Aug. 12, 1963 - In his 22 years with the Cardinals, Stan Musial (pictured in 1949), who today announced his retirement at the end of this season, has established or tied 17 major league marks, 30 National League records, and 9 All-Star game records. He has played more games with one team than any other major league player in history. Musial appeared in his first World Series with the Cardinals in 1942 — his first full season with the club — and helped the Cards down the New York Yankees. He helped the Cardinals win 3 other pennants and 2 more world titles, the last in 1946 when they defeated the Boston Red Sox in 7 games. Musial has won 7 batting championships, was chosen the National League’s most valuable player 3 times, and appeared in 20 All-Star games. He enjoyed his greatest season in 1948, when he batted .376 — his career high. This year. Stan the Man has erased Babe Ruth’s major league record of 1,356 extra base hits and raised it to 1,370. Among the other major league records Musial held at the start of the current season were most home runs in a double-header (5), most total bases in a double-header (21), and most years for a player in 100 or more games (20). Today, Cardinal manager Johnny Keane said he was not shocked so much by the retirement announcement as he was by the prospect of no longer having Musial’s name to insert in the batting order. “One of the biggest honors and privileges of my life has been to put on a Cardinal uniform the same as Stan’s, dress in the same clubhouse as Stan, and be on the same field and club as Stan,” Keane said. Teammate Ken Boyer has had a locker next to Musial’s since he came to the majors 10 years ago. “He’s our inspiration, our leader,” Ken said today. “He wins for us. Congratulations to the greatest ballplayer who ever put on a uniform.”
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