Stan The Man

I mentioned the name 'Stan Musial' to a couple of my coworkers the other day and they had no idea who I was talking about... And that's an incredible shame... Stan (who is still alive as of this writing) is IMO the best all-around ballplayer and the finest gentleman who ever wore the uniform.
During his 22 years in the Majors he won 7 batting titles and 3 MVPs. He was a power hitter (475 career homers) who rarely struck out (~700 strikeouts in ~11,000 at bats). When he retired (1963) he held 29 National League records, 17 Major League records and 9 All-Star records. And in addition to being one of the best pure hitters to ever play the game he still holds the record for the highest fielding percentage of any player with over 2,500 games... He was the complete ballplayer. But that's not the important part:
In 22 years of major league ball he never got in an argument with an umpire. And near the end of his career, when he was still the highest paid player in baseball (tied with Ted Williams), he demanded a 25% pay cut because his performance had been falling off. (Contrast that with the current generation of professional athletes...)

He was/is just an incredibly nice guy... The Musials lived in a typical house in an upper middle class neighborhood. There were no Ferraris or servants or chauffeurs. They were as typical as a family could be given that Stan was instantly recognized wherever he went.

I remember one morning when I was 6 or 7 we were over at the Musials' and I was drinking a glass of juice at the kitchen table (juice was not allowed out of the kitchen - white wall-to-wall carpet) when Stan came in wearing his PJs and a robe.
I was initially apprehensive - I wasn't sure how he was going to react to finding a visiting kid in his kitchen upon just waking up. But I needn't have been worried - he greeted me like I was a long lost friend. He got out the Wheaties, cracked a 'breakfast of champions' joke, and proceeded to talk to me about how things were going. You have to keep in mind that he was my idol at the time (and still is) - the whole thing was simply surreal...
And one of my fondest memories is having dinner with him in his restaurant (Stan Musial and Biggie's). Every other kid in the place was staring with envy... I loved it :-)

My mom and Stan's wife Lil got along quite well. During the summer when Stan (and my dad) were on away 'on business' the families did things together. I remember that Lil had very few qualms about dropping the Musial name. One time we were in a long line waiting to buy tickets for a production of Tom Sawyer at "The Muny" (outdoor theater) in Forest Park. Lil went to the ticket counter and told them who she was and we were immediately motioned to the front of the line. When a few people protested an employee pointed to Lil and said "Stan Musial's wife". And that instantly quelled all the objections...
But dropping 'the name' didn't always work - I don't recall what the occasion was but one time she told a policeman she was Stan's wife and asked if she could park in a restricted lot. He said "I don't care if you're the pope... You're not parking there!"

BTW - It's amazing what you can find out online. I remembered thinking that the actress who played Becky in that Tom Sawyer production was very pretty (and talented). So I just Googled "The Muny" "Tom Sawyer" 1960... Her name is Susan Heinkel. She was 16 at that time and she had her own TV show (out of Chicago) called "Susan's Show" when she was 12. She was also featured in both Life and Time magazines. But I digress :-)

Janet Musial was a lot like her father. She was athletic and easy-going on the surface but there was an incredible intensity about her. I remember my dad teaching her to play tennis (usually at the courts in Forest Park). She went after every shot, even if there was absolutely no way she could reach it. She never got discouraged and she never quit. I couldn't believe how hard she worked at it... But I guess to her that was 'fun' :-)
She was (and probably still is) incredibly devoted to her father. She stayed with us sometimes during the summer and she never missed a second of a Cardinal game. When she was by the radio listening intently you seriously did not want to bother her. And if the Cardinals lost it was best to stay away from her for the next few hours :-)

When we moved to Philadelphia nobody believed that I knew Stan. That didn't really matter to me. Just having known him was what really mattered...