When I was a fetus my grandfather used to put headphones on my mom's belly so I could hear Jack Buck call a Cardinal game. I am pretty sure if you cut me I bleed Cardinal red.
I bet most people won't understand. That it was so important for my grandfather to introduce me to the Cardinals. Stan Musials funeral was just televised live on TV if you live in St. Louis. Cardinal Nation is a reality.
Musial won three MVP awards, led the league in hitting seven times, and won three World Series titles. He was selected as an All-Star in 20 consecutive seasons. He is "The Man."
He had a career batting average of 331. Not one year. His life. Ponder that for a few.
My four favorite stories about Stan.
One, he got his nickname "The Man" from New Yorkers. The Brooklyn Dodgers. He hit every baseball in a series either out of the park or against the wall. Somebody in the crowd in NYC said "here comes that man." It was printed in the St. Louis Post Dispatch the next day ..... and I guess that is now a nickname starts.
Second, he grew up poor. He jokes that at a time he'd take the top of a bottle cap, shape it like a baseball and play with it.
Third, the Cardinals were one of the last teams to integrate. When they did he told all the "white" players to deal with it.
Finally in his last game he was hurt. He could hardly swing a bat. He went to the plate four times. Four hits. Only swung the bat four times.
Go to YouTube. Read/listen to all there is. Best thing is he seems to be a great guy. Hard to find, and I have not, anybody that will say an ill will about the man.