Tribute to Stan Musial

Yesterday was a very sad day for baseball fans everywhere, especially for those of us who grew up listening to baseball games on the radio when we were kids. If my great Aunt Ann were alive today, she, too, would be very, very sad. Stan Musial, the great Hall of Famer of the St. Louis Cardinals passed away at 92. He played his entire career as a Cardinal.

Baseball was the National Pastime when I was a nine year old little-leaguer growing up in Woodsdale. Players like Stan-The-Man were colossal role models. When we played pick-up games, we would pick our favorite players to portray during the game. My favorite was Mickey Mantle, but I would pick Musial if he were still available when I got to choose. (Stan Musial, Babe Ruth, & Ted Williams always went one-two-three.)

One of my most pleasant childhood experiences was spending many wonderful hours with my Aunt Ann sitting on our front porch listening to baseball games. She was a true baseball fan, and shared that enthusiasm with me. She knew all the players and stats. She filled out a score card for every game she listened to. I think I learned how to score a baseball game before I learned my multiplication tables.

Our team was the Pittsburgh Pirates. She loved Bob Prince, the radio voice of the Pirates. His side-kick was simply known as the “Mole”. She definitely “saw” the game through their descriptions on the radio.

Our league nemesis was the St. Louis Cardinals. She cursed Stan Musial many times for his late inning, game winning home runs. Yet, at the end of the game she would usually say something about how lucky she was that Stan Musial played the game during her lifetime. She held Musial in higher regard than even Babe Ruth or Joe DiMaggio. There was only one other player she spoke of in such a reverent manner… Ted Williams.

I wish you all could have known my Aunt Ann…She would have considered us all quite fortunate to be baseball fans during the time of Stan Musial.