Ebbets Field and Stan the Man

[musial6]

They're both gone now.

[Mattingly]

They're both gone now.

I've never posted much about him. Largely due to my not having followed or having read much about his highly illustrious career. However, I do remember and respect you as a person who certainly was highly familiar with his accomplishments.

Can you and others here share with everyone how he treated the Brooklyn Dodger fans when he played at Ebbets Field? I'd like to know what the mood was like when he came to bat. Or how serious was it getting the prior batter (or man on base) out before he came to the plate.

One more thing. I heard today that it was Brooklyn Dodger fans who gave Stan the Man his nickname. Is this so? Anything to add to this, I would greatly appreciate.

Thanks.

[VIBaseball]

My understanding is that the Ebbets crowd had healthy respect for Musial -- "Here comes that man again" -- and that they were indeed responsible for the nickname.

I can't imagine that Musial's attitude toward them varied from what he apparently showed everyone else he encountered: gracious.

[Squeeze Play]

Stan was a powerful link to my Brooklyn Dodgers days, and his death is a poignant reminder that those wonderful days are gone forever.

Even though he regularly destroyed my team, he was a joy to watch.

[Bobcat]

Quoted from the NY Times
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Musial thrived at the Dodgers’ Ebbets Field, plastering the right-field scoreboard and hitting home runs over it, and winning the grudging admiration of the notoriously tough Brooklyn fans.

“I did some phenomenal hitting there,” he told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “The ballpark was small, so the seats were close to the field and you could hear just about anything anybody said. Then I’d come to the plate and the fans would say, ‘Here comes that man again.’ And a sportswriter picked it up and it became Stan the Man.” The nickname, attributed to Bob Broeg of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, stayed with Musial as he piled up hits, combining his talent with intense concentration at the plate.



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Full Text

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/20/sports/baseball/baseball-great-stan-musial-dies-at-92.html?pagewanted=1&ref=obituaries

[musial6]

Stan loved Btooklyn and Brooklyn loved Stan. He loved the Polo Grounds, too. Here are his career numbers at both venues:

Polo Grounds 171 Games .343/.438/.633/1.071

Ebbets Field 163 Games .359/.448/.660/1.108

[musial6]

I've never posted much about him. Largely due to my not having followed or having read much about his highly illustrious career. However, I do remember and respect you as a person who certainly was highly familiar with his accomplishments.

Can you and others here share with everyone how he treated the Brooklyn Dodger fans when he played at Ebbets Field? I'd like to know what the mood was like when he came to bat. Or how serious was it getting the prior batter (or man on base) out before he came to the plate.

One more thing. I heard today that it was Brooklyn Dodger fans who gave Stan the Man his nickname. Is this so? Anything to add to this, I would greatly appreciate.

Thanks.

A St' Louis writer actually gave Stan his nickname, after hearing the Dodger Faithful murmur, "Here comes THAT man again." Next thing, you know, Musial was Stan THE Man.

[musial6]

I've never posted much about him. Largely due to my not having followed or having read much about his highly illustrious career. However, I do remember and respect you as a person who certainly was highly familiar with his accomplishments.

Can you and others here share with everyone how he treated the Brooklyn Dodger fans when he played at Ebbets Field? I'd like to know what the mood was like when he came to bat. Or how serious was it getting the prior batter (or man on base) out before he came to the plate.

One more thing. I heard today that it was Brooklyn Dodger fans who gave Stan the Man his nickname. Is this so? Anything to add to this, I would greatly appreciate.

Thanks.

Dodger pitchers certainly wanted the bases clear when Stanley came up with Enos Slaughter on deck.

Red Barber: Musial hits a blue dart off the scoreboard just below the Schaefer sign.

[Joe Barrie]

Dodger pitchers certainly wanted the bases clear when Stanley came up with Enos Slaughter on deck.

Red Barber: Musial hits a blue dart off the scoreboard just below the Schaefer sign.

Musial was treated about the same as Ted Williams at Yankee Stadium, or Joe DiMaggio at Fenway Park, as I recall.The applause was there, but I never heard "that man" in Brooklyn, and I sat right behind the visitors' dugout. Mel Ott had a warmer reception at Ebbets Field than did Stan Musial, although Musial was certainly respected in both NYC parks. I actually saw Musial decked by a knockdown pitch at Ebbets Field.

The Cardinals weren't really contenders in the Fifties. Musial's mood was always one of happy confidence as I saw him.

[musial6]

[QUOTE=Joe Barrie;2110380]Musial was treated about the same as Ted Williams at Yankee Stadium, or Joe DiMaggio at Fenway Park, as I recall.The applause was there, but I never heard "that man" in Brooklyn, and I sat right behind the visitors' dugout. Mel Ott had a warmer reception at Ebbets Field than did Stan Musial, although Musial was certainly respected in both NYC parks. I actually saw Musial decked by a knockdown pitch at Ebbets Field.

The Cardinals weren't really contenders in the Fifties. Musial's mood was always one of happy confidence as I saw him.[/QUOTE

You're right about the '50s, but the Cardinal/Dodger rivalry was white hot in the '40s. In fact, rhe Redbirds finished 1st or 2nd nine straight tears.

Les Webber constantly threw at Musial. Remember him?

The following numbers may interest you:

Joe Di at Fenway: 120 Games .334/.410/.605/1.015
Ted Williams at Yankee Stadium: 157 Games .309/.484/.543/1.027.

[Joe Barrie]

[QUOTE=musial6;2110466]

Musial was treated about the same as Ted Williams at Yankee Stadium, or Joe DiMaggio at Fenway Park, as I recall.The applause was there, but I never heard "that man" in Brooklyn, and I sat right behind the visitors' dugout. Mel Ott had a warmer reception at Ebbets Field than did Stan Musial, although Musial was certainly respected in both NYC parks. I actually saw Musial decked by a knockdown pitch at Ebbets Field.

The Cardinals weren't really contenders in the Fifties. Musial's mood was always one of happy confidence as I saw him.[/QUOTE

You're right about the '50s, but the Cardinal/Dodger rivalry was white hot in the '40s. In fact, rhe Redbirds finished 1st or 2nd nine straight tears.

Les Webber constantly threw at Musial. Remember him?

The following numbers may interest you:

Joe Di at Fenway: 120 Games .334/.410/.605/1.015
Ted Williams at Yankee Stadium: 157 Games .309/.484/.543/1.027.

You are correct that the two teams finished within a game of each other from 1941 to 1949, with the exception of 1944, when Brooklyn finished in 7th place. From 1950 to 1957, however, the Cardinals were on the wane, and these finishes existed only in 1951 and 1957.

[domeboys]

I've heard that Musial is the only opposing player to have been inducted into the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame. Trying to research that has proven frustrating as all the links I can find to that Hall are dead. There apparently was a physical Hall exhibit at Keyspan/MCU Park in Brooklyn several years back, but that may also be gone. The Brooklyn Cyclones team did not respond to my query. Any leads on the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame?