Stan the Man Passes away

[GrayGhost]

I just saw on my FB page that Stan the Man Musial has passed away. Dear Lord, first Earl, now the MAN...time hurries on.

RIP to the GREAT STAN THE MAN

I can't find an article yet, its just on MLB on my FB page.

[FrankWakefield]

Just heard that Mr. Musial passed away. Makes me want to go reread the original edition of the Historical Baseball Abstract, that was a great tribute to The Man... He was a gentleman. Had he played recently, I can't imagine he'd have dabbled with PED's. Condolences to his family, and his Cardinal family.

[sdkammeyer]

(insert emoticon with tears here)

sad loss for the game.

wiki has been updated already so i guess its true

[Big Ben]

RIP Stan. very sad to hear this news.

[Jlighter]

Hitting over 450 HRs and over 3500 hits. While hitting over .330, doesn't get much better.

He will be missed.

[DavidG1966]

[wazoo]

Such a sad day for Baseball

[sycks22]

What a player. We'll miss Stan.

[Wite3]

A fantastic player and a great man.

Just so nice to a very young kid...one of the very first HOFers I met when I was about 10 or 11...asked me about my little league team and what position I played. He was awesome!

Sad day...

Joshua

[familytoad]

This is very sad news.
Stan the Man was awesome.

The way he carried himself post-retirement was a model that I wish many other HOFers would have followed.

The Cooperstown Angels just added one of the greatest baseball players of all-time to their roster.

[freakhappy]

From what I have heard and witnessed on TV, he was just as good of a person off the field as on. We need more people like Musial in the sports world.

RIP STAN...you will be sorely missed

[chaddurbin]

[GrayGhost]

http://www.boston.com/sports/basebal...PpJ/story.html

[judsonhamlin]

My father's favorite player and boyhood hero. I hope his passing was peaceful

[Leon]

Originally Posted by FrankWakefield

Just heard that Mr. Musial passed away. Makes me want to go reread the original edition of the Historical Baseball Abstract, that was a great tribute to The Man... He was a gentleman. Had he played recently, I can't imagine he'd have dabbled with PED's. Condolences to his family, and his Cardinal family.

(I merged this thread into the one already started so we could have only one thread on the topic.)

Another of the old guard has left us. Very sad day for baseball. RIP Stan.

[scmavl]

Very sad, a true class act.

A very fun clip of Stan from "What's My Line?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsfm56autyk

[almostdone]

He will be missed. My favorite player from a time gone by.

[Collectorsince62]

I have lived in St. Louis my entire life, and the affection this city has had for Stan Musial even 50 years after his last game is just amazing. I had the pleasure of meeting him twice in my life. He was so genuine and so friendly, just a joy to be around. I was lucky enough to have him autograph the scorecards from his five homer doubleheader. After signing, he looked at the box scores, smiled broadly, and with that infectious laugh said "I could have had six!" It's pretty special when your boyhood idol turns out to be even more impressive off the field than he was as a player. The Man.

[Tom Hufford]

Stan was a long-time SABR member, and paid his own dues each year. On his membership application, on the line that said "Interest/Expertise" - he wrote in "Hitting a baseball."

Even though he was a Hall of Famer, I never thought he got the recognition that he deserved. Go back and look at where he ranked in the various statistical categories when he retired - amazing!

One of my all-time favorite stats is reflected in Musial's consistency - 1815 hits at home, 1815 hits on the road.

RIP, Stan the Man

[BlueDevil89]

Truly one of the greatest there ever was...

[Bocabirdman]

''And, between the slugging and the greeting,

To the bank for a directors' meeting.

Yet no one grudges success to Stan,

Good citizen and family man,

Though I would love to have his job

One half tycoon, one half Ty Cobb.''

Ogden Nash

RIP Stan the Man

[dgo71]

I love Preacher Roe's quote on Stan the Man. When asked how he would handle him at the plate Roe's reply was "throw him four wide ones and try to pick him off first base." Class act if there ever was one, and one of the best all-around players this game has or will ever see.

[Al C.risafulli]

Sad to read this, he was a great man and an excellent player.

Tough day for baseball, today.

-Al

[Batter67up]

Stan The Man! My Grandfathers favorite player! One of the greatest players on and off of the field. I got to meet him in 1992 and it is something I will always cherish!

[kcohen]

The only time I saw him play in person was in the 1962 All Star Game in DC. I was 11. It was Musial's next to last year and he came up as a pinch hitter in the 6th inning. I remember vividly my Dad nudging me and saying, "Musial's coming up." He promptly hit a line drive single to right field, and was then replaced for a pinch runner. It's a fond memory of both Stan the Man and my Dad I'll carry with me for the rest of my days.

RIP Stan the Man.

[campyfan39]

Sad to hear that.

I have a large mural in my card room that has about 15 or so cards painted on it. Stan's 59 is one of them. Hate to see another one of my faves pass on!

