Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Stan Musial died on Sunday. The St. Louis Cardinals great was 92 years old.
Musial earned three World Series titles in his playing days with St. Louis and was the General Manager of the 1967 championship team in his only year in that role.
Perhaps one of the franchise players most embodied within a franchise, Musial was loved outside of the Cardinals organization as well, as one of the most respected players to ever don a baseball cap.
He was known for treating African-American players just as well as anyone else, often seeking them out during All-Star Game celebrations for their company. Musial was even part of a political unifying effort for late President John F. Kennedy (says this New York Times story).
Stan the Man won three National League MVP's, becoming the first NL player to accomplish the feat. He is one of two players to ever earn 24 All-Star Game invitations (along with Willie Mays).
Musial was known for his nonchalant, modest nature, often deflecting praise toward his teammates and others in the game. Current Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim first baseman Albert Pujols had a strong relationship with Musial, especially during Pujols' tenure as a Cardinals player. According to a USA Today report, Pujols spoke to Musial just hours before his death over the weekend, expressing his love for the baseball icon.
Musial compared Pujols to a modern-day Ted Williams, even helping Pujols during one of Albert's longest slumps in a Cardinals uniform with some advice.
On today's date in 1960, Musial told the Cardinals management that he was being overpaid and should have his salary reduced after a subpar 1959 season. He received a pay cut from $100,000 to $80,000 a year (courtesy of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum's Facebook page).
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