In 1962, at age 41, Stan Musial, thought by some to be finished, produced like a star player in his prime. He placed second in the National League in on-base percentage (.416) and third in batting average (.330), with 143 hits in 135 games and 82 RBI.
It remains one of the great performances by a player 40 or older.
After hitting .310 or better in each of his first 17 big-league seasons, Musial failed to reach .300 in three consecutive years (1959-61). Many assumed the 1962 season would be his last and that he might be relegated to part-time status.
Musial worked out diligently after the 1961 season and reported to spring training in top shape in 1962. “I came into camp this year weighing 184, four pounds lighter than a year ago,” Musial told The Sporting News. “And believe me, those four pounds make a difference.”
From the start of spring training, Musial hit well _ “The Man had one of the best springs of his career,” The Sporting News reported _ and Cardinals manager Johnny Keane developed a plan to rest Musial as required during the 162-game season schedule.
Keane elected to open the season with an outfield of Musial, 41, in right, Minnie Minoso, 36, in left, and Curt Flood, 24, in center.
At a community luncheon before the season opener, Musial said he told Minoso, “We’re going to keep Flood in good condition. I’ll catch whatever comes to me and you catch whatever comes to you. Curt can have everything else.”
Musial established a blistering pace to open the season. Here is what he did in his first three games:
_ April 11, vs. Mets, at St. Louis: Musial was 3-for-3 with a double, a walk and two RBI in the Cardinals’ 11-4 victory. Boxscore
_ April 13, vs. Cubs, at Chicago: Musial was 2-for-4 in the Cardinals’ 8-5 victory. Boxscore
_ April 14, vs. Cubs, at Chicago: Musial had a home run, two RBI and a stolen base in the Cardinals’ 7-4 victory. The steal was Musial’s first in two years. Surprised Cubs catcher Cuno Barragan, unprepared for Musial’s theft attempt, threw wildly into center field, enabling Stan to scamper to third. Boxscore
“The Cubs, feeling that old guy won’t be going any place, patently ignored him and he was off and running,” reported The Sporting News.
Said Musial: “My boy, Dick, came over from Notre Dame for that game and he said he got a much bigger kick out of watching me steal the base than he did in seeing me hit a home run.”
Musial batted .396 (19-for-48) for April. His batting average dipped below .300 only once (.298 on May 24) all season. In July, undeterred by the steamy St. Louis summer, Musial hit .397 (27-for-68).
On Aug. 9, Musial led the league in batting at .354, nine points better than Tommy Davis of the Dodgers.
All season, Musial continued to defy the odds with sensational performances. Among the most notable:
_ May 19, vs. Dodgers, at Los Angeles: Musial broke an 0-for-9 slump with a ninth-inning single off a Ron Perranoski curveball. The hit was No. 3,431 for Musial, breaking the NL record of Honus Wagner.
“When I finally got to first base after breaking the record, I felt so relaxed I could have fallen over,” Musial told the Associated Press. “That’s when I realized the pressure had been on.” Boxscore
_ July 8, vs. Mets, at New York: Musial hit 3 home runs in the Cardinals’ 15-1 victory. He remains the oldest player to achieve the feat. Boxscore
_ July 25, vs. Dodgers, at St. Louis: Musial hit a two-run homer off Don Drysdale, giving Stan a NL-record 1,861 RBI, breaking the mark held by Mel Ott. Boxscore
_ Sept. 27, vs. Giants, at San Francisco: Musial went 5-for-5 with 2 runs scored in the Cardinals’ 7-4 victory. Boxscore
After the season, Musial was named the NL comeback player of the year in a poll of national baseball writers conducted by the Associated Press.
In his book “Stan Musial: The Man’s Own Story,” Musial said, “What gave me my greatest thrill in 1962 was the year I had at bat … I walked out there, day after day, certain I would play, confident I would hit. It was like old times.”
