MUSIAL-STANLEY

 Remembering Stan “The Man” Musial:

By Vanita Rae Smith of Hawaii                                                           November 21, 1920 – January 19, 2013

 He was a Major League Baseball Legend, a St. Louis Cardinal who loved baseball and loved Missouri.  And Missouri loved him back. 

Musial was born in Pennsylvania, the fifth of Lukasz and Mary (Lancos) Musial's six children (four girls and then two boys). His mother was of Czech descent and his father was a Polish immigrant who chose the name Stanley Frank for his first son, “Stan The Man.”

Musial was a record 24-time All-Star selection (tied with Willie Mays), and is widely considered to be one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. He compiled 3,630 hits (ranking fourth all-time and most in a career spent with only one team).  With 1,815 hits at home and 1,815 on the road, he also is considered to be the most consistent hitter of his era. He compiled 475 home runs during his career, was named the National League's (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times, and won three World Series championship titles. At the time of his retirement, he held or shared 17 major league records, 29 National League records, and 9 All-Star Game records.  In February 2011 President Barack Obama presented Musial with Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor that can be bestowed on a civilian in the United States.

He signed to a professional contract by the St. Louis Cardinals as a pitcher in 1938 and retired September 29, 1963

 Musial was drafted in May 1944 and entered the United States Navy on January 23, 1945, beginning a 15-month Navy career. He was initially assigned to noncombat duty at the Naval Training Station in Bainbridge, Maryland.^[61] On ship repair duty at Pearl Harbor later in the year, he was able to play baseball every afternoon in the naval base's eight-team league.^] After being granted emergency leave to see his ailing father in January 1946, he was briefly assigned to the Philadelphia Navy Yard before his honorable discharge from the Navy as a Seaman First Class (E3) in March 1946.  In 2007, Musial received the Navy Memorial’s Lone Sailor Award, which honors Navy veterans who’ve excelled in civilian life.

Another gentle giant in my life: Stan the Man, my HERO. Never got to see him play ball, but on hot summer nights in the 50's I heard his bat crack hundreds of times on the radio during those hot summer nights in the Ozarks. His batting average was .331 and when I won one-third of my battles, I knew I was doing OK.  I got to see him in October at the playoffs with the SF Giants. I was a long way off, but it was thrilling.  That day at Busch Stadium was his last public appearance!!!

I often remembered him as I went to work at Richardson Theatre at Fort Shafter for 30 years.  He played ball at the field across the street during his time at Pearl Harbor.

A Bridge crossing the mighty Mississippi will be named for him.  The new one across from Busch Stadium.