J. P. "Honus" Wagner, (sculpture).

J. P. "Honus" Wagner, (sculpture).

Vittor, Frank, 1888-1968, sculptor.

Vittori, Tony, assistant.

Mitchell and Ritchey, architectural firm.

Carlini Brothers Monumental Works, fabricator.

J. P. "Honus" Wagner, (sculpture).

1954. Dedicated April 30, 1955. Relocated 1972. Rededicated July 21, 1972.

Sculpture: bronze; Base: Barre granite.

Sculpture: approx. H. 10 ft.; Base: approx. 7 ft.

(Sculpture, lower left:) Frank Vittor sc./1954 (Base, front:) J.P. "HONUS"/WAGNER (Back of base:) ERECTED IN 1955/BY THE FANS OF AMERICA/IN HONOR OF A BASEBALL IMMORTAL/A CHAMPION AMONG CHAMPIONS/WHOSE RECORD ON AND OFF THE/PLAYING FIELD OF THE NATIONAL GAME/WILL EVER STAND AS A MONUMENT/TO HIS OWN GREATNESS AND AS AN EXAMPLE AND INSPIRATION TO THE YOUTH/OF OUR COUNTRY/SPONSORED BY/THE PITTSBURGH PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL ASSOCIATION/RELOCATED BY THE PITTSBURGH BASEBALL CLUB/FROM SCHENLEY PARK TO THREE RIVERS STADIUM/AND REDEDICATED JULY 21, 1972/SO THAT FUTURE PIRATE FANS WILL BE REMINDED OF HONUS WAGNER'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO BASEBALL IN PITTSBURGH. signed

A realistic portrayal of J. P. Honus swinging his bat. The base contains reliefs which depict the youth of today and the youth of tomorrow looking up at the baseball hero with admiration.

Portrait male -- Wagner, J. P. (Honus) -- Full length

Occupation -- Sport -- Baseball

Figure male -- Child

Allegory -- Time -- Present

Allegory -- Time -- Future

Outdoor Sculpture -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh

Administered by Three Rivers Stadium, Spectacor (Maintenance), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15212

Located Three Rivers Stadium, 400 Stadium Circle, Gate C, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15212

Formerly located Schenley Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1955-1972.

The Pittsburgh Professional Baseball Association raised 30,000 dollars in contributions from individuals, organizations, and foundations to commission this statue. The reliefs on the base were done by Tony Vittori, who worked with the Pittsburgh firm of Carlini Brothers Monumental Works. Honus Wagner played for the Pittsburgh Pirates for twenty-one years. He was known as "The Flying Dutchman" and was considered by many to be the greatest shortstop in baseball history. When Forbes Field was demolished in the early 1970s to make way for the University of Pittsburgh's expansion, the Pittsburgh Pirates provided the funding to move the sculpture to the new Three Rivers Stadium in 1972.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

Evert, Marilyn, "Discovering Pittsburgh's Sculpture," Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1983, pg. 24-25.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, PA0150, 1989.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Pennsylvania survey, 1995.

Evert, Marilyn, "Discovering Pittsburgh's Sculpture," Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1983, pg. 57.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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