Major-minor League Heroes
Springfield played host to several players that would go on to the Major League and Senior Circuit scene. The greatest of these was Stan Musial, also known as Stan "The Man." Stan played 87 games for Springfield during the 1941 season, batting .379 and quickly becoming a fan favorite. In April 2005, Musial played his harmonica to the tune of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" to a crowd of near 12,000 during the inaugural St. Louis vs. Springfield Cardinals game. After throwing out the inaugural ceremonial first pitch that same day, Musial stumbled and almost fell to the ground. However, Springfield General Manager Matt Gifford was quick on the scene to catch Stan and avert embarrassment.
Among other stars who played in Springfield are Dizzy Dean and his brother Paul, Pepper Martin, Joe Medwick. Babe Ruth also spent some time playing baseball in Springfield, but not as a member of the Cardinals.
Read more about this topic: Springfield Cardinals
Famous quotes containing the words league and/or heroes:
“Stereotypes fall in the face of humanity. You toodle along, thinking that all gay men wear leather after dark and should never, ever be permitted around a Little League field. And then one day your best friend from college, the one your kids adore, comes out to you.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)
“All of childhood’s unanswered questions must finally be passed back to the town and answered there. Heroes and bogey men, values and dislikes, are first encountered and labeled in that early environment. In later years they change faces, places and maybe races, tactics, intensities and goals, but beneath those penetrable masks they wear forever the stocking-capped faces of childhood.”
—Maya Angelou (b. 1928)