Sportscaster Bob Costas once said, “Stan Musial was nicknamed ‘The Man’ not just for his career accomplishments…not just for his 17 MLB records, his 29 NL records or his nine All-Star records at retirement. He was nicknamed ‘The Man’ because of who he is and always will be – one of the most consistent, decent and honest human beings to ever play major league baseball.”
Few players in the history of the game were so engendered the admiration and affection of fans, not only at home but in every ballpark on the circuit. As for his 22-year tenure with the St. Louis Cardinals, there's no specific era during which Musial peaked. Rather, he was consistently spectacular throughout. He finished with a .331 career batting average and seven batting titles (only Cobb, Wagner and Gwynn have more) – remarkable feats for a perennial power hitter. Although Stan fell just shy of the 500 HR Club, he currently ranks third all-time in total bases (behind Aaron and Pujols), fourth in hits (3,630), eighth in RBI (1,951), and tenth in runs scored (1,949). No player was or ever will be more revered in a Redbirds jersey.
Featured here is a wonderful Stan Musial game used bat dating to the 1955-56 period when The Man was still in peak form, batting .314 with 60 homers and 217 ribbies in that frame. The Hillerich & Bradsby M159 pro model with “MUSIAL MODEL" in block letters on the front barrel has outstanding evidence of game use with a slight handle crack. Several ball marks, stitch impressions, and bat rack streaks adorn the barrel. Measuring 34-1/2" with a weight of 28.7 ounces, the ash bat has the M159 model number stamped into the knob end. Assessed a near-perfect GU 9 grade by PSA/DNA, it survives as one of the finer Musial specimens from the back-half of his Hall of Fame career. Easily one of the top Musial gamers we have represented at auction. Comes with a PSA/DNA GU 9 letter from John Taube (which, we must note, does not mention the slight handle crack; this would not alter its grade).