Stanley Frank Musial
(1920-)
Inducted - Tuesday, September 12, 2000
Where is Stanley Frank Musial in the Hall of Famous Missourians?
In the minds of sports fans everywhere, Stan Musial, the Cardinals and St. Louis are forever linked. His Major League career, all with the Cardinals, lasted from 1941 through 1963. In 1968, a statue of Musial was dedicated at Busch Stadium.
Musial started baseball with the Cardinals as a pitcher, but in 1941 was converted to an outfielder and first baseman because of an arm injury. Musial was nicknamed "The Man" by fans of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1946 after he returned from naval duty in World War II.
During his career, Musial held 7 National League batting titles, received 3 Most Valuable Player Awards, and was named to 24 All Star Teams. In 1957, Sports Illustrated named him "Sportsman of the Year" and The Sporting News honored him as "Player of the Decade" for the years between 1946 and 1956. At retirement, Musial held 17 Major League, 29 National League and 9 All Star Game records. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969. He is a member of the All Century Team. Musial has been inducted into the St. Louis Hall of Fame, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, the Polish National Hall of Fame, the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame and the Major League Hall of Fame.
Since his retirement as an active player in 1963, Musial has served a stint as General Manager and Senior Vice president of the St. Louis Cardinals. He is an honorary member of the board of the St. Louis Rams. He has acted as Director of the Professional Baseball Players of America. He also chaired the President's Council on Physical Fitness under President Lyndon Johnson, and for 20 years, the Crippled Children's Society of St. Louis. He has served on boards of directors of the U.S.O., the Urological Research Foundation, and Shelter the Children. Today, Stan Musial is president of Stan the Man, Inc. |