RetroSimba

Stan Musial is the reason I have been a St. Louis Cardinals fan since 1963, when I was 7 years old.

My paternal grandfather immigrated to the United States from Poland before World War I and settled in Bayonne, N.J. He was a proud Polish-American. During the 1940s, when Musial won three National League batting titles and led the Cardinals to four pennants and three World Series championships, my grandfather became a Stan Musial fan. Musial’s father also immigrated to America from Poland.

My father was a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, but he, too, rooted for Musial. The Dodgers fans at Ebbetts Field in Brooklyn respected Musial so much that they gave him the nickname, “The Man.”

My grandfather and father wanted me to see Musial play in person, so they purchased three tickets for the Cardinals’ last scheduled 1963 appearance in New York. On Aug. 8, 1963, a Thursday afternoon, we were among the 8,309 who went to the Polo Grounds to see the Cardinals play the Mets.

Musial was 42 and speculation was he would retire after the season. The Polo Grounds had been the home field of the Giants when they were based in New York and Musial hit well there.

“There’s something sentimental about this old place,” Musial said in an Associated Press story published before the game. “For one thing, I’ve always been a Giants fan. When I was a kid, Carl Hubbell and Mel Ott were my heroes. I’ve enjoyed playing here because of the short fences and the nice crowds. Now, this is goodbye. It’s a bit sad.”

During our drive into New York from New Jersey, my grandfather and father told me stories about Musial. To a 7-year-old, that was enough to convince me Musial was the greatest baseball player. And, because he played for the Cardinals, my 7-year-old’s logic said, they must be the greatest baseball team.

Before a pitch was thrown, I was devoted to Stan Musial and the Cardinals.

When the starting lineups were announced, my grandfather and father were disappointed Musial was being given the day off against Mets left-hander Al Jackson.

Still, being at a big-league ballgame was thrilling for me and I recall taking in the sights and sounds from our second-deck seats on the first-base line.

In the ninth inning, with the Mets ahead, 3-2, the Cardinals had a runner on first with two outs when our wishes came true. Musial was sent to bat for pitcher Bobby Shantz.

I recall focusing on the figure at the plate and seeing Musial in his famous batting crouch, the number 6 looking huge on the back of his jersey.

Jackson walked Musial on four pitches, and I was satisfied to see the plate appearance. Gary Kolb was put in to run for Musial before Curt Flood grounded out, ending the game.

In January 2012, while interviewing Jackson at the Mets’ training facility in Port St. Lucie, Fla. he stunned me by bringing up that Aug. 8, 1963, encounter with Musial.

I was asking Jackson about Flood and Jackson said:

“Great defensive player. He was a great hitter, too. Here was a man who got 200 hits every year. But asking about Flood reminds me of when I was still pitching for the Mets and we were playing the Cardinals in the Polo Grounds. I had a one-run lead in the ninth inning. There were two outs (and a runner on first base) and here comes Stan Musial to pinch-hit.

“I always said, ‘My momma didn’t raise no fool.’ Flood was due up after Musial. And as good a hitter as Flood was, I thought about how years back, (pitcher) Harvey Haddix had told me how dangerous this man Musial was in the clutch. And so I said to myself, ‘I got a one-run lead in the ninth inning. This man is not going to beat me.’ I threw four pitches outside and he went on to first base. I got the next man, Flood, to ground out. Game over.” Boxscore

The summer of 1963 also was the first year I began collecting Topps baseball cards. My maternal grandmother and my mother would buy them for me in waxpacks for a nickel apiece. Never once had I found a Stan Musial card in a pack.

A few days after my Polo Grounds experience, a friend told me he had a 1963 Topps Stan Musial card. I told my father about it and he instructed me to find out what my friend would accept in a trade. My friend, a Yankees fan, wanted the Yankees team card. I had it, and my father decided to help me broker a deal.

I invited my friend to meet me and my father in our yard and to bring the Musial card. When I offered the Yankees team card in exchange, my father sensed hesitation from my friend. Thinking fast and sorting through my stack, my father told me to include a card of Yankees catcher Johnny Blanchard in a two-for-one deal.

I was aghast. My father told me it was a good deal. So I handed over both cards and got the Musial one. It is shown here. Musial autographed it for me in 1989.