Show PRINCE OF BALLPLAYERS Hans Wagner NoW Occupies That Place Among the Fans The Hercules of the diamond is Hans Wagner oC the champion Plttsburg baseball learn Napoleon Lajole of the Cleveland American league loam IH I by many considered Iho I best ball player In the world but nearly if not fully us many consider 1Va ncr bin equal and Borne think the Gorman thc superior supe-rior of thc FrenchCanadian Be that as It may Wagner Is unquestionably great In bin own calling ho has attained at-tained the highest pinnacle oC fame lie Is a character thin broadshoul dered baseball expert not a character because of any freaklahness of manner man-ner hut because oC his simple direct nature and the fact that he Is so modest mod-est that he docs not appreciate his worth The baseball player who fulls to place a sufficiently high etUinmle upon his worth Is a rarity but here la I Wagner one of the greatest ball players play-ers the game ever nv who his employer em-ployer Barney Dreyfufis declares IH so modest he will walk nwny iC you start to praise him Drcyfuss relates nn Incident In-cident of a year or so ago when he was raising imlnrles and he asked Wagner hmv much raIse he wanted Oh give me UOI more replied Wagner Wag-ner after a few minutes cogitation Imagine Dreyfusss surprise to hear only a S100 Increase for the season asked for when players ask for more advance ad-vance money than that Wagner pitched a i game In Boston recently and held his 0pponelllH down to four bits In seven Innings He has played every position on the diamond dia-mond except catch said Drcyfuss thc olhcr night In discussing his pot and there Is J not a i position that he cannot play a little better than anybody else When we get to Philadelphia I Intend lo put him behind Ihe hut In one game so ns to illl out his record Wagner Is a conspicuous figure on the field All baseball patrons know him Ills powerful build attracts attention Instantly In-stantly In the llnoa that mark his construction grace has been Haorlflced to Rtrcnglh and speed lie Is I so deep of chest and wide of shoulders that he looks to be as strong md sub tln tlal as the walls of a fort Activity loo stlclss out all ovor him More Ihan one man who haH had the Wagner style of convex legs Is very active He IB one of tho fuRlCHl base runners In thc National league and there is nothing In baseball that ho cannot do well He holdH the worldB record for distance In throwIng tho baseball nnd combines accuracy with dlttnnce At n batsman bats-man bo always haa been a slur and bcsldfiK being a sludger he Is a dangerous dan-gerous hitler because ho Is a tlr tclaSH emergency hatter No man playing ball IIID i in iioll I I ha riSer than he l VO fc i Wagner Is a valuable l rnan not alone for his ability hut for hIs disposition Some Htara null but not BO Wagner He wants to play ball all the time He revels In It The fact that he draws the fat salary of more than 5000 a demanded It year IB not because he but because be works for a man who appreciates bin worth and has raised luit emolument to these corpulent jig urea Ho has no vices One day not long ago he was playing blllnrds and a bundlo of bank books dropped out of his pocket Droyfusa picked the bundle up and In the books found records of 8000 deposited in four different hank Why so many banks HaiiR7 asked Drey fuss I had no lee for thc t money replied Hans w put It away It one bank busts therell be some let I allowing that with his frugality the Teuton combines prudence Hut while Wagner spends but little on himself ho Is not clonefisted lie llvcfl with hlB foISts at Carnegie Pn and the only time ho gets Into PIllM burg In lIlt winter Is when he Is going I through on a hunting trip or Inking I his little sister to the thcaler Are cent present to his sister wan a Jt30 < piano He Is a good billiard player and naturally in view of bis descent ho IH an enthusiastic pinochle player It hart been said that he has no vxtruvngancc9 PcrhnpH exception should be taken to that stalcmenl IIIn bobby IH dogs and he keeps no fewer than twontyulx In his kennels at Carnegie Hunting dogs they are for next to the crack of the bat Finns loves the pop of the 12bore and he Is an ardent Nlmrod and a line nhol Before hi played baseball professionally Wagner was a miner From the center of the earth to the center of thc diamond he hnd ndvanccc within a comparatively short apace or lime and In that time his Inconio has Increased nearly fortyfntd Wagner can use his great strcngtl when occasion requires Once he was compclled to throw Il dlBlurbpr out of a room Ho threw the man clear through thc door That night the dlu urber visited Wagners house rang thc bell got the ball player out of heel and Jnnlsicd on shaking hands with thc man whohnd i licked hltiut |