Baseball Hall of Famer and unquestionable great Stan "The Man" Musial passed away tonight at 92. Musial started his major league career in 1941 and would play his last game in September of 1963; in the intervening seasons he made 24 All-Star teams, missing out only once, when he was serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. The Cardinals won three World Series in the 1940s while Musial was with the team, and he won three NL MVP awards during his career.
In 1962, when Musial was 41, he became the oldest modern-era player to record a a .300 BA/.400 OPS/.500 SLG season, and Musial's 1948 season, in which he batted .376/.450/.702 with 39 home runs and 131 RBIs, is the stuff of legend. His immense list of still-standing records (including total bases) is worth perusing.
After he retired, Musial served in the Johnson administration as a physical fitness advisor before going back to the Cardinals as general manager, overseeing their 1967 title, and leaving the team shortly thereafter to pursue business and philanthropic interests. In February of 2011, President Obama awarded Musial the Presidential Medal Freedom. At that event, Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri called Musial, ""the kind of role model that America longs for." Musial's most amazing stat may not have come from baseball: He was married to his wife for nearly 72 years before she passed away in May of 2012.
A news release from the Cardinals said that Musial died in his home, surrounded by family.