Lil and Stan Musial married for 72 years, Lil died in 2012
Stan "The Man" Musial 1920-2013, age 92, RIP
Two hats of belief for Stan, the church and the Cardinals
This past Saturday, while in St. Louis attending the funeral of the pater familias of the family, Uncle Ed Costigan, 98, we all received the news that our beloved Stan Musial died at his home in Ladue, Missouri. Only the death of Stan Musial could have trumped the glorious send off for Uncle Ed.
Stan had been in poor health for quite some time and death was imminent. But, once death comes in whatever form or station, you're never quite ready for it. For us, the Cardinal faithful and St. Louis natives, the immortal Stan Musial is and will always be synonymous with St. Louis.
By the time you read this, everybody with a keyboard and/or a microphone has chimed in about Stan's passing and his incredible life both on and off the field of play. His superb talents. His humility. His grace. His generosity. His marriage to Lil and his surviving family. His loyalty for his adopted hometown St. Louis. And, his Cardinals. So I won't recycle what you already know. But I do have a reflection on Stan which is personal and real.
In March 2003, we traveled back to St. Louis to visit family. Typically, we stay at the Missouri Athletic Club, aka MAC, in downtown St. Louis. It's a venerable 100 year old city club with a terrific watering hole called the Jack Buck Grille. The MAC has been the center of St. Louis' love affair with their sports heroes for decades. One such super hero was Stan Musial. Stan loved the MAC. And the MAC loved Stan.
While staying at the MAC on that cold early March evening, my spies at the club told me that Stan was in the house. Immediately, I told my 13 year old son, Will, who was traveling with us, that Stan Musial is in our midst. After some searching, we found Stan on the second floor in the Eads Room attending a sports banquet in Stan's honor as "The Athlete of the Century." "The Athlete of the Century" was sitting forlornly on an under stuffed chair...alone, watching the dais.
Will and I proceeded with caution. You know, sports legends, ie Dimaggio, Williams, Mays, are usually surrounded by surly thugs to keep the riff raff away. We thought we would surely be re-buffed by somebody and maybe even by Stan when we approached him...cautiously. Boy, were we wrong.
We introduced ourselves to Stan. Surprisingly, nobody bothered us. We told him of our St. Louis roots and our enduring love for the Cardinals. Instantly, a bridge was built to his heart and soul. We talked baseball alot. We mischievously cajoled Stan with our knowledge of his career: 7 batting titles, .331 lifetime batting average, fourth most hits ever, three MVPS, three World Series championships, sixth most RBIs ever, struck out only 696 times in 11,000 at bats, almost twice as many walks as strikeouts, first ballot Hall of Famer and he was never thrown out of a game in 22 years of baseball. He smiled awkwardly and seemed nonplussed by all this minutiae brown-nosing. Then he angled that "Stan look" at Will. Asked him, "Slugger, you like baseball like your Dad?" Will nodded. Well then...he slipped his left hand inside his coat pocket and gave Will an autographed picture of #6. Waddasay, waddasay, waddasay. Will beamed. (See Will clutching the card in the picture below.)
That's not all. After the exchange of the picture, Stan dipped into his front coat pocket and brought out his ever ready harmonica and played "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." Pitch perfect. He hit that one out of the park too!! Will said later, "Dad, he didn't even know us and he treated us so nice(ly)." But that's Stan. That's St. Louis. We soared up eight stories to our room on memory wings which will last a couple of lifetimes.
I had read how approachable and kind Stan was for years but to experience it firsthand was very validating and powerful. Believe it. It happened to us on one cold winter Midwestern evening when our paths serendipitously crossed with STAN MUSIAL and we were all the better for it.
So everything you may read and hear about Stan Musial in the days and weeks to come is probably true. His life lived was better than fiction. He was the real deal on and off the field. Civility personified in one man.
So, rest in peace, Stanley Frank Musial, as quoted by then Commissioner Ford Frick and inscribed on the unusual Musial statue outside Busch Stadium:
"Here stands baseball's perfect warrior. Here stands baseball's perfect knight."
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