Farewell to Baseball's Perfect Knight

Stan Musial now belongs to the ages.  I am saddened by the passing of my childhood hero.  Stan "The Man" died today at the age of 92.

As an eight year old kid my Dad would take me to the original Sportsman's Park on North Grand Avenue.  I can recall seeing "The Man" hit balls over the right field screen during batting practice.  I also saw my share of Musial home runs during the games.  He ended his career with 475 HRs and even more impressively 3630 hits.  You know what made that even more special?  Mr. Musial had 1815 hits at home and 1815 on the road.

The Man appeared in 24 All-Star games, which to this day has been tied by only Willie Mays. Stan the Man won three MVP awards and was a player on three World Series champions. Even more impressively Stan was a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee in his first year of eligibility in 1969.

Yes, Stan Musial was baseball's perfect warrior.  On the occasion of his retirement in 1963, then baseball commissioner, Ford Frick uttered the following; "Here stands baseball's perfect warrior, here stands baseball's perfect knight".