Westcott: Remembering Stan the Man’s Pennsylvania roots

From SABR member Rich Westcott at the Delaware County Times on January 22, 2013:

There can be no question that Stan Musial was one of the greatest players who ever stepped upon the hallowed grass of a baseball field. He was also one of the classiest gentlemen ever to pull on a uniform.

When the icon known as “Stan the Man” ascended to that great Hall of Fame in the sky last Saturday, amid all the accolades, one point was generally overlooked. Musial was a Pennsy guy through and through. Western Pennsylvania to be sure, but although he spent much of his adult life in the St. Louis area, there is not a baseball fan in the state who would be opposed to claiming that Musial was one of our own.

Born in Donora, a town about 30 miles from Pittsburgh, Musial never forgot his Pennsylvania roots. Even as a big-time star, he often returned home to visit his family and friends, to attend class reunions, to donate to worthy causes, to attend funerals, to build a house for his aging mother. Pennsylvania was his home state, and Musial was always proud of that distinction.

Read the full article here: http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2013/01/22/opinion/doc50fece06f398a076300409.txt



Originally published: January 28, 2013. Last Updated: January 28, 2013.