Paul Glee Waner
As a part of the 2007 Oklahoma Centennial Celebration, multiple portraits of the most influential Oklahoman baseball players were placed in Oklahoma City’s Bricktown Ballpark. Among them is Paul Glee Waner, sculpted by Jim Franklin. Waner was born in Harrah, Oklahoma on April 16, 1903. Paul Waner made his Major League debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 13, 1926, where he remained for the next 15 years.
During his career, he became a member of the very elite 3,000 hits club. Paul and his little brother, Lloyd, played right and center field respectively, and were nicknamed “Big Poison” and “Little Poison”. Paul earned three National League batting titles, was named an All-Star four different times, and was the Most Valuable Player in 1927. After finishing his career playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston Braves, and New York Yankees, he retired in 1945, finishing with a career batting average of .333. Waner was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1952. He passed away in Sarasota, Florida in 1965 at the age of 62, but was ranked number 62 on The Sporting News’ list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players and in 1007, his number 11 was retired by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
