Honus Wagner Remembers
The great shortstop, Honus Wagner, also known as “the Flying Dutchman,” had a long friendly relationship with Harry Doherty and his Silk Sox, once being honored at the ballpark in 1917. There are also stories of Wagner visiting Doherty at his mill on other days and leaving with a silk dress for Mrs. Wagner.
The following excerpt about Wagner is taken from the yet unpublished book, When the Yankees Came to Town: The lost history of the Doherty Silk Sox, the independent team who took on all comers … and won! by Jack DeVries, represented by Bob Diforio of the D4EO Literary Agency.
A Paterson Evening News story, appearing two days after Honus Wagner’s Dec. 6, 1955, death, told of when Wagner came back to see his old friends from the area, Phil Stone and Paterson Police Captain Frank L. Bott. It also showed how much the area meant to the great shortstop, a charter member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Because the Pittsburgh Pirates’ game against the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds was rained out, Wagner came to New Jersey for a day of fishing at Greenwood Lake. He brought along his Pittsburgh teammates Sam Leever and Bobby Byrne. While the article said the story happened in 1917, it is actually from 1910 when Leever and Byrne were with the team and a Giants game was postponed.
Traveling back from their fishing excursion along Clifton’s Main Ave., Bott drove by Olympic Park (the field that would one day sit next to the Doherty Oval) and asked, “Recognize this place, Honus?”
Wagner peered at the dark and wet field. He said it looked familiar but couldn’t place it exactly. He asked Bott to pull over. When Bott told him it was Olympic Park where he played for Paterson, the great shortstop became as enthusiastic as a young boy.
Pointing to a nearby tavern, Wagner suggested the group go inside. The surprised bartender, an “ardent baseball fan,” was delighted to have the great shortstop in his bar. When he asked what the group would like, Wagner said, “I’d like to borrow that lantern and an umbrella – if you have one.”
Wagner took the lantern and umbrella, and walked from the bar into the rainy night with the five men watching. He entered Olympic Park and began slowly walking around the infield, touching each base once and savoring the memories of his days there when he was much younger and an entire city loved him.
Though he would return to Olympic Park again and be celebrated at the Doherty Oval in the coming years, perhaps this particular night was most special to him – the Flying Dutchman walking alone on the old diamond, a lantern illuminating the base paths while reliving his past glory.
None of the men who witnessed the scene, the article noted, would ever forget that night.
