Cards' Stan Musial an all-timer

ST. LOUIS - Had it been up to Stan Musial's father, St. Louis might have been denied its greatest Cardinal of all time, and baseball might have been denied perhaps its greatest ambassador.

Stan the Man was a two-sport star growing up in Donora, Pa., and his Polish immigrant father, Lukasz, wanted him to go to the University of Pittsburgh on a basketball scholarship. Stan opted to sign with the Cardinals for $65 a month in 1938.

"Lukasz," said Stan's mother, Mary, "why did you come to America?"

"Because it's a free country, that's why," he said.

"That's right," she said. "And in America, a boy is free not to go to college, too."

Musial, who died Saturday at age 92 after a long illness, not only is considered the greatest player in Cardinals history but probably is the most popular, too. A former pitcher who turned to the outfield and first base in the minors after hurting his arm, Musial played his entire 22-season career with the Cards, from 1941-63.

He is the franchise's leader in virtually every offensive category. Musial held the National League record for hits at 3,630 before Pete Rose broke it in 1981.

A .331 lifetime batter with 475 home runs, Musial hit .300 or better 16 straight seasons. He played on three world championship teams, in 1942, '44 and '46, and played in 24 All-Star Games.

Musial won seven National League batting titles and three most valuable player awards. A career .331 hitter, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1969, becoming only the fourth player chosen in his first year of eligibility.

He was the National League's first $100,000-a-year player. After a mediocre 1959 season, he requested and received a pay cut to $80,000.

He was known for his rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" on his harmonica, for his quiet welcoming gestures to the first black players who crossed baseball's color line in the late 1940s, for never having turned down an autograph request.

Musial's wife of 72 years, Lillian, died in May. He is survived by their son, Richard, and daughters Gerry Ashley, Janet Schwarze and Jean Edmonds; 11 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.