The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1957-07-05

he was a kid of Pittsburgh in
1887.
After. reviewing all these &C.
eomplishmenfs, ii isn't any
wonder that the 36-yesr-oId ma
five of Donora, Pa, was named
the "Player of fhe Decade" by
The Sporting News, the voice
of baseball.
Yet, when he was selected for
this honor, Musial, in his typical
ly modest fashion, commented
that he couldn't understand why
he was chosen. He pointed out
that DiMaggio was a better field
er than he and Williams a better
hitter.
The sports writers thought diff
ferently and Musial holds the
honor.
In commenting on how to pitch
to the top hitters, Sal Maglie's
cryptic statement on Musial was
throw and pray" A rookie
pitcher, after watching Stan blast
a homer, recommended "throw
it behind him, that mus be his
weakness"
Other achievements of MuSial
include: won the batting crown
six times lin 1913, he was first in
every batting department except
home runs when he batted .376);
record for home runs in the All
Star game-five (his home run in
the 18th inning in 1855 won the
game for the National League).
His lifetime batting average is
$40 and his smuggling average is
.578. The latter is a league rec
ord.
In spring training This year,
sports writer's voted Musial the
most spectacular hitter when
he posted a All average. A
home run which he hit shat
tered fIoodIights ATOP a 60-foot
pole, 385 feet away from home
plate. The sports scribes term
ed this the most spectacular
blast in spring training.
Ty Cobb, one of the former all
time diamond greats, called Musi-
al the nearest thing to a perfect
player.
But even good players have
trying times. Several years ago,
Musial was batting .233 and he
decided to take prompt action.
On his day off, he went to the
ball park and took SO minutes of
batting practice.
Manager Eddie Stanky COM
mented afterwards that no one
would know thta Musial was In a
slump. He pointed out that many
players drop their chins and want
to OUTPUT not Musial. He add
ed that Stan maintains the same
attitude in a slump as when he's
cracking the ball at a $50 clip.
That, he unused, is the mark of a
champion.
At the beginning of the cur
rent season, Musial figured he
was good for two more years. Ex-
perts say that when The Man
hangs up his glove, he'll be third
in all offensive departments.
The day MvsiaI leaves the
game. Hscnba'l will have lost
a wonderful gentleman. His
perfect temp his
friendliness, his kid smile and
his good hUmor will be missed
throughout the baseball world.
The Man was born Nov. 81,
1920, in Donora, about 81 miles
from Pittsburgh, of Polish ances-
try. He made his first communion
in St. Mary Church there.
In high school, he made his
mark as a pitcher and was sign
ed to the Cardinal organization.
He broke into professional base
ball in 1888 with Williamson, w.
Va, of the Mountain States
League. There he pitched and
roamed the outfield.
In 1910, he dove for a sink
ing line drive, fell on his Shout
der and injured it. That ended
his mound career-a great dis
appointment to him.
Discouraged, he was urged
TO stay In baseball as an out
fielder. In spring training Of
l94l, Mvsial worked out as an
oUtfielder and performed we'll
AZ the plate. MANAGERS. how