Tribute To Stan "The Man" Musial

Every kid has one or two people they look up to. If you are my age and loved sports, it was probably Walter Payton, Frank Thomas, or maybe John Elway. For some of the "older"generation, it was Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, or Johnny Unitas. Probably one of the most underrated sports icons of any generation was Stan Musial. Stan the man Musial did everything right on
and off the baseball field, unlike the sports heroes of today who tend to get into extra curricular activities of the wrong kind. He was a great humanitarian, and even a better person. Musial was somebody I wish I was able to see play the great game of baseball.

Not only was he a great person, he was also one of the best baseball players to ever play. Some of the stats he has are just astounding. He was a 24- time All-Star (tied with Willie Mays) and widely considered to be one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. He has 3630 hits, which he had 1,815 at home and 1,815 away. That is consistency in every way. He had 475 home runs, and was named the National League MVP three times, also he won three World Series titles. Musial was also a first-ballot inductee to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969. Another glowing achievement of his great career was he missed the entire 1945 season serving in the United States Navy, serving in the Pacific. To some, that might be the most heroic thing he did. When coming back to baseball in 1948 he finished one home run shy of the Triple Crown.

After retiring from baseball he became the Cardinals general manager in 1967, winning the pennant and the World Series, then he would quit that position. Also in 1967, he became President Lyndon Johnson's physical fitness adviser, which was a part-time position to promote better fitness among Americans. Then in 2011 President Barack Obama presented Musial with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor that a civilian of the United States can achieve. All these accolades just tell all of us who never got to meet him, or see him play what a great player and even better human being he was.

Sadly, Stan Musial passed away on January 19, 2013, at his home in Ladue, Missouri, ironically on the same day as another baseball great Earl Weaver. Musial was surrounded by his family as he died peacefully. That day the baseball world lost a "legend", and a great man. He was a Hall of Famer in every way. Today's baseball game needs more of guys like Stan Musial, a humble great, who would never let you know he was. He was always smiling, telling jokes, and would play his harmonica. He was a role model for many, and today a whole generation, if not many generations are in mourning for the "gentle knight" Stan the man Musial.