Stan Musial & The Integration Of Baseball

When Jackie Robinson took the field in a Brooklyn Dodger uniform in 1947 to become the first African-American to play Major League baseball in the 20th Century, Stan Musial was the biggest National League star player. Named the league’s Most Valuable Player, Musial led the St. Louis Cardinals to winning the National League pennant and World Series Championship the previous year. A member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Musial died this past January 19, he was 93. There was strong verbal opposition to Robinson’s entry into the league, including that from Musial’s Cardinal teammates. But the quiet acceptance of the changing face of baseball he experienced the remaining 26 years of his playing career (1947 -1963) was an example of the high moral character exhibited by Stan “The Man” Musial his entire life.

Examiner