Paul Waner (1952)


Date of Birth: 4/16/1903
Date of Death: 8/29/1965
Birthplace: Harrah, Oklahoma
College: East Central University

After high school, Paul Waner was a pitcher for the East Central State Teachers College. From 1923 through 1925, he played professional baseball with the Pacific Coast League. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in October, 1925.

Pittsburgh Pirates

In 1926, Waner had a strong rookie year with the Pirates, batting .336 with 180 hits, 35 doubles, and 79 RBIs in 144 games. He also had a league and career high 22 triples.

Waner won the National League MVP award in 1927, and he led the league in hits, triples, RBIs, and batting average. He had career highs in games played (155), hits (237), RBIs (131), and batting average (.380). He had 42 doubles and 18 triples, and he walked 60 times while striking out just 14 times. He also had a good year defensively, leading all NL right fielders in putouts with 324.

Waner led the NL in doubles with 50 in 1928. He finished the season with 223 hits, 19 triples, 86 RBIs, 16 strikeouts to 77 walks, and a .370 batting average in 152 games. The next year, he had career highs in home runs with 15 and in walks with 89 (to 24 strikeouts). He batted .336 with 200 hits, 43 doubles, 15 triples, and 100 RBIs in 151 games.

Waner's batting average went up to .368 in 1930. He had 217 hits, 32 doubles, 18 triples, a career high 18 stolen bases, and 77 RBIs in 145 games. He walked 57 times and struck out 18 times. The next season, he batted .322 in 150 games. He finished the 1931 season with 180 hits, 35 doubles, 10 triples, and 70 RBIs. He again led NL right fielders in putouts with 334.

Waner led the NL in doubles in 1932 with a career high of 62. He had 215 hits, 82 RBIs, and a .341 batting average in 154 games. His batting average dropped to .309 in 1933. He finished that season with 191 hits, 38 doubles, 16 triples, 70 RBIs, and 20 strikeouts to 60 walks in 154 games. He once more led NL right fielders in putouts with 344.

Waner led the NL in hits and in batting average in 1934. That season he batted .362 with 217 hits, 32 doubles, 16 triples, 14 home runs, and 90 RBIs in 146 games. He walked 68 times and he struck out 24 times. The following year, he batted .321 with 176 hits and 78 RBIs in 139 games.

In 1936, Waner again led the NL in batting average with .373. He had 218 hits, 53 doubles, and 94 RBIs in 148 games. He again led NL right fielders in putouts wtih 329. He had another strong season in 1937, batting .354 with 219 hits, 30 doubles, and 74 RBIs in 154 games.

Waner batted .280 with 175 hits in 148 games in 1938. The next season, he played in 125 games, and he batted .328 with 151 hits. In 1940, he played in just 89 games and he batted .290.

Waner was released by the Pirates on December 5, 1940.

Final Years as a Player

Waner signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers on January 31, 1941. He only played in eleven games with the Dodgers before being released on May 11, 1941. He signed with the Boston Braves on May 24, 1941. He played in 95 games with the Braves that year, and he finished the season with 88 hits and a .267 batting average.

Waner played in 114 games in 1942. He had a .258 batting average with 86 hits, 17 doubles, and 39 RBIs. He walked 62 times and he struck out 20 times.

The Braves released Waner on January 19, 1943. He returned to the Dodgers on a new contract two days later. He played in 82 games in 1943, and he batted .311 with 70 hits.

The Dodgers released Waner on September 1, 1944, and he signed with the New York Yankees on that same day. He finished the 1944 season with 40 hits and a .280 batting average in 83 games with the Dodgers and 9 games with the Yankees.

Waner ended his major league career with one game with the Yankees in 1945.

Awards and MLB Records

  • NL MVP
  • Led NL in batting average (3 times)
  • Led NL in hits (2 times)
  • Led NL in doubles (2 times)
  • Led NL in triples (2 times)

Career Statistics

Statistics for Waner in 15 seasons (1926-1940) with the Pirates include:

  • 14 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 237 in 1927
  • 13 seasons with 30 or more doubles, with a high of 62 in 1932
  • 10 seasons with 10 or more triples, with a high of 22 in 1926
  • 13 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .380 in 1927

Career batting statistics for Waner include:

  • 2,549 games played
  • 3,152 hits
  • 605 doubles
  • 191 triples
  • 113 home runs
  • 104 stolen bases
  • 1,309 RBIs
  • 376 strikeouts to 1,091 walks
  • .333 batting average
  • .404 on-base percentage
  • .877 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Waner as a right fielder include:

  • 2,250 games played
  • 4,740 putouts
  • 131 errors
  • .974 fielding percentage

Post Playing Career

After retiring as a major league player, Waner was a player-manager with a minor league team in 1946.

Waner was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1952 on the sixth ballot with 83.3% of the vote.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Paul Waner
ESPN - Paul Waner
Baseball Reference - Paul Waner

Back to Top