From the Great One to His Airness | Hall of Fame Connections Episode 9
In this episode of the Hall of Fame Connections series, we draw the line from the world’s most prized baseball card to an NBA legend. How?
In 1991, hockey legend Wayne Gretzky purchased a Honus Wagner T-206 card for $451,000, then the highest amount ever paid for any baseball card. The two Wanger T-206 cards in the Hall’s collection were both donated to it – the only way we accept artifacts. The Wagner card remains card collecting’s most famous Holy Grail.
Wagner, one of the First Five Hall of Fame inductees, was one of the game’s greatest hitters. The eight-time batting champion also led the league in doubles seven times and triples three times. The only position the versatile Wagner never played was catcher.
Hall of Fame executive Ed Barrow signed Wagner out of a low-minors league and brought him to Paterson, New Jersey, and the high-level Atlantic League, which propelled him into his future. A baseball lifer, Barrow owned and managed minor league teams, was a minor league league president, and managed in the majors. His last managerial stop was Boston in 1918-20, where he won Boston’s last WS of the 20th century. In 1921, he moved to New York and became the architect of a Yankees dynasty.
Barrow encouraged Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert to hire scout Paul Krichell away from the Red Sox. Krichell then discovered Lou Gehrig at Columbia, so Gehrig became a Yankee instead of signing with the Red Sox. Barrow’s and Krichell’s players led the Yankees to incredible success, which say them win 20 World Series championships from 1923 to 1962, an era when the Red Sox won zero World Championships, forming the foundation for Boston’s long-simmering frustration.
In 2004, manager Terry Francona led the Boston Red Sox to their first championship since Barrow’s 1918 club. In so doing, Francona broke the so-called “Curse of the Bambino,” first noticed in 1986 and popularized by Boston writer Dan Shaughnassy in 1990, allegedly because Harry Frazee sold Ruth to the Yankees following the 1919 season.
Before managing in the majors, Francona skippered the Birmingham Barons of the Double-A Southern League, where future basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan was one of his players. Jordan played minor league baseball in 1994, but was unwilling to replace striking White Sox players in 1995. Instead, he returned to basketball and the Chicago Bulls.
Artifacts from this and all Hall of Fame Connections episodes are waiting to be discovered at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, where all your favorite baseball memories live. The Museum preserves history, honors excellence and connects generations. Beyond the iconic Hall of Fame Plaque Gallery are exhibits that tell the story of baseball’s impact on our lives, and our country’s history. The Museum exhibits draw from a collection of 40,000 lovingly preserved artifacts and more than 3 million library items to bring your stories and lesser-known tales to life.
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