The date was April 13, 1935 when Pie Traynor posted this letter to his wife Eve. The Pirate third baseman addressed the envelope to “Mrs. Harold J. Traynor” thereby providing his autograph.

An outstanding third baseman before World War II, Traynor was selected for each of the first two All Star games in 1933 and 1934 even though his very best years were behind him.

He finished with a 2,415 hits and a .320 lifetime average. Before Traynor was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1948, Cooperstown had no third baseman.

Do you know the origin of Harold Traynor’s nickname? A grocery store owner near his childhood home in Somerville, Massachusetts gave him the moniker that would stick with him the rest of his life.

Apparently the store owner called Traynor, “Pie Face” which was later shortened to “Pie” by his friends.

How much did Traynor identify with the nickname? In this 1935 letter to his wife the 36-year old closed it by signing, “Pie”.

Most of the Traynor autographs that survive today are similar to this index card in which the third baseman has written, “Pie Traynor”. That makes the first image on this page a bit remarkable.

Much less common is the more formal, “Harold Traynor” as shown on that envelope. Traynor’s 1948 induction year gave him 24 years of life as a member of the Hall of Fame. This combines to make Traynor’s autograph widely available to collectors.

Elbie Fletcher enjoyed a 12-year Major League career, most of which with the Pirates. Here Fletcher writes about Pie Traynor, “In 1939 I was sold to the Pitts. Pirates and ‘Pie’ Traynor was the manager, a great break for me. He was a ‘Hall of Famer’, an outstanding third baseman, and an excellent hitter. What more could you ask for?”

Fletcher led the league in on-base percentage in 1940, ’41, and ’42. The following year the sweet-fielding first baseman was an All Star. Unfortunately he then lost two seasons to World War II. He returned to the Pirates and played three more seasons before retiring at age 33.