(Updated March 26, 2024)
Celebrated throughout the day and night, the unveiling of the Stan Musial statue outside Busch Memorial Stadium was the St. Louis version of a royal wedding.
On Aug. 4, 1968, the public got its first glimpse of the statue honoring the Cardinals ballplayer.
From the moment Stan’s mother, Mary, and his wife, Lillian, pulled the cords to remove its coverings, the statue became as prominent a part of the St. Louis community as the Gateway Arch.
Writers initiative
The bronze statue of Musial in his batting stance came about through the efforts of the St. Louis chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Much of the $35,000 cost of the statue was raised from the proceeds of a 1963 retirement dinner for Musial sponsored by the baseball writers. The dinner at the Chase Park Plaza hotel drew 1,400 people, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
In addition to the funds raised from the dinner, private contributions were made by Cardinals flagship radio station KMOX, the board of directors of the Cardinals and the St. Louis chapter of the baseball writers association.
Carl Mose, a sculptor based in Alexandria, Va., was hired to create the statue and he spent three years on the project.
The statue initially was planned to show Musial signing a scorecard for a youth, an image Musial preferred, “but costs and freedom of artistic expression prevailed,” Post-Dispatch sports editor Bob Broeg reported.
To get the image for the statue, Musial posed in his batting stance while Mose sketched, but the sculptor “had to rework the original plaster design after Musial thought it depicted him in too upright of a stance and found other things not quite right about it, including the configuration of his head,” according to author James N. Giglio in his book “Musial: From Stash to Stan the Man.”
Redbirds reunion
The statue, 10 feet, 8 inches high atop an 8.5-foot marble pedestal, was placed outside the stadium near Broadway and Walnut streets.
The dedication was scheduled to be held after the Cubs and Cardinals played on a Sunday afternoon.
Before the game, the club hosted a brunch for Musial, his family and friends in team owner Gussie Busch’s stadium dining room. Officials also invited members of the 1941 Cardinals because Musial made his major-league debut with them. Busch presented each former player with a commemorative Cardinals wristwatch.
After the meal, Musial and the group went onto the field for a pregame ceremony and were introduced to the crowd of 47,445 by broadcaster Harry Caray.
Nineteen of Musial’s teammates from the 1941 Cardinals were on hand: Johnny Beazley, Walker Cooper, Frank Crespi, Erv Dusak, Harry Gumbert, Ira Hutchinson, Howie Krist, Whitey Kurowski, Eddie Lake, Gus Mancuso, Marty Marion, Steve Mesner, Johnny Mize, Terry Moore, Don Padgett, Howie Pollet, Enos Slaughter, Lon Warneke and Ernie White.
Also in the group were Ollie Vanek, the scout who signed Musial for the Cardinals in 1938; two of the umpires from Musial’s first game, Jocko Conlon and Beans Reardon; and two of Musial’s youth sports coaches from his hometown of Donora, Pa., Michael Duda and Frank Pizzica.
When Musial, dressed in uniform, was introduced to the crowd by Caray, fans responded with “deafening” applause, the Post-Dispatch reported. Musial ran to right field, did a pantomime of a fielder pursuing a fly ball, and waved.
Stan’s 4-year-old grandson, Jeffrey, turned to his grandmother Lil and asked, “Is Stan Musial going to play today?”
The game matched aces Ferguson Jenkins of the Cubs against Bob Gibson of the Cardinals. Gibson took a 4-3 lead into the ninth, but Al Spangler led off the inning with a home run, his first in three years, and tied the score at 4-4. The Cubs won, 6-5, on Lee Elia’s RBI-single against Joe Hoerner in the 13th. Boxscore
Symbol of sportsmanship
About 20,000 people gathered for the statue dedication after the game, according to the Post-Dispatch. Among the guests on the dais were Gov. Warren Hearnes of Missouri, U.S. Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri, St. Louis Mayor Alfonso Cervantes, baseball commissioner William Eckert, National League president Warren Giles and retired baseball commissioner Ford Frick.
In a 1963 ceremony before Musial’s final game, Frick said of Musial, “Here stands baseball’s happy warrior; here stands baseball’s perfect knight.”
The words inscribed on the base of the Musial statue say: “Here stands baseball’s perfect warrior; here stands baseball’s perfect knight.”
At the dedication, Frick told the crowd, “Fortunately, behind the bronze and the stone is a man of heart and great integrity. If the time comes when people are so blasé that they don’t look for a Musial glove under a boy’s pillow, or a Musial bat at the side of the bed, then something will be lost from life.”
Broadcaster Jack Buck, master of ceremonies for the dedication, said, “Stan indicated he never forgets the fans. This statue will assure we’ll never forget him.”
When it came time for Musial to speak, he said, “I like to think of the statue as a symbol of sportsmanship and great freedom of opportunity.”
Displaying emotion, Musial told the audience, “I want to thank everyone, for my mother and the Musial family, for making me a Cardinal forever.”
With tears welling, Mary Musial gave her son a kiss.
After the dedication, Musial hosted a party at his restaurant, and delighted guests with his dancing. When the party ended, Musial invited a small group to his house, where he played the harmonica late into the night.
