Stan Musial Passes Tris Speaker on the All-Time Hit List September 2, 1962

On this day in Baseball History September 2, 1962: Stan "The Man" Musial pinch hits for pitcher Bobby Shantz in the 9th inning against the Mets and singles off of starter Al Jackson at Sportsman Park aka Busch Stadium I. Musial's single was his 3,516th hit which placed him above Tris Speaker on the All-Time Hits list. The New York Times made a small mention of the achievement at the bottom of the article Bases-Filled Hit Tops St. Louis 4-3 from September 3, 1962. Here is the boxscore for the game:

Sitting at second on the list behind Ty Cobb (4,191 hits), Musial was the National League Leader in hits having passed Honus Wagner's 3,431 hits on May 19, 1962. Musial would remain the leader in National League hits until Pete Rose passed him on the list on August 10, 1981.

Stan Musial currently sits at number four on the All-Time hit list:

1. 4256 Pete Rose  
2. 4191 Ty Cobb
3. 3771 Hank Aaron
4. 3630 Stan Musial
5. 3515 Tris Speaker
6. 3445 Derek Jeter
7. 3430 Honus Wagner
8. 3410 Carl Yastrzemski
9. 3319 Paul Molitor
10. 3314 Eddie Collins

Stan Musial would retire after the 1963 season and would be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969 with 93.2% of the vote (317/340 ballots).

Not bad for the kid from Donora, Pennsylvania who tried out for his favorite team and was thought to be too skinny to be a major leaguer. Imagine what that outfield would have looked like with Stan Musial and Roberto Clemente playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. On a side note, Donora, Pennsylvania is the hometown of the Griffeys: Ken Griffey Sr and Jr. There was some amazing ball being played on the sandlots of Donora throughout the years.

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle

For Further Reading:
- Click Here to access Stan Musial's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to access the article Hall of Famer Stan Musial, who spent 22-year career with St. Louis Cardinals, dies at 92 by Bill Madden from the New York Daily News dated January 19, 2013
- Click Here to access the article Stan Musial from the SABR Baseball Biography Project by Jan Finkel