DATE: 1960s ORIGINAL or REPRINT: Original - Printed from the original negative in the time period in which it was shot TEAM: St. Louis Cardinals SUBJECTS: Stan Musial, Mom, Lyndon B Johnson APPROXIMATE SIZE: 6-1/4"x9" and 8-1/4"x7" NUMBER OF PHOTOS: 2 COMMENTS / CONDITION: This is one of a large accumulation of vintage sports photographs, slides and negatives that we will be listing over the coming months. Wear on these, if any, is mostly confined to minor corner and edge wear, but see scans for further details including condition. We do not deal in stock images or modern reprints, and all scans shown are of the actual vintage photograph, slide or negative being sold. If you have any questions about a particular piece, please ask before the auction ends. BIO: Stanley Frank Musial (Stan the Man) was born in 1920 in Donora, PA and died in 2013 in Ladue, MO. He played major league baseball from 1941 to 1963 as outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, appeared in the 1942, 1943, 1944 and 1946 World Series, was selected 20 times as an All-Star, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969. He was named the National League's Most Valuable Player three times. He also was selected for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999. Musial once said, "I consciously memorized the speed at which every pitcher in the league threw his fastball, curve, and slider; then, I'd pick up the speed of the ball in the first thirty feet of its flight and knew how it would move once it had crossed the plate." It was fans of the Dodgers who gave him his nickname. Musial loved to hit in Ebbets Field and after several amazing hitting performances there, Brooklyn fans would see him come to bat, and say, "Uh-oh, here comes the man again. The man is back!" St. Louis sportswriter Bob Broeg picked up on this and said to the fans, "You mean THAT man?" and they said, "No, THE Man." Musial was "Stan the Man" from that point on. Generally, respectful Brooklyn fans did not boo him at Ebbets Field. Like many American baseball players of his era, Musial spent part of his career serving in World War II, missing the 1945 season to serve as a seaman first class in the United States Navy from January 1945 to March 1946. Musial played in 24 All-Star games tying him with Henry Aaron for most all-time. The Cardinals retired his uniform number '6' at the end of the 1963 season. He was a fan favorite for his reputation, both on the field and off, as a gentleman. In Musial's 3,026 ML games, he was never once ejected from a game. Umpire Tom Gorman said, "The bigger the guy, the less he argues. You never heard a word out of Stan Musial...." Musial also served one year as general manager of the Cardinals. After the 1966 season, Musial succeeded Bob Howsam as GM and the 1967 Cardinals promptly won 101 games, the NL pennant, and the 1967 World Series title. Musial then stepped down at the end of the season and was succeeded by Bing Devine. A statue of Musial was erected outside of Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri in 1968, and was dedicated after a Sunday afternoon loss to the Cubs on August 4, 1968. The statue was moved from its original location outside the old Busch Stadium (1966–2005) to the front of the new Busch Stadium for the first season in 2006. The statue has always been a popular place to meet friends at the stadium, and a small tradition among fans has been to climb the statue after the Cards' World Series wins in 1982 and 2006. It is inscribed with a quote from former baseball commissioner Ford Frick: "Here stands baseball's perfect warrior. Here stands baseball's perfect knight." Following his retirement Musial has been a successful businessman and restaurateur, and remains a popular figure in the St. Louis area. When asked why he always seemed so happy, he remarked, "If you had a .331 lifetime batting average, you'd be happy all the time, too!" In 1985, he opened and operated Inn at Grand Glaize at the Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. In 1989, he was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame. In 1999 Musial ranked tenth on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players.[25] Musial was also honored as one of 30 players selected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team, added by a special committee after finishing eleventh in fan voting among outfielders.[26] The surprise at his high esteem among baseball critics and omission from fan-voted all-time teams are a reflection of his rather understated demeanor. Indeed, it was Musial's characteristic modesty, in addition to the fact that he played his entire career for a midwestern ballclub, that allowed his legacy to fall behind those of his contemporaries such as Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio. In 2000, Musial was inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians, and a bronze bust depicting him is on permanent display in the rotunda of the Missouri State Capitol. SKU: XP12030
Item: XP12030
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