in september 1905, wagner signed a contract to produce the first bat with a player's signature, the louisville slugger, becoming the first sportsperson to endorse a commercial product; the honus wagner was to become a best-seller for years. one month later, with one point separating him from reds center fielder cy seymour for the batting title, wagner fell short in a head-to-head matchup on the final day of the season, with seymour collecting four hits to wagner's two, as contemporary press reports stated that the fans were far more interested in the seymour-wagner battle than in the outcome of the games.