates for the then unprecedented sum of $100, 000. Physically, Waner was not imposing. He stood five feet, eight inches tall and never weighed more than 155 pounds. In 1926 a scout for the New York Giants who observed Waner playing his first game in the major leagues reported to John McGraw, the New York Giants' manager: "That little punk don't even know how to put on a uniform. " After the Pirates had faced the Giants for the first time that season, McGraw discharged the scout, saying: "That little punk don't know how to put on a uniform but he's removed three of my pitchers with line drives this week. I'm glad you did not scout Christy Mathewson. " During the 1927 season Waner was joined on the team by his younger and even smaller brother, Lloyd. They were nicknamed "Big Poison" and "Little Poison" ("poison" being Brooklynese for "person"). During the World Series, Babe Ruth mockingly commented: "Why they're just kids. If I was that little, I'd be afraid of getting hurt. " Although the Yankees won the series in four straight games, the Waner brothers outhit the Yankee sluggers, Ruth and Lou Gehrig, . 367 to . 357. Waner was a left-handed hitter. Not known for home-run power - he hit only 112 career four-baggers - he was primarily a line-drive hitter. He became one of the most successful hitters of doubles in the game, smashing fifty in 1928 and sixty-two in 1932. Unlike many players, he did not have a favorite bat. During one game in 1926, he had six straight hits with six different bats. Waner played twenty seasons of major-league ball, appearing in 2, 549 games and compiling a lifetime batting average of . 333. He hit better than . 300 in twelve consecutive seasons and fourteen overall. He played in four of the first five All-Star games (he failed to get a hit in eight official times at bat). Waner won the National League batting crown in 1927 - cracking out 237 hits - with a . 380 average, in 1934 with . 362, and in 1936 with . 373. Overall, he accumulated 3, 152 hits, making him one of only fourteen players in the history of the game to collect more than 3, 000 hits. In 1927 he was voted the National League's most valuable player. In 1940 he was released by Pittsburgh, then played five more seasons as a reserve outfielder and pinch hitter for the Boston Braves, Brooklyn Dodgers, and New York Yankees. A shortage of players during World War II extended his career until he was forty-two. After leaving the major leagues, Waner moved to Sarasota, Fla. , where he operated a batting-practice range. He also served for many years as a part-time batting instructor and coach for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, and Milwaukee Braves. An excellent golfer, he was one of the principal organizers of the National Baseball Players' Golf Tournament in 1934; he won the championship in 1938 after a final-round battle with Babe Ruth. In 1952 he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He died in Sarasota.
He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston Braves, and New York Yankees of Major League Baseball from 1926 to 1945. He won three National League (NL) batting titles and the NL Most Valuable Player Award while with the Pirates. He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1952.
(Batting instructional by the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of F...)
Heavy drinking was a major problem in Waner's career and accounted in part for numerous shifts toward the end of his playing days.
On June 10, 1927, Waner married Mildred Moore. They had one son.
