Honus Wagner throwing

Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner (1874–1955) appears here on the E90-1 American Caramel set in the "Throwing" pose — a horizontal-format action card depicting the Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop in mid-release, his throwing motion frozen in lithograph. The right-handed hitter and thrower was the National League's pre-eminent shortstop and arguably the most complete position player of the deadball era, leading the league in batting eight times and stealing bases at totals that bordered on the comical for a man of his bulk and bowed-leg gait. By the 1909 American Caramel issue date, Wagner was 35 and had just helped the Pirates win the World Series over Ty Cobb's Tigers in seven games — out-hitting Cobb head-to-head in the process and effectively settling a contemporary debate over which league had the better star shortstop-outfielder. The horizontal-format E90-1 cards are comparatively scarce because the wider die-cut profile made them more prone to corner damage in the candy boxes that distributed them. Wagner is, of course, most famous to modern collectors for his absence from the T206 tobacco set — he reportedly objected to having his image used to sell cigarettes — which is why his appearance on the candy issues like E90-1 carries particular weight. He died December 6, 1955 in Carnegie, Pennsylvania. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936 as a member of the inaugural Cooperstown class, tied with Babe Ruth in vote totals second only to Ty Cobb.