Book Review: "Stan Musial, An American Life"

Twice in the last 12 months I have written posts on this blog about Stan Musial, so it was with interest that I read this new biography of Stan the Man by New York sportswriter George Vecsey. The book starts with the premise that Musial is really the forgotten superstar in baseball history. Heck, a person would have to be pretty much over 50 years old to have any memory of having seen him play ball.

The superstars who were his contemporaries, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams, are certainly far more famous and celebrated. He played in St. Louis, not New York and Boston (although Vecsey, somewhat defensively, I think, is quick to point out how New York writers loved him). He didn't marry Marilyn Monroe, but rather his hometown sweetheart, a marriage that has lasted over 70 years, and he never had the "signature season" of a .400 average or a 56 game hitting streak, but for sustained excellence over a 22 year career, a case can be made that Musial was the equal, if not better, than either Joe D. or Teddy Ballgame. No scandals, no ugly off field events ever tarnished Musial's image. I will not recite all of Musial's records or accomplishments, but would recommend that you just look at Musial's career stats on any online reference site. They are mind boggling.

The book is not a detailed biography in the traditional sense. Vecsey doesn't bog you down with a lot of detailed runs-hits-errors stuff, but he does paint a great picture of Musial the man and the ballplayer. And there are some great stories to be told in the book:

• To Cardinals major domo Branch Rickey, Musial was little more than just another one of hundreds of minor league ballplayers under the Cardinals controled back in the late 1930's. Until, that is, it became apparent what kind of a player Musial was to become, at which point Rickey never missed the opportunity to tell anyone who was listening the key role that he, Rickey, played in Musial's discovery and development. Musial never publicly disagreed with Rickey, but he never gave him credit either.


• When Musial was discharged from the Navy in 1946, he hitchhiked back to St. Louis.


• When attending a reunion of old Cardinals, Musial stopped at a bank and took out a bunch of $100 bills, which he surreptitiously handed out to old teammates who were down on their luck. An observer guessed that he gave out over $10,000 that night.


• When some Cardinals fans began to call Albert Pujols "El Hombre", Pujols graciously asked that they not do so stating that there was and could only be one "Man" in St. Louis.

In awarding Musial the Presidential Medal of Freedom earlier this year, Barack Obama summarized Musial well: "Stan remains, to this day, an icon, untarnished; a beloved pillar of the community; a gentleman you'd want your kids to emulate."

Musial will turn 91 in November and through much of the past decade he has been suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. Not a nice way for anyone, much less an elite athlete, to end their days. It is nice that Vecsey has written this book to remind everyone of the career and life of a guy who was and remains a true class act.