Musial awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom
The grass-roots effort to have St. Louis Cardinals icon Stan Musial receive the most prestigious honor for a civilian in the United States has been successful, just in time for the Hall of Famer's 90th birthday.
The White House announced this afternoon that Musial will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Cardinals and Musial were alerted about the honor early Wednesday morning. Musial will join other baseball greats who have won the award like Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente and Ted Williams. The award recipients are selected by the sitting president.
Musial turns 90 on Sunday.
"Thanksgiving has come early to Cardinals Nation," said team official Ron Watermon, who spearheaded the "Stand for Stan" campaign that caught the White House's attention. "An early birthday present for Stan."
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is given "for especially meritorious contribution (in) cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." Past winners are a diverse group, ranging from Alan Greenspan to Bill Cosby, Muhammad Ali to Paul Harvey, Estee Lauder to Moe Berg, the major-league catcher who was also a spy.
The Musial family issued a statement this afternoon that read: "Stan and Lil Musial and their entire family are delighted with the news of his being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Stan would like to thank President Obama and especially Bill Dewitt Jr. and the entire Cardinal organization for their outstanding support."
Stan added: "I'm proud to be a Cardinal."
Musial is one of 14 awarded the Medal of Freedom today. The others: Former President George H.W. Bush; St. Louis native Maya Angelou, poet; Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel; U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.; John H. Adams, co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council; Warren Buffet, investor and philanthropist; Jasper Johns, artist; Dr. Tom Little, U.S. ophthalmologist murdered in Afghanistan; Yo-Yo Ma, musician; Sylvia Mendez, civil rights activist; Bill Russell, former NBA player; Jean Kennedy Smith, former ambassador; and John Sweeney, former AFL-CIO president.
The formal ceremony to present the awards will occur early in 2011, on a date to be announced later.
Last May, the Cardinals created the "Stand for Stan" campaign to spread the word of Musial's deeds, both on the field and off. The Cardinals saw it as an opportunity to enhance their footprint in social media, using Facebook and Twitter to fuel the populist effort to lobby the White House on Musial's behalf. As part of the campaign, the Cardinals asked fans to print off the "Flat Stan" Musial cartoon and tote it around the world, snapping pics and sending them in via Facebook, Twitter or the team's official web site. The club also organized a "Stand for Stan" day at the ballpark, which took place in September.
Musial is a three-time MVP who still holds the Cardinals' club records for hits, home runs and RBIs. When he retired from baseball after the 1963 season, Musial held 29 National League records and 17 major-league records. He has remained a presence in St. Louis in the decades since his retirement, never missing an opportunity to play his harmonica, dash off an autograph or talk about last night's Cardinals game with anyone who approaches him.
Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig issued this statement: "On behalf of all of Major League Baseball, I am truly thrilled that The White House has honored Stan Musial with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, joining other legends of our game like the great Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Buck O'Neil, Henry Aaron and Frank Robinson.
"Stan Musial is an extraordinary human being, a great American and one of the best players in the history of the game. He has long been a treasure of St. Louis, but he represents all the best of our national pastime. Today, our game salutes Stan Musial on this highest honor from our country."
Political leaders from the region who had pressed the White House to make the award were pleased at the news.
In her letter to the White House earlier this year, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., had pointed to Musial's work over the years on behalf of the USO, Boy Scouts, Senior Olympics, President's Council on Physical Fitness, Crippled Children's Society of St. Louis and other groups and charities.
Today, she referred to Musial as "the kind of role model that America longs for. He has always cared about his community, his country, his fans and his teammates much more than he cared about his own glory."
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., recalled that while growing up in East St. Louis, his most prized possession was his Stan Musial Rawlings baseball gove.
"I rubbed that leather glove with Gloveoleum until I was the only one who could still see his name burned in the leather," Durbin said. "It is rare in history to find such a public person without a detractor. On the field and off, Stan Musial was always a gentleman, always a champion."
Durbin observed that umpires never ejected Musial in more than 3,000 games. "Stan exemplifies the values of sportsmanship, discipline, hard work, grace, consistency, excellence and humility. He is truly deserving of a Medal of Freedom," Durbin said.