tailieunhanh - Ebook Notable Sports Figures 4: Part 2

(BQ) Notable Sports Figures takes a close look at the people in sports who have captured attention because of success on the playing field or controversy off the playing field. It provides biographical coverage of people from around the world and throughout history who have had an impact not only on their sport, but also on the society and culture of their times. Each biography features information on the entrant’s family life, early involvement in sports, career highlights, championships, and awards. Notable Sports Figures also examines the impact that the subject had and continues to have on his or her sport, and the reasons why the individual is “notable.” This includes consideration of the successes and failures, on the field and off, that keep the person in the public eye. | Honus Wagner 1874-1955 American baseball player Considered by many baseball experts the greatest shortstop of all time Honus Wagner was one of the National Baseball Hall of Fame s five original inductees in 1936. Among his fellow inductees were Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth. At first glance Wagner looked somewhat ungainly and awkward. Stocky barrel-chested and bow-legged he nevertheless exhibited great speed which in tandem with his heritage earned him the nickname of The Flying Dutchman. Wagner compiled a lifetime batting average of .326 and managed to top .300 for an incredible fifteen consecutive seasons. John McGraw the legendary manager of the New York Giants for more than thirty seasons said of Wagner While Wagner was the greatest shortstop I believe he could have been the number one player at any position he might have selected. That s why I vote him baseball s foremost all-time player. Born in Western Pennsylvania Wagner was born in Mansfield Pennsylvania on February 24 1874 one of nine children born to Peter and Katheryn Wolf Wagner who had immigrated to western Pennsylvania from Germany s Bavaria in 1866. Big clumsy and bowlegged from birth Wagner was called Honus a German term often applied to awkward children by his family. He also acquired the nickname Dutch a corruption of Deutsch the German word for German and fairly common in this heavily German-settled region of Pennsylvania. Wagner was raised in Chartiers Pennsylvania not far from Mansfield. The two towns close to Pittsburgh were eventually merged and renamed Carnegie. His father worked in the mines where twelve-year-old Honus joined him in 1886. Young Wagner labored in the mines during the day but most evenings and Sunday afternoons found him playing sandlot baseball with his brothers and neighbors. By the time he entered the mines Wagner had already acquired star status on his neighborhood team the Oregons. His older brother Albert was thought by many in the area to be the better ballplayer but Al never