Honus Wagner Sporting Goods, located on Forbes Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh, is closing after 91 years in business, according to several reports.
The store opened in 1919, at 813 Liberty Ave. by former Pittsburgh Pirates players Honus Wagner and Pie Traynor. The store opened two years after Wagner, a Hall-of-Famer, retired.
An employee confirmed early last week to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the store will begin a going-out-of-business sale soon. The store is expected to close at most 60 days after liquidation sales commence.
Harriet Shapiro, an owner, also confirmed the closing in an interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Shapiro and her husband are fourth generation owners of the store. Shapiro stated “there was no one in her family willing to operate the store.”
In 1929, Shapiro's father, E. Louis Braunstein, purchased the store out of bankruptcy proceedings. At one time, there were 15 Honus Wagner stores, Shapiro told the Tribune Review. In the mid-1960s, the store relocated to its present address at 320 Forbes Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh.
