Those were the words spoken by Chicago Cubs manager Jimmy Wilson, when he saw the performance of a rookie outfielder who was playing for the St. Louis Cardinals.
The rookie was Stan Musial. He was that good. He was so feared in Brooklyn that, when he came to bat, the fans would say: "Here comes that man again." And so he became known as "Stan the Man." He played for the Cardinals for 22 years.
Besides being one of the greatest baseball players ever, he was widely known to be a genuinely nice man. Without fanfare or publicity, Musial would visit children in hospitals while on road trips, because he thought that maybe he could cheer them up a little. He was a gentleman in a profession where such is not expected.
Stan "the Man" Musial died yesterday. He was 92.
Update: Earl Weaver, one of the great managers, died Friday night. He said that his epitaph should read: "The sorest loser that ever lived."
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2 comments:
Yep, pretty much BOTH ends of the professional spectrum. I believe Stan Musial was the BETTER person. May they rest in peace.
Wonderful story on Stan was told by Willy Mayes, I believe. Sometime in the 50's, the National League had 7 "negros" on their All-Star team. But integration was slow, and the seven were playing poker in the back of the clubhouse while the "white" players ignored them. Willy looked up and saw Stan Musial walking over to them. He sat down and started playing poker with them. It was obvious that Stan had no idea how to play poker, but that's just the kind of guy he was.
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