Monday, 28 January 2013

St. Louis' Man

The St. Louis Blues honored long-time baseball great and St. Louis Cardinals legend Stan "The Man" Musial by donning sweaters with his name and number after the Hall-of-Famer passed away on January 19 at the age of 92. He was a beloved sports figure in the St. Louis community, and his contributions in the community made "The Man" larger than life decades after his retirement from baseball.

As if it were written in the stars, on the day of Mr. Musial's passing, the Blues blanked the Red Wings by a 6-0 score. And then on the day that they honored him, the man who now wears #6, Wade Redden, opened the scoring against the Minnesota Wild in a 5-4 victory. If that's not karma for the Blues, who had already given Mr. Musial a jersey of his own in 2012, I'm not sure that I know what karma is. What I do know, however, is that the Blues pulled off a very classy, very respectable move in honoring one of St. Louis' most prominent sports figures and most beloved citizens.

The Blues were auctioning off the Musial jerseys after each player had signed the jersey they had worn, and all the funds were going to the Cardinals Care charity in honor of Stan Musial. Again, for a man beloved by his community, the act of the Blues giving back the money they raised in the sales of these jerseys has to appreciated by Mr. Musial's family. And I'm quite sure that Stan Musial would have been proud as well.

Well done, St. Louis. Cross-sport promotions normally end up horrible, but this one works very well because of Stan Musial's legacy in St. Louis. And thumbs-up from me for honoring "The Man" with a great donation to charity!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

1 comment:

Peter Santellan said...

St. Louis has had a proud baseball history that extends to now, and certainly, Musial was an integral part of that. St. Louis is also known for gravitating towards those who give back to the community, and you see that with the likes of Tony Twist, Bernie Ferderko, and Kelly Chase with the Blues long after their careers ended. St. Louis is worse for Musial's passing, but are not lost as long as the likes of Twist and Chase are ambassadors to hockey in the city, and the city in general.