Stan Musial biography
Stan Musial, in full Stanley Frank Musial, byname Stan the Man, (born November 21, 1920, Donora, Pennsylvania, U.S.—died January 19, 2013, Ladue, Missouri), American skilled baseball participant who, in his 22-year enjoying profession with the St. Louis Cardinals, gained seven National League (NL) batting championships and established himself as one of many sport’s best hitters.
Musial was an exceptional schoolboy athlete in each baseball and basketball, and he signed his first skilled baseball contract whereas in highschool. A left-handed batter and thrower, Musial started his profession as a pitcher however developed a sore arm and switched to the outfield whereas nonetheless within the minor leagues. He rapidly labored his method up via the Cardinals’ minor league system and made his main league debut in 1941. The following 12 months Musial grew to become a full-time participant for St. Louis, the place he teamed with Terry Moore and Enos Slaughter to type what would develop into one of many best offensive and defensive outfield combos in baseball historical past and performed a major function within the staff’s 1942 World Series victory.
Musial’s breakthrough 12 months got here in 1943, as he led the NL in hits (220) and batting common (.357) and gained the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award at simply age 22. After main the Cardinals to a different World Series title in 1944, he enlisted within the U.S. Navy for service throughout World War II. Returning to baseball in 1946, he gained a second MVP award after batting .365 because the Cardinals captured their third World Series championship in 5 years. Musial had his best season statistically in 1948 as he posted career-high (and league-leading) totals in batting common (.376), hits (230), runs (135), and runs batted in (131), which resulted in a 3rd NL MVP award. In the Fifties the Cardinals had little success as a staff, however Musial thrived as a person, main the league in batting common 4 occasions (1950–52, 1957), in runs 3 times (1951–52, 1954), and in hits as soon as (1952).
He retired after the 1963 season with a profession batting common of .331. At the time of his retirement, his totals of occasions at bat (10,972), hits (3,630), and runs scored (1,949) had been second solely to these of Ty Cobb, and his whole of runs batted in (1,951) was exceeded solely by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig; all had been information for the NL (since surpassed). Musial additionally set a significant league document with 1,377 extra-base hits (damaged by Hank Aaron in 1973). When his profession as a participant ended, he grew to become an govt of the Cardinals, which included a one-year stint because the staff’s normal supervisor in 1967, when he oversaw a World Series championship. He was named an NL All-Star in 20 of his 22 seasons and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969. In 2011 Musial was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.