| Birthdate | 3/16/1906 |
| Death Date | 7/22/1982 |
| Debut Year | 1927 |
| Year of Induction | 1967 |
| Teams | Braves, Dodgers, Phillies, Pirates, Reds |
| Position | Center Field |
Lloyd Waner (2,459) and brother Paul (3,152) combined to set the Major League record for most career hits by a brother combination (5,611).
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Lloyd Waner burst onto the baseball scene in 1927. He hit .355 and scored a league-leading 133 runs. More impressively, he tallied 223 hits to set a still-standing NL mark for safeties by a rookie.
The magic started for Waner early in his big league debut. Pirates manager Donnie Bush penciled Waner into the two hole in the batting lineup on Opening Day in ’27.
After a single by leadoff man George Grantham, Waner got his chance. In his first appearance on a major league field, Waner legged out an infield single.
After Kiki Cuyler bunted the runners to second and third, cleanup hitter and older brother Paul Waner hit a line drive to right that scored both men.
The Pirates held on to beat the Reds 2-1. The Waner had much to celebrate. Lloyd with a hit in his first career at bat scored the winning run. Paul contributed in his own right, driving in both Pittsburgh runs.
Paul finished the year as the AL batting champion with Lloyd finishing third. The brother’s performance catapulted the Pirates to the World Series.
Though they got swept in the Fall Classic, it was at the hands of one of the greatest teams of all time, Babe Ruth’s 1927 Yankees.
In this letter dated November 27, 1973 Lloyd writes about the most memorable moments of his 18-year MLB career.
“One of my greatest thrills as the World Series against the Yankees in 1927.
“Also my first game I played in major league, opening the season at Cinn. 1927. We won, I scored the winning run.”
The Waners roamed the Pittsburgh outfield together from 1927-1940.
Paul and Lloyd Waner combined to for 5,611 big league hits, the most ever by a brother combination. In fact, the duo tallied more base knocks than memorable brother trios of DiMaggio — Joe, Dom, and Vince had 4,853 hits — and Alou — Felipe, Matty, and Jesus had 5,094 hits. Together the Waners played 32 seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates and 38 years overall.
Teammates for 14 years in Pittsburgh, they also had memorable nicknames, Big Poison for older brother Paul, and Little Poison for Lloyd. Three-time batting champ and 1927 Most Valuable Player Paul was the seventh man in big league history to amass 3,000 hits. A lifetime .333 hitter, he enjoyed a 20-year playing career in the Major Leagues.
In the collection is this autographed page from Who’s Who in Baseball from 1933. Notice the listing of Paul’s home address at the top of the page. These books contained a page for each Major Leaguer and manager and remain a sought after collectible in their own right.
Though overshadowed by his more decorated older brother Paul, Lloyd Waner was a respected player in his own right. In four of his first five big league seasons he had at least 214 hits. Lloyd hit .320 or better in seven seasons.
From the time he broke in at age 19 through his age-32 season, Lloyd received support in MVP balloting in five seasons. The run included two top-10 finishes for the award and one top-5 showing.
Featured here is a National Chicle Diamond Star baseball card of the centerfielder. Issued continuously from 1934 to 1936, the set features a color art rendering of a player photograph, usually “in action,” along with his name.
Not nearly as remembered as the Goudey sets from the same time, the Diamond Stars set is quite attractive. Little Poison has signed the bottom of the card that shows a posed Waner catching a ball in his glove.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have a long and proud tradition. Founded in 1887, they played in the sport’s first World Series in 1903. When the Hall of Fame voted in its first five inductees, a Pirate was among them.
The inaugural Cooperstown class included Pittsburgh shortstop Honus Wagner along with the likes of Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson. The next man to play primarily for the Pirates who gained induction was outfielder/manager Fred Clarke in 1945.
Three years later Pittsburgh third baseman Pie Traynor received his plaque. The only Pirates player to gain baseball’s highest honor in the 1950s was Big Poison, Paul Waner in 1952. A decade passed before Pittsburgh leadoff man Max Carey went to Cooperstown in 1962. In 1967 Lloyd Waner joined the Steel City quintuplet.
This handwritten letter of March 3, 1958 has ties to three of the first six Pittsburgh Hall of Famers – Wagner and both Waner brothers. Here the younger Waner writes to the organizer Honus Wagner Dedication Day. “Will be glad to help out on ole Honus Dedication Day — I have given about all my old Baseball things away — but I’ll try to rake up a few things.”
After boldly signing his name, Lloyd writes the address of his older brother Paul at the bottom of the letter.
The story of how Paul Waner tallied his 3,000th hit is now just a footnote in baseball history. It’s also a story worth telling.
Before Waner collected his landmark knock, just six inner-circle Cooperstown men reached the milestone. In chronological order the 3,000-hit club included Cap Anson (1897), Honus Wagner (1914), Nap Lajoie (1914), Ty Cobb (1921), Tris Speaker (1925), and Eddie Collins (1925).
Waner neared the mark in his 16th season in 1942. In the second game of a doubleheader on June 17th that year Waner’s first-inning single pushed his total to 2,999. After a 3rd-inning fly out, Waner came up again in the 5th.
That’s when something special happened.
With one out and Braves rookie Tommy Holmes on first base, Waner hit a sharp grounder to the second-base side of shortstop Eddie Joost. The Reds infielder got his glove on the ball but did not make the play. Jerry Moore, the official scorer ruled it a hit.
It was a moment most men would cherish. Not Paul Waner. Big Poison didn’t want a scoring decision – even a correct one – to give him hit #3,000.
Waner waved angrily to the press box, demanding that the call be changed to an error. Eventually the scorer relented; Waner would have to wait to collect #3,000.
After an off day for Boston, Waner and the Braves faced off against Rip Sewell and the Pittsburgh Pirates. In the top of the 5th Waner laced an RBI single to center and got what he wanted – a clean 3,000th hit.
Baseball waited more than a decade and a half before Stan Musial followed Waner as the 8th member of the 3,000-hit club. Since then, other baseball batsmen have tallied the magic number. Of them all, only Paul Waner refused the moment and demanded to do it on his terms.
In the collection is this government postcard signed by Waner and postmarked 7 years after he recorded his big hit.
Shown here is the reverse of the government postcard signed by Hall of Fame outfielder Paul Waner. Such cards offer insight into when and where the item was signed.
By virtue of the postmark, we see this one was signed near his home in Sarasota, Florida on January 12, 1949. This was Waner’s final year as a scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Shortly after retiring from the game, Waner opened a batting cage in Sarasota. In 1952 he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Sarasota postmark also matches Waner’s location according to his brother Lloyd in the 1958 letter two images previous to this.
The story of how Lloyd Waner tallied his milestone 3,000th hit is now a mere footnote in baseball history.
It’s also a story worth knowing.
In an unlikely turn of events, an angry Paul Waner rejected a scorer’s decision.
Waner demanded a chance to record his memorable knock cleanly – and got his wish.
This is the forgotten tale of how the 7th MLB batter to total 3,000 hits joined baseball’s exclusive club.
Read More >"Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball…"
~Jacques Barzun, 1954
Very interesting story these guys were before my time I grew up idolizing Ted Williams and think about what his numbers would have been if not for his five years in the service as in 1942 he led both leagues in every major hitting category then missing 1943, 44 and 45. Those three years would have been spectacular.