This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/15/2008
Stan Musial had 3,630 hits, a National League record until 1981 when it was broken by Pete Rose. Not bad for a player who began his career as a pitcher. Musial was exclusively a pitcher for Williamson of the Mountain State League in 1938. It wasn't until 1939 that he showed his first flashes of brilliance at the plate. The organization began experimenting with splitting Musial between the outfield and the mound. He was a success, and after hitting finishing the 1939 season with a .352 average, he moved to the outfield full time. Musial's rapid ascention as a big league prospect continued during a stint with the 1941 Class C Springfield Baseball Club, a St. Louis Cardinal farm team. Musial would hit .379 with 24 HR in 87 games with Springfield before being promoted to Rochester and then on to St. Louis. This is Musial's four page contract to play ball for the 1941 Class C Springfield Baseball Club. The contract has been signed twice by Musial and the Springfield Baseball Club President in strong (9-10/10) black ink. One of the signatures is a full "Stanley Frank Musial" version. The contract is dated April 28, 1941. Some light creasing and a couple of tears affect the contract at the top, as well as some small holes along a 4" section of one fold on the back. No signatures or text are affected by this problem. Musial was 20 years old at the time he put pen to this document. He would make his major league debut for the St. Louis Cardinals just 6 months later. LOA from PSA/DNA.
5,000 USD - 7,000 USD