New Frontier Baseball!: Stan Musial - Baseball's Perfect Knight

Stan saying "goodbye" at old Busch Stadium.

After spanning 3 decades, it was finally over for the great Cardinal, Stan "The Man" Musial. He played his last game in St. Louis, on September 29, 1963 against the Cincinnati Reds, and their standout rookie second baseman Pete Rose.

After beginning his professional career in 1938, he knew his time had come. His career had spanned an era in which the U.S. became involved in three wars, elected four presidents, emerged from economic Depression to discover post-War prosperity, and saw Jazz displaced by Rock & Roll in popularity.

I think it's perfectly OK, as a man, if I stare

and say: "Damn, he was beautiful."

He banged out 2 more hits that day. That gave him 1,815 at home, and 1,815 on the road. Not many players have as pretty a statistic line as that. When he retired, he was the all-time National League hits leader.

Musial in early 1960's snapshot

It was wonderful to hear that he celebrated his 90th birthday a few days ago. He was, after all, born 15 days (Nov. 18, 1920) after my father, with whom he shares special memory! You'll forgive the honored place given him here. The Greatest Generation indeed!

President Kennedy chose Stan to lead the Physical Fitness Council!

Newspaper recap of April 14, 1959 game vs. L.A. Dodgers.
To read type better, just click on image 20x or so
to improve resolution! (clip courtesy, Jim Busch)

Musial was easily the best-liked, most admired man of his time in the world of sports. He has come down to us in our time as the finest representative of a time when things were less complicated. He was unaffected, seemingly without ego, and soft-spoken. Then, as now, he would whip out his harmonica and play a ditty for his Cardinal teammates, or get off a train (yes, people did travel that way in those days!) to play for people assembled on a train platform. As if he'd just walked out of a Norman Rockwell painting.