The greatest Cardinal of all time let his team and all the Redbird fans know that he was planning to hang it up at the end of the 1963 season
On August 12, 1963, Stan Musial announced that he would retire at the end of the season. Known as the face of the franchise for over two decades, he is generally considered the greatest Cardinal player of all time.
Musial’s accomplishments extended far beyond those impressive career totals. He collected 3,630 hits during his 22-year career, including 725 doubles and 177 triples, while scoring 1,949 runs. He won three National League MVP Awards and finished among the top 10 in MVP voting an incredible 11 times.
Musial also captured seven batting titles and was selected to 24 All-Star Games, a record that stood for decades. In 1948, he narrowly missed winning the Triple Crown, finishing with a .376 batting average, 39 home runs, and 131 RBI. Perhaps most remarkably, Musial finished his career with exactly 1,815 hits at home and 1,815 on the road, an extraordinary statistical symmetry. His No. 6 was retired by the Cardinals in 1963, and the franchise later honored him with a statue outside Busch Stadium, preserving the legacy of a player whose consistency, excellence, and character made him one of baseball’s enduring legends.
Even in retirement, Musial stayed close to the Cardinals organization, acting as the club’s vice president and then general manager. After stepping away from those duties, he acted as a goodwill ambassador for the team until his health precluded him from doing so. Musial would pass away on January 19, 2013, at his home in Ladue, Missouri.
