Because this thread is about correspondence to hobby pioneer John D. Wagner, I thought this would be a good place to share this hobby memory (and even though I know I'm still young, just writing this I'm feeling really old!):
I knew John D. Wagner very well when I was much younger. I forget exactly how I found him, but he was a legendary collector who was well known for at one time having a T206 set including Wagner (he was one of the first serious collectors known to have the Wagner) and I naturally wanted to contact him if possible. I somehow I tracked him down (I probably found a family member who told me how to contact him – I don’t remember exactly simply because it was a long time ago – I’m guessing this was circa 1980).
Anyway, he was at the Old Soldiers Home in Washington DC – that’s where he lived (very comfortably, it was almost like a hotel room but with doctors to check up on his health) – and he was very happy to have me come visit to make deals and talk cards. Washington was not the easiest place for me to get to – I remember taking the train and a cab- and I visited with him three times as well as talking on the phone. When I visited, mostly we talked cards and old-time collectors (he knew Burdick and Bray and all the early collectors), but he somehow would also pull cards out of drawers and we made a few deals (thinking back, I’m not sure how he would have cards at the home, but he really lived there, so I guess he could bring whatever he wanted there).
Most of his cards were elsewhere in storage (including his T206 set with Wagner), and he had gotten rid of part of his collection already. I remember he told me he did some dealing with a great (and very colorful) early dealer by the name of Tom Collier, who at one time or another had virtually everything. (Interesting note: Tom Collier was also the “TC” with Mike Aronstein when “TCMA” was first formed). John Wagner was sharp as a tack and true gentleman. I was very aware when talking to him that he was a link to the past of the collecting world, an almost lost world, and had all kinds of information that was fascinating, at least to me, so it was a special treat to be able to talk collecting with this living legend.
The most fascinating thing he told me involved the legend of the T206 Wagner. I asked him if he ever met Honus Wagner, what with John D. Wagner sharing his name – “John Wagner” – as well as having Wagner’s T206 card. Also, as I recall, John D. Wagner was originally from the Pittsburg area, so it seemed like a reasonable question. I was surprised when John Wagner told me that yes, he had met Honus Wagner.
I naturally asked if he had, by chance, happened to ask him about the legend of his T206 card and whether it was true. He said yes, he absolutely did! And that Wagner personally told him that he did not allow his card to be issued because he did not want to encourage youngsters to smoke.
To me, this was the most amazing thing to hear, and something that I will never forget: a first-hand account, just one person removed from Honus Wagner himself confirming the legend of the T206 Wagner.
I have no doubt that John D. Wagner spoke to Honus Wagner about the story, and that John D. Wagner recounted the conversation accurately. This was an unexpected highlight of my many hours of speaking with John Wagner, and I thought the collectors on Net54 would appreciate this as well.
I never tried to buy any cards from John Wagner that he did not offer me, so I never actually discussed buying his T206 Wagner. When he passed away, as I recall, family friend and fellow hobbyist Chris Benjamin (an extremely fine gentleman who also has made enormous contributions to the baseball card world as well as the non-sport card collecting field) helped the family sell the T206 Wagner and set for what was then a retail price to Barry Halper, who was always happy to purchase an extra Wagner (even though he already had two or three at the time!)
Robert Lifson
Robert Edward Auctions LLC
www.robertedwardauctions.com