Stan Musial to receive Medal of Freedom
To some, he was the best St. Louis Cardinal out of all time, and now Hall of Famer Stan Musial will be receiving the Medal of Freedom from United States President Barack Obama.
The Medal of Freedom is the highest honour an American civilian can receive and the citation that goes along with it is as follows:
"An especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States or to world peace or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."
Musial is joining fellow Hall of Famers Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Joe DiMaggio, Henry "Hank" Aaron, Ted Williams, Buck O’Neil and Frank Robinson as recipients of the prestigious award.
"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," said Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, according to
mlb.com.
The commissioner also continued with, "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."
Musial really was one of the best players who ever lived, achieving All-Star status for 20 of his 22 years, not to mention he had his historic number 6 retired by the Cardinals in 1963.
He was inducted into Cooperstown in 1969 with a career batting average of .371, which included 475 home runs and 1951 runs batted in.
Even Missouri’s Senator Claire McCaskill was joining in the appreciation of Musial’s accomplishments.
"Stan Musial is the greatest Cardinal ever. And even better, he has been 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. On behalf of
millions of Missourians, I couldn't be prouder that the President has chosen to recognize our hero with the Presidential Medal of Freedom."
Musial will be turning 90 years old next week.
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