And he was right! I saw Musial’s impressive stats, championships, MVPs, and All Star games. Olsen replied, “that’s surprising because he’s the greatest Cardinal and one of the greatest baseball players of all-time, and I suggest you look him up.” Later that day I searched his name on the internet. “So you must know who Stan Musial is, right?” “No,” I said. After another trip to the principal’s office one day, he approached me and asked me “Dustin you’re a Cardinals fan right?” Quickly I replied yes. My history teacher, a student of the game, knew that. The only thing that I respected was the game of baseball. Regrettably I was a kid who lied, caused trouble, and was disrespectful to my peers, teachers, and family. I pray to God he now knows and understands. Musial was to have knocked him down and then babbled. I sure he thought I was some kind of idiot savant. I apologized multiple times, knowing who he was, probably incoherently. As hurried as I was I could not just leave him there and helped him up. I was running as fast as I could, paying attention to little, and rounded a corner and knocked this old guy to the ground. My flight back to STL was through Dallas and I had a brief time to traverse the airport to catch my connecting flight. Retired from the Army, I was at a seminar in Houston. I’m 70, grew up in STL in the 60’s, Mantle, DiMaggio, Maris, Banks and others were godlike, but all were relegated to also-rans, Musial was, and is, Stan the Man. A testament to his character and legacy, please enjoy the stories of Stan Musial submitted by fans near and far.

Stan Musial by Stan Musial