Illustration by Britt Spencer
It’s often said that Stan Musial’s greatness was subtle. He was a humble man, quick to praise others and slow to take credit for himself. He didn’t hit as many home runs as Hank Aaron or steal as many bases as Lou Brock. Still, there was nothing subtle about Musial’s seven batting titles, three MVP awards, or 3,630 career hits. So one strategy might be to smack your little ones over the head with statistics.
But I suspect that you seek something deeper, proof of not only his baseball prowess but also his character. Numbers can do that job, too. For instance: 1,815. That’s how many hits Musial recorded at home. It’s also how many hits he tallied on the road—a perfectly, poetically even split. How’s that for a lesson on consistency?
If statistics won’t serve, you might try telling the youngsters this story (with a few numbers thrown in for good measure). During Musial’s 22-year career, one of the longest ever, he played 3,026 games and wasn’t thrown out of a single one. On April 18, 1954, the Cardinals played the Cubs at Wrigley Field. In the seventh inning, with the Cards trailing 3–0, Musial hit what looked like a run-scoring double down the right-field line. First-base umpire Lee Ballanfant called it foul. No replays exist, but history has it that the call was clearly wrong.
The Cardinals bench went nuts. When manager Eddie Stanky and shortstop Solly Hemus came storming out of the dugout, home-plate umpire Augie Donatelli ejected both of them. Musial walked over calmly. “What happened, Augie?” he asked. “It didn’t count, huh?” Donatelli explained that the ball had been called foul. “Well, there’s nothing you can do about it,” Musial replied. Then he stepped back into the batter’s box and hit the ball right back to the same spot. This time, it was called fair. The Cardinals scored six runs in the inning and won the game.
Once you’ve thrilled the kids with that, hit them with this doozy. In his beautiful profile of Musial in Sports Illustrated, author Joe Posnanski included this detail: “Chicago Cubs fans once voted [Musial] their favorite player, ahead of all the hometown stars, including their own lovable Ernie Banks.” Just think: You can teach your children the value of earning the respect of their opponents, while also reinforcing that the Cardinals always beat the Cubs.
1945
Year that Musial didn’t play professional baseball while serving in the Navy during World War II
20
Times that Musial was an All-Star, second to only Hank Aaron in baseball history
2
Left-handed outfielders on the All-Century team born on November 21 in Donora, Pennsylvania—Musial and Ken Griffey Jr.
