Historical Photo Archive - "Larry Lajoie & Honus Wagner" Limited Edition 10.5x14.5 Fine Art Giclee on Paper #45/375 (PA LOA)

Limited Edition #45 / 375

  • Lot number 5440205
  • Total views 4
  • Total bids 10
  • Winning bid $24.00
  • Buyer's premium $4.08
  • Total $28.08
  • DAILY NO RESERVE

1904 Historic image of Napoleon Lajoie (Cleveland Naps) and Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates shaking hands.

This Limited Edition Fine Art Giclee is printed on acid-free museum quality paper with a hand-torn deckled edge. It is hand-titled and hand-numbered. All though this image can be used by others the Historical Photo Archive collection will not produce more than 375 pieces. Each piece of art features an embossed seal of quality from the Historical Photo Archive collection.

Napoleon Lajoie (September 5, 1874 – February 7, 1959), also known as Larry Lajoie and nicknamed "The Frenchman", was a second baseman and player-manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Athletics (twice), and Cleveland Naps between 1896 and 1916. He managed the Naps from 1905 through 1909.

Lajoie was signed to the Leagues’ (NL) Phillies in 1896. By the beginning of the twentieth century, however, the upstart American League (AL) was looking to rival the supremacy of the NL and in 1901, Lajoie and dozens of former National League players joined the American League. National League clubs contested the legality of contracts signed by players who jumped to the other league but eventually, Lajoie was allowed to play for Connie Mack's Athletics. During the season, Lajoie set the all-time American League single-season mark for the highest batting average (.426) One year later, Lajoie went to the Cleveland Broncho’s where he would play until the 1915 season when he returned to play for Mack and the Athletics. While with Cleveland, Lajoie's popularity led to locals electing to change the club's team name from Broncho’s to Napoleons ("Naps" for short), which remained until after Lajoie departed Cleveland and the name was changed to Indians (the team's present-day name).

Lajoie led the AL in batting average five times in his career and four times recorded the highest number of hits. During several of those years with the Naps he and Ty Cobb dominated AL hitting categories and traded batting titles with each other, most notably coming in 1910, when the league's batting champion was not decided until well after the last game of the season and after an investigation by American League President Ban Johnson. Lajoie in 1914 joined Cap Anson and Honus Wagner as the only major league players to record 3,000 career hits. He led the NL or AL in putouts five times in his career and assists three times. He has been called "the best second baseman in the history of baseball" and "the most outstanding player to wear a Cleveland uniform." Cy Young said, "Lajoie was one of the most rugged players I ever faced. He'd take your leg off with a line drive, turn the third baseman around like a swinging door and powder the hand of the left fielder. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937.

Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner (February 24, 1874 – December 6, 1955), sometimes referred to as "Hans" Wagner, was a shortstop who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1897 to 1917, almost entirely for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wagner won his eighth (and final) batting title in 1911, a National League record that remains unbroken to this day, and matched only once, in 1997, by Tony Gwynn. He also led the league in slugging six times and stolen bases five times. Wagner was nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman" due to his superb speed and German heritage. This nickname was a nod to the popular folk-tale made into a famous opera by another Wagner.

In 1936, the Baseball Hall of Fame inducted Wagner as one of the first five members. He received the second-highest vote total, behind Ty Cobb and tied with Babe Ruth.

Although Cobb is frequently cited as the greatest player of the dead-ball era, some contemporaries regarded Wagner as the better all-around player, and most baseball historians consider Wagner to be the greatest shortstop ever. Cobb himself called Wagner "maybe the greatest star ever to take the diamond." Honus Wagner is also the featured player of one of the rarest and most valuable baseball cards in existence.

Historical Photo Archive -The archival collection contains historically and socially significant imagery that documents the human experience throughout the centuries up to the present day. The collection features sport and music icons, notable luminary’s as well as landmark moments.

The lot / autograph(s) includes a LOA and lifetime authenticity guarantee from Pristine Auction.

Authentication: Pristine Auction LOA

Due to the uniqueness of each item, please refer to the photos provided in this auction. We offer high resolution images of each item rather than a written description of condition.

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