Stan "the Man" Musial was a baseball player for the ages. His list of accomplishments is so extensive, it's almost gaudy. During his 22 year stint with the St. Louis Cardinals, he won four pennants and three World Series and batted under .300 just four times. He was a model of consistency and excellence. At the time of Stan Musial's retirement in 1963, he held the National League records for runs, hits, doubles and RBIs and held the Major League Baseball career marks for extra base hits and total bases.
Stan Musial had a career that had a certain balance to it. Of his 3,630 hits, exactly half came at home and half on the road. In his first Major League game he had two hits, and in his last game he stroked two more. He drove his very last hit past a crew cut rookie named Pete Rose (the same man who would later break his National League hit record. Despite his on the field brilliance, Stan Musial's greatest legacy was his infection joy. Just a kid at heart, he got as much pleasure from playing the harmonica to entertain his teamates in the clubhouse as he did in leading them to a win on the field.
Rarely in sports has there been an athlete as universally loved as the St. Louis Cardinals Stan Musial. He epitomized what was right about the game of baseball. Musial exuded a boyish exuberance for the game and for life, which was as natural as his contagious smile.
Musial struck a chord in people not because he was flashy, witty, or boastful. He was quite simply a decent man in whom people saw a glimpse of their own potential for good. The son of a coal miner, he said that the thrill of baseball made the hardships of the great depression easier to bear. This profound love of the game stayed with him throughout his baseball career.
Musial's decency was as legendary as it was unforced. Stan the man, would invite lonely rookies to tag along with him. Hank Aaron said that Stan Musial was one of his favorite MLB baseball players because he treated all men equally, regardless of their skin color. Musial stood by these beliefs in 1947 when some Cardinals wanted to boycott an upcoming game against the Brooklyn Dodgers because that had African American Jackie Robinson on their roster. Unaffected by the pressure, Musial adamantly refused to follow suit. A testament to the respect he commanded in the clubhouse, the St. Louis Cardinals played the game.
A favorite with baseball fans Musial was living proof that good guys can finish first. One of baseball's greatest hitters, he hit over .300 17 times! Has bat and glove were the cornerstones of the great St. Louis Cardinal teams of the 1940's.
Musial maintained that while the career numbers, the World Series wins and the MVP awards were nice, his biggest thrill came at the start of each season, when he put on his opening day uniform. Musial lived by the belief that hope does spring eternal, that life is a series of renewals, of home openers and of opening day pennant dreams for everyone.
Stan Musial had a career that had a certain balance to it. Of his 3,630 hits, exactly half came at home and half on the road. In his first Major League game he had two hits, and in his last game he stroked two more. He drove his very last hit past a crew cut rookie named Pete Rose (the same man who would later break his National League hit record. Despite his on the field brilliance, Stan Musial's greatest legacy was his infection joy. Just a kid at heart, he got as much pleasure from playing the harmonica to entertain his teamates in the clubhouse as he did in leading them to a win on the field.
Rarely in sports has there been an athlete as universally loved as the St. Louis Cardinals Stan Musial. He epitomized what was right about the game of baseball. Musial exuded a boyish exuberance for the game and for life, which was as natural as his contagious smile.
Musial struck a chord in people not because he was flashy, witty, or boastful. He was quite simply a decent man in whom people saw a glimpse of their own potential for good. The son of a coal miner, he said that the thrill of baseball made the hardships of the great depression easier to bear. This profound love of the game stayed with him throughout his baseball career.
Musial's decency was as legendary as it was unforced. Stan the man, would invite lonely rookies to tag along with him. Hank Aaron said that Stan Musial was one of his favorite MLB baseball players because he treated all men equally, regardless of their skin color. Musial stood by these beliefs in 1947 when some Cardinals wanted to boycott an upcoming game against the Brooklyn Dodgers because that had African American Jackie Robinson on their roster. Unaffected by the pressure, Musial adamantly refused to follow suit. A testament to the respect he commanded in the clubhouse, the St. Louis Cardinals played the game.
A favorite with baseball fans Musial was living proof that good guys can finish first. One of baseball's greatest hitters, he hit over .300 17 times! Has bat and glove were the cornerstones of the great St. Louis Cardinal teams of the 1940's.
Musial maintained that while the career numbers, the World Series wins and the MVP awards were nice, his biggest thrill came at the start of each season, when he put on his opening day uniform. Musial lived by the belief that hope does spring eternal, that life is a series of renewals, of home openers and of opening day pennant dreams for everyone.
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Stan Musial Biography Facts
- Because of Stan Musial's speed on the base paths, he was called the Donora Greyhound befor he was nicknamed the Man.
- Why was Musial nicknamed "The Man"? Stan earned the name "The Man" by impressing the notoriously nasty fans at Ebbets Field. They gave him the tag because of the way Musial pounded the Brooklyn Dodgers pitching so relentlessly.
- In his first five seasons in baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals, he was a part of three World Series winners.
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