[ethicsprof]

very sad news, indeed.
i saw him play when I was a boy, collected his cards ravenously, and knew I was lucky to see one of the best ever.
my deepest sympathy to his family, friends, fans.
Barry

[wolf441]

A sad day for baseball. The passing of a great ball player and a true gentleman.

[nsaddict]

Sad news indeed. Certainly was an icon. He missed the '45 season due to the military otherwise would have topped 500 hr and 2000 rbi. Kinda funny that Reggie Jackson struck out nearly 2000 more times than Stan The Man.

[Fred]

This is really sad. What an incredible player and human being. Truly one of the games greatest players.

[greenmonster66]

Very sad day indeed for baseball, First Earl Weaver and now I heard Stan "The Man" Musial. I am very sad to hear both have passed away. RIP to 2 wonderful gentleman. My condolences go out to each of their families, God Bless!!

[tedzan]

I saw Stan Musial play from 1949 - 1960. I have never forgotten this day in May 1954......Cardinals vs Giants. Stan Musial hit 5 - HR's in a day/night Doubleheader.

Altogether in 8 official AB's....Stan hit 5-HR's, a Single, Walked twice, and he had 9-RBI's......does it ever get much better than that ?

The next day in The Sporting News, we read that some wiseguy New York Sports reporter earlier that day in May had challenged Stan to show off his hitting power.
So, I guess he showed them.

GOD BLESS Stan Musial....and, comfort his family....and, all his fans.


.



TED Z

[oldjudge]

From when I was twelve, through a very unglorious career in college, through industrial league softball I used the same Rawlings Stan Musial SM6 H-Webb glove. Rest in peace Stan, they don't make em like you any more.

[TexasLeaguer]

Stan and his son Dickie...

[DixieBaseball]

I met Stan when I was a teenager here in Nashville and I found him to be such a gracious person. His charisma was magnetic and he made plenty of time for chat. Just a great man.

God Bless -

[h2oya311]

Crazy that two HoFers out of only 300 total died on the same day. I'm sure only a fraction of the 300 are still alive today, so the day is definitely a sad one.

Musial has been my avatar since I joined net54...always thought he was the perfect HOFer out there, for on and off field activities.

[tbob]

A class act, a true gentleman, a fantastic hitter and a Hall of Famer and probably the most underappreciated player of all-time. Had he played in New York City he would have been worshipped. He is beloved by Cardinal fans but as a non-controversial "good"guy who was a great player but toiling in the Midwest, he never got his due.
RIP Stan, you were and are definitely THE MAN.

[batsballsbases]

A real class guy and a true gentleman! RIP Stan. An early George Dorrill photo of young Stan One of my favorites! And a few pins!

[Rich Klein]

I believe his passing leaves Bobby Doerr as the only living HOFer to have played before WW2. Musial played before America's entry into WW2.

He was truly beloved and this little outpouring is going to be overwhelmed by what St, Louis and all their fans are feeling

Rich

[itjclarke]

Very sad to hear. I am not old enough to have seen him play, but my dad would go on and on about him when I was learning to play.. "don't uppercut, just hit line drives like Stan Musial". I checked his profile on Baseball Reference (for about the 100th time). In addition to his near perfect stat line, he was named an All Star in 20 seasons! I think played in 24 (doubleheaders)... and was in the top 10 of MVP voting 14 times over 3 different decades. Amazing, talk about longevity, consistency and being great amongst your peers.. and by all acounts he was a tremendous person and a great ambassador to the game.
RIP Stan

[White Borders]

I was fortunate to get Stan to autograph this picture I snipped from Sports Illustrated at a card convention back in the 80's.

[Iron Horse]

A legend and a true gentleman. He will be missed.
RIP

[Leon]

1947 Bond Bread Premium...

[Rickyy]

He had a Hall of Fame Life for the way he performed on the field and how he conducted himself off of it.

Ricky Y

[barrysloate]

He lived a long life and accomplished so much on the ballfield. I agree with what others said, that Stan finished the game with one of the statistically finest careers of all time, but did not get the recognition he should have. And he was a gentleman too. RIP.

[rjackson44]

Sad day we lost two icons

[btcarfagno]

Musial had a regality about him that was born not in the way he acted but rather from the respect he was offered for his accomplishments and humility. Such a great player yet so easily approachable...a rare combination in any era. May his soul be blessed tenfold for the kindness and generosity he gave on this earth.

Tom C

[Big Ben]

One of my favorite autograph experiences. I had Stan sign this advertisement around 1990. When I gave him the ad to sign, Stan looked at me and told me that he didn't smoke and that times were different then. When I told Stan that I didn't smoke and that my main reason for having him sign this (I had Boudreau sign this the previous year) was that I wanted both MVP's from 1948 to sign this, he was very relieved. A very classy gentleman who will be greatly missed!
DSCN3131.jpg

[ALR-bishop]

[GoldenAge50s]

Stan was the EVERY BIT as good a hitter as Ted Williams or any other HOFer who got all the ink! IMO he was the most under-rated & over-looked HOFer of the last 75 years!

Here are my most favorite of all Stan cards that I have: