Paul Waner
⭐ Hall of Fame 1952
Born: 4/16/1903 in Harrah, OK, USA
Died: 8/29/1965 in Sarasota, FL, USA
MLB Debut: 1926-04-13 | Final Game: 1945-04-26
Bats: L | Throws: L | Height: 5'8" | Weight: 153 lbs
Full name: Paul Glee Waner
Biography
Paul Waner, born in 1903, was a distinguished Major League Baseball player whose career spanned from 1926 to 1945. Primarily recognized as a position player, Waner played 2,549 games throughout his career, amassing an impressive total of 3,152 hits. His formidable batting average of .333 placed him among the elite hitters of his era, showcasing his consistent offensive prowess. Waner hit 113 home runs and drove in 1,309 runs, solidifying his reputation as a key contributor to his teams' successes. A notable base runner, he also recorded 104 stolen bases, demonstrating his speed and agility on the field.
Waner was selected as an All-Star four times and earned his place in baseball history when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1952. His career unfolded during a transformative period in baseball, where the game was evolving both in terms of player talent and fan engagement. Waner's exceptional skill set and dedication to the sport left an indelible mark, and he is remembered as one of the premier players of his generation. His legacy continues to be celebrated by baseball enthusiasts and historians alike.
Negro Leagues Career Statistics
Batting
| PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33.0 | 31.0 | 8.0 | 13.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 7.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0.419 | 0.455 | 0.645 | 1.100 |
Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
| Season | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | 13.0 | 12.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0.417 | 0.462 | 0.500 | 0.962 |
| 1933 | 20.0 | 19.0 | 6.0 | 8.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 4.0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.421 | 0.450 | 0.737 | 1.187 |
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching
| Season | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2549 | 9459 | 1627 | 3152 | 605 | 191 | 113 | 1309 | 104 | 1091 | 376 | 0.333 | 0.404 | 0.473 | 0.878 | 39626.8 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | PIT | NL | 144 | 536 | 101 | 180 | 35 | 22 | 8 | 79 | 11 | 66 | 19 | 0.336 | 3103.5 |
| 1927 | PIT | NL | 155 | 623 | 114 | 237 | 42 | 18 | 9 | 131 | 5 | 60 | 14 | 0.380 | 4412.9 |
| 1928 | PIT | NL | 152 | 602 | 142 | 223 | 50 | 19 | 6 | 86 | 6 | 77 | 16 | 0.370 | 4451.0 |
| 1929 | PIT | NL | 151 | 596 | 131 | 200 | 43 | 15 | 15 | 100 | 15 | 89 | 24 | 0.336 | 3339.2 |
| 1930 | PIT | NL | 145 | 589 | 117 | 217 | 32 | 18 | 8 | 77 | 18 | 57 | 18 | 0.368 | 2749.1 |
| 1931 | PIT | NL | 150 | 559 | 88 | 180 | 35 | 10 | 6 | 70 | 6 | 73 | 21 | 0.322 | 2214.5 |
| 1932 | PIT | NL | 154 | 630 | 107 | 215 | 62 | 10 | 8 | 82 | 13 | 56 | 24 | 0.341 | 2986.4 |
| 1933 | PIT | NL | 154 | 618 | 101 | 191 | 38 | 16 | 7 | 70 | 3 | 60 | 20 | 0.309 | 2109.0 |
| 1934 | PIT | NL | 146 | 599 | 122 | 217 | 32 | 16 | 14 | 90 | 8 | 68 | 24 | 0.362 | 3954.0 |
| 1935 | PIT | NL | 139 | 549 | 98 | 176 | 29 | 12 | 11 | 78 | 2 | 61 | 22 | 0.321 | 2055.7 |
| 1936 | PIT | NL | 148 | 585 | 107 | 218 | 53 | 9 | 5 | 94 | 7 | 74 | 29 | 0.373 | 3695.6 |
| 1937 | PIT | NL | 154 | 619 | 94 | 219 | 30 | 9 | 2 | 74 | 4 | 63 | 34 | 0.354 | 2154.4 |
| 1938 | PIT | NL | 148 | 625 | 77 | 175 | 31 | 6 | 6 | 69 | 2 | 47 | 28 | 0.280 | -597.2 |
| 1939 | PIT | NL | 125 | 461 | 62 | 151 | 30 | 6 | 3 | 45 | 0 | 35 | 18 | 0.328 | 869.5 |
| 1940 | PIT | NL | 89 | 238 | 32 | 69 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 0 | 23 | 14 | 0.290 | 54.9 |
