Walton: Now batting, number 19, Stan Musial

From SABR member Brian Walton at The Cardinal Nation on February 13, 2013:

Starting over three years ago, what began as a simple question about a curious photo turned into an extensive search. My self-initiated challenge became to try to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt the circumstances surrounding a photo of a very young Stan Musial.

In it, “The Man,” then still a very young man, wore a jersey that was clearly not his trademark St. Louis Cardinals number 6. His cap was of the bird design used in 1941, rather than the 1942 StL logo cap.

<snip>

I am pleased to report that I now have definitive proof that Musial wore number 19 during his first spring training camp as a major leaguer, in 1942. Stan had made his St. Louis debut the previous September as number 6.

This roster is from a ten-cent scorecard from Waterfront Park in St. Petersburg, Florida. In the second game of spring training 1942, March 7, Stanley Musial, number 19, batted third and played left field against the New York Yankees. According to the hand-scoring penciled in it, Musial played six innings, going 1-for-3, a single to right field, before being replaced by Erv Dusak. New York won, 3-2.

My research had led me to the spring 1942 conclusion long before now, but until most recently, I had only a long trail of circumstantial evidence.

We now know that Musial sported the number 19 jersey in the spring of 1942, both before and after his wearing of number 6 in the regular season.

Here is how it unfolded.

Read the full article here: http://thecardinalnation.com/now-batting-number-19-stanley-musial/



Originally published: February 13, 2013. Last Updated: February 13, 2013.