I was very pleased to cosponsor H.R. 2383, bipartisan legislation just approved by Congress that designates the new Interstate-70 bridge over the Mississippi River connecting the City of St. Louis and southwestern Illinois as the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge.
As the U.S. Representative who has the honor of representing the St. Louis Cardinals, it is a special privilege for me to speak about Stan Musial from the perspective of a Member of Congress, and also from the memory of a young boy at old Sportsmen’s Park with my dad, former Congressman Bill Clay, as we watched Stan play near the end of his remarkable career.
Stan Musial was simply one of the greatest baseball players of all time. In 22 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, he helped them win three world championships. He won seven national league batting titles, three most valuable player awards, and at the time of his retirement in 1963 Stan Musial held 17 individual major league baseball records. He was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame on the first ballot.
What is less known is that as good a player as he was on the field; Stan Musial was even a better man off the field. In his own quiet but determined way, Stan Musial was also on the vanguard of fighting discrimination and changing America.
Stan was born in the small town of Donora, Pennsylvania, the fifth of five children. Donora is also the hometown of baseball’s famous Griffey family.
As a young man, Stan was no stranger to the challenges of African Americans and the evils of segregation.
Years before the desegregation of baseball in 1947, Stan, a gifted athlete, was playing basketball with Buddy Griffey, the father of the great Ken Griffey Sr. and the grandfather of the great Ken Griffey Jr.
When their high school team was supposed to have dinner in a segregated hotel, Stan and the rest of the team walked out.
In 1947, six years after Stan was called up to the Cardinals, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Many more great black and Latino players would follow. They faced racial taunts and threats on an almost daily basis – sometimes from the fans in the stands, sometimes from the opposing team, and sadly, sometimes from their own teammates.
When some white players on the St. Louis Cardinals threatened to boycott the game if they were forced to play with blacks, Musial stood tall for justice and stopped the boycott before it started.
When Stan died, stories from those difficult days were told with great reverence and respect. Upon hearing of his death, Hall of Famer Willie Mays recalled a story from an All-Star game in the 1950’s.
Before the game, in one corner of the National League clubhouse, sat Mays, Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks and Frank Robinson, playing cards all by themselves.
The white ballplayers on the national league roster either ignored them or were openly hostile. So Stan Musial, who by then was one of the biggest stars in the game, simply walked over, sat down and said, “Deal me in.”
That was his way of saying, fellas, you belong here. It’s gonna get better, and I’m glad to have you on my team.
When asked about his friend’s passing, the great Hank Aaron – baseball’s legitimate all-time home run king, and someone who faced much hateful racism himself – said this of Stan: “I not only liked Stan Musial, I wanted to be like Stan Musial.”
Two years ago, I was privileged to accompany Stan and his family to the White House as President Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The President said this of Stan:
“His brilliance could come in blinding bursts: hitting five home runs in a single doubleheader; leading the league in singles, doubles, triples and RBI’s over a single season. Stan Musial made that brilliance burn for two decades, even as he missed a season in his prime to serve his country in the US Navy during World War II. Stan remains, to this day, an icon, untarnished; a beloved pillar of the community; a gentleman you’d want your kids to emulate.”
That is absolutely true.
And soon, when millions of Americans cross the beautiful new bridge that will bear his name, I hope they will remember that Stan Musial was more than just a proud veteran and a great ballplayer.