Some close to Musial thought the statue wasn’t an accurate likeness. In subsequent banquet speeches, the Post-Dispatch noted, Jack Buck often used the line, “The statue may be bronze, but the sculptor must have been stoned.”
In 2006, when the Cardinals opened a new Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis, the statue was relocated to a prominent place outside the entrance on the west side of the ballpark, and remained a popular gathering place for residents and visitors alike.
I was interviewing for a job in St. Louis (way back in the 80’s), and my host asked if I would like to see Stan Musial. Are you kidding?!? Well, he was kidding, he drove us to see the statue and then laughed his ass off.
I didn’t take the job.
Good move. I wouldn’t want to work for that person either. I bet Stan Musial wouldn’t have been amused by that person’s classless gesture.
He truly was all the world has said he is. His son, Dick and he had their offices in the office suite I managed. They were always kind, generous and humble! A family to be admired not only for skill but also for deed!
Thank you for the insights!
Love to meet and share some of my archives with you. Jerry Vickery
Thank you, Jerry. If I get the chance to visit the St. Louis area, I will let you know in advance.
As a 12 year old, I was at this game with my Dad. Thanks for the great retelling of the story of the statue and the game! Now at 67, I only recall being there & seeing the statue, and had forgotten the details.
What a marvelous experience to have attended that game with your father. I appreciate you taking the time to read the story and to comment.
Hi. According to stories in the P-D and TSN when Musial retired, Frick said that the wording on Stan’s HoF plaque should read, “Here stands baseball’s happy warrior; here stands baseball’s perfect knight.” Obviously, no one envisioned a statue at that point, but I wonder who changed “happy and perfect” to “perfect and perfect.” — Steve Gietschier
Thank you for your comment, Steve. I did the checking and found that you are correct: In the ceremony before Stan Musial’s final game, Ford Frick said “happy warrior.” The inscription on the statue says “perfect warrior.” I have made the fix in my story.
I don’t have a solid answer for you regarding who changed “happy” to “perfect” for the statue. It is not explained in Musial’s autobiography, or in the Musial biographies written by James Giglio or George Vecsey. It is not addressed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch book, “Stan Musial: Baseball’ Perfect Knight.” A quick search through newspaper.com archives did not produce an explanation either.
I have a theory: Perhaps Bob Broeg of the Post-Dispatch was responsible for the changing of the word “happy” to “perfect.” I suggest that because Broeg spearheaded the effort by the St. Louis chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America to get the statue done.
In his 1995 memoir, “Bob Broeg: Memories of a Hall of Fame Sportswriter,” Broeg wrote, “At Musial’s last game, commissioner Ford Frick delivered what I envisioned as the inscription for the statue. Frick said he hoped Musial’s Hall of Fame plaque would read: ‘Here stands baseball’s perfect warrior; here stands baseball’s perfect knight.’ ”
So Broeg envisioned the inscription to say “perfect warrior” instead of “happy warrior,” and Broeg was the St. Louis sportswriter closest to Musial and the one leading the push for the statue.
You are probably right that Broeg was responsible for the wording on the statue. He was the dominant force in the St. Louis chapter of the BBWAA at the time. But I don’t think we can rely on his autobiography as evidence to support this claim. After all, he got the Frick quote wrong in his book. Broeg was old when he wrote his autobiography, and maybe he was just confused. Or maybe he was remembering the words on the statue and not the words that Frick actually said. Then, too, Broeg was a proud man, and he considered himself quite a wordsmith. If he had altered or “improved” Frick’s quote, I don’t think he would have forgotten that. So my guess is that the change from happy/perfect to perfect/perfect occurred accidentally by somebody–maybe Broeg–misremembering what Frick said without actually checking the stories published when Stan retired.
If I ever find the answer, I’ll update the story.
I have just discovered this blog. Thanks for your attention to these matters.
I think you are correct that is was Bob Broeg who changed “happy warrior” to “perfect warrior.” It seems likely to me that Ford Frick called Musial a “happy warrior,” to make reference to the once famous William Wordsworth poem “The Happy Warrior.” Broeg (or whoever else made the change) was probably not familiar with the Wordsworth poem and not understanding that by connecting Musial to that poem Frick was offering Musial an enormous compliment.
I wrote an article that provides an extensive discussion of the circumstances surrounding the development of the Musial statue project. Here is a link to my article: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/491215/pdf
I also discuss those circumstances in my biography of Musial. Here’s a link to info on my Musial biography: https://www.amazon.com/Stan-Musial-Biography-Baseballs-All-Time/dp/0313336091
Joseph Stanton, Professor Emeritus, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Hello, Professor Stanton. Thank you for reading and for commenting. Your insights are quite helpful and the links you provided are most appreciated. I look forward to reading your biography of Stan Musial.
Thanks for getting back to me. I do not usually comment on postings online, but your treatment of questions relating to the Musial statue were very well handled so I felt compelled to let you know my thoughts on that subject. I also commented on the Musial statue in a one of the poems in my 2002 collection of baseball poems published by McFarland. Here’s a link to info on that book: https://www.amazon.com/Cardinal-Points-Poems-Cardinals-Baseball/dp/0786413735
Joseph Stanton
You are quite talented. Thank you for the link to baseball poems.