"By Bruce Wald
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, October 28, 2007

Continuing to intertwine his lifelong passion of education and the rich sports history of the Monongahela Valley, Stephen V. Russell recently enlightened area residents of one of the greatest, if somewhat forgotten, local athletic figures.

On Oct. 15, Russell, with the help of Bellmar Middle School students, prepared a display and also gave remarks to the Donora Historical Society on the life of baseball legend Stan Musial.

Russell, the longtime principal of Bellmar Middle School, is also the general chairman of the Mid Mon Valley Sports Hall of Fame and author of the Mid Mon Valley All Sports Hall of Fame Biographical Journal (2002). The sports historian and educator addressed the historical group at Donora's Calvary Presbyterian Church.

"He is totally fascinating and to think he came from right around our area," Russell said about Musial, who played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1941 through 1963 and was inducted into the Major League Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1969 after receiving 93 percent of the votes. "He had a wonderful attitude on life though. He came from dire poverty and just took whatever ability he had to the highest degree. A lot of kids don't do that today."

Interestingly and not surprisingly, Russell, with designs on disseminating information rather than seeing what people knew about Musial, presented the Donora Historical Society and subsequently his middle school students with an 85-question multiple-choice test he put together on Musial.

One of the questions on the exam Russell created aptly sums up Musial's on-the-field career: "In 1959 Musial began to show the signs of Father Time catching up with him although he would continue to play through the 1963 season. He did so to break what major league record -- Ty Cobb's 5,863 total bases, Mel Ott's National League RBI record of 1,859, Honus Wagner's National League record of most games played of 2,787, or Babe Ruth's Major League record 1,356 extra base hits?

"The answer is all of them," Russell said emphatically. "He knocked down every one of those records!"

For the record, Musial won seven National League batting championships, three Most Valuable Player awards and helped the Cardinals win three World Series and four National League pennants. He retired with a .331 career batting average, 475 home runs, 3,630 hits, 1,949 runs scored, 177 triples, 725 doubles, and 1,951 runs batted in. He batted more than .300 17 seasons and competed in 24 All-Star games.

He was a star pitcher and standout basketball player at Donora High School, Musial compiled an 11-1 pitching record in 1937 and that same year helped the Dragons' boys basketball team advance to a national scholastic tournament in Chicago. He was initially a star minor league pitcher before his hitting prowess prompted his full-time move into the outfield.

Musial still ranks fourth today in career Major League hits behind Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, and Henry Aaron. In 1948 he produced single-season career-highs in batting average (.376), home runs (39), and RBI (131). Fourteen years later in 1962, he batted .330 at the age of 41.

Despite his unprecedented production, Musial does not receive the same recognition as Ruth, Joe DiMaggio or even his American League contemporary Ted Williams, who starred with the Boston Red Sox from 1939 to 1960. In a recent ranking of 100 top sports figures by ESPN, Musial was listed 61st while Mickey Mantle, Ruth and Williams were in the top 25. Musial was not even included among the initial WPIAL Hall of Fame Class though he is the only WPIAL baseball player to ever be inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

"It is unbelievable how Musial has disappeared from the consciousness of our cultural spotlight," Russell said. "He was geographically challenged. If Musial had played in New York and not St. Louis, he would have been mythified like Ruth and DiMaggio. He wasn't great copy, he wasn't colorful, he had no enemies and stayed away from controversial items such as racial issues, the reserve clause and baseball unions. He never threw any tantrums, and thus as the years have passed Musial has been an ignored superstar."

Nonetheless, Musial was part of the initial MMVASHOF Class with football star Bert Rechichar in 1951. He went on to become the fitness director for President Lyndon B. Johnson and was sworn in at the White House for that honor. After his playing days he became the general manager of the Cardinals.

Legendary baseball manager and executive the late (Wesley) Branch Rickey, who in 1947, while vice president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, broke Major League Baseball's color barrier with Jackie Robinson, brought Musial into the big leagues while he was the Cardinals' vice president. This visionary icon once said of Musial -- "It would do the youth of this generation well to make a study of this man's life."

The late Dr. Michael "Ki" Duda, a 1956 MMVASHOF inductee who coached and taught Musial at Donora and later became president of California State College, is the answer to Russell's first Musial exam question. The quote Duda said was "He had certain elusive quality that can't be described except to say that most great men no matter what the field have it."

Minor league manager Eddie Dyer once said, "He's the greatest kid I ever met, unselfish and a team player all the way."

Russell believes Musial is at the top of a storied and proud list of Mon Valley sports greats that included Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana.

"What more can you say about Musial that guys such as Branch Rickey haven't already said?" Russell said. "No man has ever hit as high as he did at the age of 41, and it's just one statistic after another. His numbers are unbelievable. Musial is the baseball equal if not more than Montana. He's a good role model and excellent study about citizenship for our students."

Bruce Wald can be reached at .
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Reference:
Wald , Bruce.( 2007, October 28).Mon Valley principal continues to sing Musial's praises. Retrieved on October 28, 2007 from http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_534616.html