Stan Musial is one of the most cherished athletes in St. Louis history. Not only that, but he is also looked at as one of the better people ever to play the sport of baseball.
Today “Stan the Man” turns 92. Seeing as it is his birthday, it is a proper time to share six (Musial’s jersey number) fun facts about the St. Louis legend.
- Musial has 3,630 hits. Of these hits, exactly 1,815 were hit at the Cardinal’s stadium. The other 1,815 were hit away from Musial’s home stadium.
- Musial has the third most hits of any National League (NL) player ever. In 1963 he held the NL record. His last hit went past a diving rookie named Pete Rose, who would eventually become the first player to break Musial’s NL record.
- In 2011, Musial was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama.
- Though Musial initially appeared in cigarette advertisements, when he learned they were bad for the body, he quit smoking and stopped the advertisements. He did so in order to be a positive influence on children who admired him.
- Musial missed the 1945 season to serve in the military.
- The Cardinals signed Musial in 1938 as a pitcher. However, after an injury, Musial switched to a full time outfielder. It worked out well for the Cardinals, as Musial developed into a 24 time All Star.
