January 23, 2013
JFK & STAN "THE MAN"
St. Louis Cardinals Baseball Legend Dies at Age 92
Stan Musial
St. Louis Cardinals (1953)
St. Louis, Missouri (JFK+50) When President John F. Kennedy greeted hitting legend Stan "the man" Musial at the 1962 All-Star Game, he said:
"They told me I was too young to be president & you were too old to be playing baseball, but we fooled them."
The Kennedy Campaign asked Stan Musial to help out in the Midwest where the Republicans were strong. While other JFK people were booed, Stan Musial was always greeted with cheers.
Before the 1962 All Star Game held in Washington, D.C., Stan & his family visited the President in the Oval Office.
Note: There is a great AP photo of JFK with the Musials on the occasion. It is posted on SI.com. We have sent a request to AP for permission to use it, but have, as yet, received no response.
Stanley Frank Musial* died at the age of 93 in Ladue, Missouri on January 19, 2013.
Mr. Musial was indeed a legend of the game, America's game, baseball.
He was such a force at the plate that longtime Dodger manager Leo Durocher said of him...
"There is only one way to pitch Musial...under the plate."
And there is not just one, but two statues of Stan Musial outside Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
One of those statues bears these words...
"Here stands baseball's perfect warrior.
Here stands baseball's perfect knight."
Stan Musial won 7 batting titles, 3 MVP awards & contributed to 3 World Championships for the Cardinals in the 1940s.
William DeWitt, Jr., Cardinals chairman, said...
"Stan...was the greatest player in (our) history & one of the best players in (the game)."
To lend support to Mr. DeWitt's comment, let us just say that Stan Musial was named to the National League All Star team in every one of the 22 years he played.
And we should add, Musial had 3,630 hits, 1,951 rbis, 1949 runs & 475 home runs.
Stan, who wore the #6, was the 1st Cardinal to have his number retired.
When Mr. Musial was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2011, President Obama said...
"Stan remains to this day...a gentleman you'd want your kids to emulate."
President Obama & Stan Musial
February 15, 2011
Photo by Pete Souza
White House Image
Do you know the story of why Stan Musial is nicknamed "the Man?"
Just in case you don't....
When Musial would step up to home plate at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, Dodger fans would say...
"Here comes that man again!"
Sports writers & broadcasters picked up on that & started referring to Musial as "the man."
Stan Musial played his last game on September 29, 1963 at Busch Stadium & was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY in 1969.
*Stanley Frank Musial (1920-2013) was born in Donora, Pennsylvania, a small town south of Pittsburgh on the Monongahela River. The son of Polish immigrants, Stan served in the US Navy in World War II. After retirement he was President of the Cardinals organization & was appointed physical fitness adviser by LBJ.
Stan Musial on "What's My Line?"
You Tube Video
SOURCES
"Cardinals Hall of Famer Stan Musial Dies at age 92," by R. B. Fallstrom, AP. www.hosted.ap.org
"Stan Musial, One of the Game's Greatest Hitters, Dies at 92," by Richard Goldstein, Jan 19, 2013, www.nytimes.com
"The Star who Stood Out by Not Standing Out," by George Vecsey, Jan 20, 2013. www.nytimes.com
