Stan Musial
Hall of Famers at War
| Date and Place of Birth: | November 21, 1920 Donora, PA |
| Date and Place of Death: | January 19, 2013 Ladue, MO |
| Baseball Experience: | Hall of Fame |
| Position: | Outfield |
| Rank: | Seaman Second Class |
| Military Unit: | US Navy |
| Area Served: | United States/Hawaii |
Good news for Bainbridge Naval Training Center baseball fans
was the appearance of Stan Musial, former St. Louis Cardinals' slugger,
who reported as the Commodores held their first outdoor workout of the
season today.
Associated Press March 17, 1945
Stanley F. “Stan” Musial was born on November 21, 1920, in Donora,
Pennsylvania. He started his professional career as a pitcher with
Williamson in 1938, and went to Daytona Beach in 1940, where a shoulder
injury prompted a move to the outfield. He moved up to Springfield of
the Western Association in 1941 and played 12 games for the Cardinals
before the year was out.
Musial batted .357 to win the National League batting title and MVP
award in 1943. During the winter months of 1943-1944, Musial, along with
Danny Litwhiler, Hank Borowy, Dixie Walker and Frankie Frisch, was part
of a USO sponsored group that traveled to Alaska and the Aleutian
Islands entertaining troops.
When it became obvious that Musial would be inducted, Pete Reiser tried
to convince him to sign up with the Army. That way, Reiser could get
Musial to Fort Riley where he could play with the service team. "I told
Pete, 'Naw, I'm going into the Navy'," he explained to author Frederick
Turner. "I just liked the Navy for some reason - the water and all. You
know where a lot of those guys wound up who were at Fort Riley? At the
Battle of the Bulge."
In 1944, Musial was 23 years old and batted .347 to guide the Cardinals
to the World Series. He passed his Naval physical examination in June
1944 and reported for induction on January 23, 1945. Musial was assigned
to Bainbridge Naval Training Center in Maryland on March 17, and played
for the Bainbridge NTC Commodores baseball team. The Commodores line-up
included Lum Harris, Dick Wakefield, Thurman Tucker, Stan Spence and
Dick Sisler, and Musial credits his time at Bainbridge with helping him
develop as a power hitter, stating that he altered his stance to pull
the ball so he could hit more home runs to entertain the servicemen.
In June 1945, he was assigned to Special Services and sent to Hawaii.
Attached to a ship launch unit at Pearl Harbor, he ran a launch out to
battle-damaged ships that came in, ferrying personnel back to port.
Three or four afternoons a week he played baseball for the Ship Repair
Unit in the 14th Naval District League. "Ten thousand every game," he
recalled. "You know, there were so many men around Hawaii, goddamn
thousands and thousands of guys, so this was good diversion for them."
In August 1945, he even resurrected his pitching career, blanking an
Army all-star team with a four-hitter in a game at Maui.
In the fall of 1945, Musial's father fell seriously ill at home in
Donora. Stan was granted emergency leave orders to visit home. After his
father recovered he was assigned duty in Philadelphia and back at
Bainbridge. Musial was discharged from the Navy on March 15, 1946, and
promptly returned to the Cardinals. He enjoyed an MVP season batting
.365 with 103 RBIs. At the time of his retirement in 1963, Musial held
17 major league, 29 National League, and 9 All-Star game records. He was
elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in
1969.
Stan Musial, aged 92, passed away at his home in Ladue, Missouri, in
January 2013.
Date Added July 26, 2016
Stan Musial at Baseball-Almanac
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