By Hogan Chen and James G. Robinson
As Stan Musial neared Honus Wagner's forty-four year old National League record of 3,430 base hits in 1962, he felt no apprehension about breaking the record. "Somehow it doesn't seem to be making me as nervous," said the Cardinal legend less than a week before he was to tie Wagner, "as when I was getting close to three thousand hits."
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Stan "The Man" Musial (AP) | |
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Musial had reached that milestone on May 14, 1958 with a pinch-hit double off the Cubs' Moe Drabowsky at Wrigley Field. Four years later, he was ready to pass Wagner's career mark -- and, at the age of 41, was also in the hunt for his eighth batting championship. Rested often by Cards manager Johnny Keane, Musial's average hovered near .400 in early May.
May was to be an important month for Musial. On May 7, he pulled within six hits of 3,430 and broke another of Wagner's records by playing in his 2,788th game. Over the next two games he moved into first place in the NL batting race with enough hits to leave him one shy of Wagner's career total.
But Musial kept his fans waiting with an uncharacteristic 0-for-13 slump. "I have about a hundred feet of film," complained St. Louis coach Hal Smith, one of those intent on filming Musial's historic hits, "and I don't have a thing to show for it yet."
The big hit finally came in Candlestick Park on May 16. As Jim Tobin -- the man who had surrendered Musial's first hit -- watched from the stands, Musial laced a single off Juan Marichal to right-center to equal Wagner's mark. It was the fortieth record the Cardinal great had tied in his illustrious career.
Hitless in his next eight at-bats, Musial would not break the record for three days. The Cardinals had traveled to Los Angeles and Ron Perranoski, the tough Dodgers reliever, was facing Musial in the ninth inning. He could not avoid fate. Musial lined another single into right to break the record, and as the twenty-four time All-Star stood at first base, stunned by the moment, the fans in Dodger Stadium gave him standing ovation.
When Keane sent in Don Landrum as a pinch runner after the ovation, the normally stoic Musial ran into the dugout and shouted, "I got it! I got it!" After the game -- an 8-1 victory for the Cardinals -- Musial talked about the stress in breaking the record. "I never worked so hard as I did for the last two [hits]," he told reporters.
Musial would capture another of Wagner's records with his 10,428th at bat on July 14, and finished the season with a .330 batting average, third in the league behind Dodger outfielder Tommy Davis (.346) and Reds outfielder Frank Robinson (.342). He retired after the 1963 season after twenty-two years of service in baseball, all with the St. Louis Cardinals.
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