This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/1/2010
Perhaps no player in major league history enjoyed a more meteoric rise to stardom than Stan Musial. In 1941, Musial rose from the low minors to the major leagues during the course of a single remarkable season. To start the year, the Cardinals promoted him one level to a Class C farm team in Springfield, Missouri. There, in eighty-seven games, he hit 26 home runs and batted .379. That earned him a mid-season promotion to Rochester, New York, a Class B Cardinals farm club, where he hit .326 in fifty-four games. In September, Musial was called up to the Cardinals and was an immediate sensation, getting six hits in a doubleheader and batting .426 in his twelve-game stint. He never looked back. In Stan Musial's first four full major league seasons, the Cardinals captured four pennants and three World Championships in all. Although the Cardinals failed to win another title during his career, Musial went on to become on of the game's greatest players. He won seven batting championships, three MVP Awards, and reached the 3,000 hit milestone. Vin Scully said of him: "He was good enough to take your breath away." 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. Pre-certified by PSA/DNA.