| 1941 | BRO | NL | 11 | 35 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0.171 | 0.0 |
| 1941 | BSN | NL | 95 | 294 | 40 | 82 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 46 | 1 | 47 | 14 | 0.279 | 0.0 |
| 1942 | BSN | NL | 114 | 333 | 43 | 86 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 39 | 2 | 62 | 20 | 0.258 | 522.6 |
| 1943 | BRO | NL | 82 | 225 | 29 | 70 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 0 | 35 | 9 | 0.311 | 921.5 |
| 1944 | BRO | NL | 83 | 136 | 16 | 39 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 27 | 7 | 0.287 | 330.6 |
| 1944 | NYY | AL | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0.143 | 330.6 |
| 1945 | NYY | AL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.333 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | WS | PIT | 4 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.333 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 73 | 0 | 641 | 29 | 12 | 52 |
| OF | 2288 | 0 | 4872 | 241 | 132 | 53 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | PIT | OF | 139 | 0 | 307 | 21 | 8 | 3 |
| 1927 | PIT | 1B | 14 | 0 | 104 | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| 1927 | PIT | OF | 143 | 0 | 326 | 20 | 7 | 4 |
| 1928 | PIT | 1B | 24 | 0 | 234 | 8 | 4 | 17 |
| 1928 | PIT | OF | 131 | 0 | 299 | 14 | 8 | 0 |
| 1929 | PIT | 1B | 7 | 0 | 70 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 1929 | PIT | OF | 143 | 0 | 328 | 15 | 5 | 5 |
| 1930 | PIT | OF | 143 | 0 | 344 | 9 | 15 | 4 |
| 1931 | PIT | 1B | 10 | 0 | 99 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| 1931 | PIT | OF | 138 | 0 | 342 | 28 | 9 | 8 |
| 1932 | PIT | OF | 154 | 0 | 367 | 13 | 10 | 3 |
| 1933 | PIT | OF | 154 | 0 | 346 | 16 | 7 | 2 |
| 1934 | PIT | OF | 145 | 0 | 323 | 15 | 5 | 1 |
| 1935 | PIT | OF | 136 | 0 | 283 | 13 | 5 | 2 |
| 1936 | PIT | OF | 145 | 0 | 323 | 15 | 14 | 7 |
| 1937 | PIT | 1B | 3 | 0 | 27 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 1937 | PIT | OF | 150 | 0 | 271 | 16 | 9 | 3 |
| 1938 | PIT | OF | 147 | 0 | 284 | 11 | 7 | 0 |
| 1939 | PIT | OF | 106 | 0 | 206 | 12 | 5 | 4 |
| 1940 | PIT | 1B | 8 | 0 | 88 | 6 | 1 | 12 |
| 1940 | PIT | OF | 45 | 0 | 62 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1941 | BRO | OF | 9 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1941 | BSN | 1B | 7 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1941 | BSN | OF | 77 | 0 | 129 | 7 | 5 | 3 |
| 1942 | BSN | OF | 94 | 0 | 150 | 6 | 5 | 3 |
| 1943 | BRO | OF | 57 | 0 | 116 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| 1944 | BRO | OF | 32 | 0 | 54 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 69 |
| Left Field | 23 |
| Center Field | 20 |
| Right Field | 2250 |
Awards & Honors
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Central University | Ada | OK | 1922 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 8th | 21.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1936 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 5th | 29.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1935 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 24th | 1.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1934 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 2nd | 50.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1932 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 4th | 37.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1928 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 15th | 5.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1927 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 1st | 72.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1926 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 12th | 15.0 | 80 | 0 |