Tag: Stan Musial

AUG 1: Colbert matches idol

AUGUST 1, 1972 | ATLANTA, GEORGIA – Eight-year old Nathan Colbert was in awe when he saw his favorite player, Stan Musial, hit five home runs in a double-header in 1954. Little did the St. Louis native and Cardinal fan know he would inspire the same awe eighteen years later. Today in baseball (1972) Nate Colbert of the San Diego Padres tied Musial’s record by hitting five home runs in a double-header sweep of the Atlanta Braves, 9-0 and 11-7. Colbert hit two home runs in the opener and three in the second game, driving in a total of 13 runs.

The best of Colbert’s ten years in the majors was 1976; 38 HRs, 111 RBI, and though his batting average was a modest .250, his slugging percentage was .508. His abilities diminished rather quickly. His HR/RBI stats fell to 22/80 in 1973, 14/54 in 1974, 8/29 in 1975 and he was out of baseball by 1977. He remains in the record books, however, alongside is childhood hero Stan Musial.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES
Associated Press, August 3, 1972 

 


Aug 3 in baseball history: Let’s Play Two All-star games

AUGUST 3, 1959 | LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA • The Major League Baseball all-star game was such a hit since it was introduced in Chicago in 1933, many people thought, ‘Let’s play two all-star games.’ For four seasons that’s what was done.

A second MLB all-star game was played on this date in 1959. Dual classics were the norm for four seasons – 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1962. The American League won this contest in front of 55,105 fans at the Los Angeles Coliseum, avenging a National League victory on July 7th at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The LA Coliseum (predominantly a football stadium) was the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who came to the west coast in 1958, while Dodger Stadium was being built.

The pitchers of record for this second mid-summer classic were the starters. Jerry Walker of the Baltimore Orioles won it for the American League. Dodger Don Drysdale, pitching in front of his hometown fans, was the loser for the National League.

Jerry Walker was a 20-year old rising star with an 8-4 record at the time of the second all-star game. He never became the kind of star this all-star game foreshadowed. Walker never won more than eight games in any season and finished his eight year major league career with a record of 34 and 44.

The highlights of the 1959 all-star game were the introductions of superstars Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals and Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox, both were reaching the ends of their careers. Both would end up in the Hall of Fame on the first ballot.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
The Associated Press, August 4, 1959, Los Angeles, CA
1959 All-star games

OTHER STUFF – An excellent series of articles on Midwest Ballparks in Chicago Magazine by Jeff Ruby: “Playing the Fields”

June 30 in baseball history – It took balls

JUNE 30, 1959 | CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – On this date in 1959 St. Louis Cardinal slugger Stan Musial was called out on a play that, let’s say, it took balls. When nobody was looking two balls were in play at once during a Cubs-Cardinals contest at Wrigley Field.

According to Edward Prell’s story in the next day’s Chicago Tribune, Cubs’ hurler Bob Anderson walked Musial. Ball four got away from catcher Sammy Taylor. Rather than go after the ball, Taylor argued with home plate umpire Vic Delmore that the ball hit Musial’s bat.

While this was going on Musial, who was already at first, darted for second.

The ball that got away from the catcher was picked up by the batboy who was about to give it to field announcer Pat Pieper, who sat almost directly behind home plate. Piper was also in charge of the stash of extra baseballs.

Before the batboy could give Pieper the ball, Cub third baseman Alvin Dark, who had raced after it, grabbed it.

By now home plate umpire Delmore produced a new baseball and gave it to pitcher Anderson who had the same idea as Dark and fired it to second. Anderson’s ball sailed over the second baseman’s head into centerfield. Dark’s ball was caught by shortstop Ernie Banks on one bounce. Musial and stepped off the bag after seeing the first ball sail into center and was promptly tagged out by Banks.

After much consternation Musial was ruled out because the ball he was tagged out with was the one Bob Anderson threw for ball four and was never out of play. There would have been a protest no matter what the ruling was. As it turned out the call went against the Cardinals but St. Louis won the game. That was the end of it, but it took balls.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
Edward Prell, The Chicago Tribune, July 1, 1959
The Chicago Daily News, July 1, 1959

JAN 29: MUSIAL REWARDED

OUR STORY TAKES US BACK TO ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI JANUARY 29, 1958. 

Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals became the highest paid player in National League history. Stan “The Man” gratefully stroked his signature across a contract worth $100,000. Musial was being richly rewarded for winning his seventh batting title in 1957 with a .357 average. He drove in more than 100 runs for the tenth time in his career. The Associated Press reported that only Ted Williams of the American League’s Boston Red Sox probably makes more at an estimated $125,000.

 

The Cardinals made it clear they wanted Stan to stick around. According to the Associated Press the 37-year old former outfielder who now plays first base, told reporters, ”Baseball has rewarded me richly, and the Cardinals have always treated me more than fairly, this year in particular. I would have settled for less.”

 

Musial went on to hit .337 in 1958. He would play six more seasons, finishing with a lifetime .331 average. He was not considered a home run hitter, but hit over 30 six times and finished with 475 for his career.


Stan Musial was named to 24 all-star teams (there were two all-star games some years back then). The man richly rewarded with the biggest contract in National League history, was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969.

 

Contributing sources:
Associated Press, January 30, 1958