RetroSimba 
I was aware of Musial’s great year in ’62. But I’m left in awe once again after reading the particulars all over. It’s difficult to think of a similar circumstance of a player in baseball (or any other sport) who performed at that level and age. Makes me wonder if we’ll ever see anything like it again, what with mega-million dollar salaries removing the inspiration required to play to such an advanced age.
Michael:
Thanks for your comment and for reading my blog. I checked out your http://classicminnesotatwins.blogspot.com/ and it is outstanding. Last November, I did an interview with Jim Kaat about his time with the Cardinals. Very nice man.
Mark
Returning compliment, Mark, thanks. Redbird history is among the richest in MLB, and I happen to think there’s a dearth of good history blogs like yours, possessing the rare ability to bound back and forth effortlessly between the past and present. Kaat pitched in the first I remember seeing, back in ’69 (yes, I’m older than dirt, turning 50 in June). I’ll be sure to read that interview.
[…] games played, 3,630 hits, seven batting titles, three Most Valuable Player awards, a .330/.416/.508/.924 season at age 41, a statue, a Presidential Medal of Freedom, never an autograph request turned down, and always a […]
Thanks for the look back at the twilight of Stan’s career. I am old enough to remember him quite clearly. Oddly enough my most vivid memory of Stan is a day when he did not play. When I was 14 years old I went to see the Cards play the Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium. I was old enough to appreciate that I was going to see a player that I wanted to remember. I sat in my seat well before the game started and focused my eyes on Musial throughout batting practice and all the while he was on the field. In those days players spent lots more time on the field before a game than they do today. At any rate, watching him the way I did was similar to preserving a moment on film. As a result, not only do I have a distinct memory of Stan from that day, but I also have distinct memories of a ballpark that no longer exists.
Stan From Tacoma:
Wonderful anecdote. Thanks for sharing it. Many fans of Stan Musial will be able to relate to it.
Mark
Thanks so much for your reminder of The Man. I lived in St. Louis from 1955 to 1959 and often visited the old (and ricketty) ballpark on North Grand Avenue (by then the first Busch Stadium; before that, Sportsman’s Park). Seventy cents, in the left-field stands!
By then, Musial was an “old guy” … and, still, the best hitter that I have seen … then or since.
How is that for a bargain … Stan Musial for seventy cents?
Dr. Soldati:
Great story. Thanks for sharing it.Wish I could have seen Stan Musial in that first Busch Stadium. The first big-league game I attended was Stan’s last in New York, at the Polo Grounds in August 1963. That’s how I became a fan of Stan and the Cardinals.
Mark
Dr, Soldati: I was there too, Sportsman’s Park. Mostly in 40’s as a kid, but off-on to STL games until job-transferring to east coast in 1959. I didn’t know price of a bleachers (left-field) ticket then. I’d heard only that in right-field “pavilion” were the cheapest seats of all (maybe because a screen kept Card’s left-swingers homers from reaching fans’ hands. Took an over-screen to be a homer tho (otherwise, ball was in-play, bouncing off that right-field screen.
All the replies here are over five years old, so I hope this blog isn’t dead. I was born about the year Harry Caray started doing Cardinals baseball. So, growing up Cardinals baseball meant Harry, Stan, and the beautiful old lady on Grand at Dodier. I saw much of Stan over the years, but my most thrilling remembrance was the night I saw Stan hit one over the pavilion roof which I heard Harry call on the following Saturday morning when KMOX rebroadcast memorable moments from the previous week. I recorded it that morning and have listened to it many times since, until my tape recorder died many years ago. So, I can repeat the call practically verbatim.
“There she goes. It might be out’a here. It could be. It IS. Holy cow, did he ever hit that one, all the way over onto Grand Avenue. Hey Dick, if you’re listening in Fort Riley Kansas, your dad just hit one to celebrate the birth of your son. And why not name the kid, Homer. Hey hey, how about that”
Thank you for sharing Harry Caray’s call of Stan Musial’s home run. It’s a terrific addition to this post. I really enjoyed how Harry spoke directly to Stan’s son and I got a laugh out of Harry’s suggestion to name the child Homer. You were smart to record the rebroadcast.