Stan Musial (30 page)
Authors: George Vecsey
Yaroslavsky never met Musial, but about a decade ago a friend arranged for Musial to autograph a ball that now sits in Yaroslavsky’s living room. The inscription says: “To Zev, a great fan. Stan Musial.” It does not call him “son.”
The 1938 Donora baseball team included Stan Musial (fourth from left, top row) and Buddy Griffey (second from left, seated). To Griffey’s right is Dr. Michael (Ki) Duda, who organized the team and was a mentor to Musial.
Donora Historical Society
Six of Donora’s most successful athletes depicted in a mural in the old high school: (Clockwise, from upper left) Ken Griffey Sr., Stan Musial, Arnold Galiffa, Ulice Payne Jr., The Honorable Reggie B. Walton, and Dan Towler.
George Vecsey
The young Musial just wanted to make contact so he could last a few weeks or months in the majors.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame
A very proud Lukasz Musial visited his son in New York during the 1942 World Series. Here they discuss a minor injury that did not keep Stan out of the lineup.
AP
Musial (right) and an unidentified sailor enjoy a cup of coffee in Pearl Harbor, where Musial played baseball in 1945.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame
Whitey Kurowski, Enos Slaughter, Marty Marion, and Musial display their uniform numbers during the 1946 World Series, the last trip to the Series for the Cardinals for eighteen years.
Getty Images
The Donora Zinc Works sent smoke into the Monongahela River valley, contributing to the murderous 1948 smog.
Donora Historical Society
Stan the Man took his unique stance to a record 24 All-Star Games, hitting six home runs. Here he is, about to strike out as a pinch-hitter in the 1961 game with Elston Howard of the Yankees catching and Larry Napp umpiring.
Chuck Schmidt, who coached Musial in Donora, and befriended him during his brief stay in Rochester, N.Y., in 1941, visited him at the Dodgers’ training camp in Vero Beach, Florida, in 1954.
Jim Kreuz
When the Cardinals opened a motel for all the families in spring training of 1962, Lil was front and center (white frilly blouse). She and Leila Keane, the wife of Manager Johnny Keane (standing center, dark bathing suit) set a welcome tone for the black players and their families.
Courtesy of Mildred White
Two Stanleys: When the Cardinals returned to the Polo Grounds in 1962 to play the Mets, Musial agreed to pose with an old friend, Stan Isaacs of
Newsday
, whose column was fittingly named “Out of Left Field.”
Courtesy of Stan Isaacs (photo by Luis Requeña)
