Stan the Man statue at the ballpark represents one of St. Louis’ greatest landmarks
For the first time in 20-plus months, I attended a Cardinals game a few weeks ago.
My friend, Tom, lives in Edwardsville. He said we could meet in Collinsville and drive to the game together. I was going to be working in East St. Louis that weekday. I asked him if I could meet the group at the stadium.
“I can meet you at Stan the Man,” I texted.
Where else?
The Stan the Man statue has been a favorite meeting place at two Busch Stadiums for the past 50-plus years, or since the statue was dedicated Aug. 4, 1968. I attended the ceremony, with my grandpa, following a Cards-Cubs game. The Cubs beat the Cards in extra innings. Ferguson Jenkins versus Bob Gibson.
All I remember from the ceremony was Stan got a kiss from his mom and his wife.
Stan cried a bit, too.
I’m sure I just wanted to go home.
My first reaction as a 9-year old boy?
The statue doesn’t look like Stan the Man, Gramps.
Stan is the greatest Cardinal, but he is not bulky, brawny like a super hero.
The batting stance isn’t quite right, either.
As the story goes, Stan appreciated the honor but he wasn’t thrilled with his statue, either. According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Carl Mose, a sculptor based in Alexandria, Virginia, was hired to create the statue.
He spent three years on the project. Original plans were to show Stan signing a scorecard for a youth, an image Stan the Man preferred, “but costs and freedom of artistic expression prevailed,” Post-Dispatch sports editor Bob Broeg reported.
Typical Stan.
He rolled with it.
No reason for a fuss, right?
For me, the Stan the Man statue at the ballpark is one of St. Louis’ greatest landmarks. The Arch. The Hill. Enterprise Center. Forest Park. Ted Drewes. Stan the Man statue.
Popular meeting place
I liked the location of the Stan the Man statue at old Busch Stadium 2 near Broadway and Walnut streets. It was isolated, to itself, but near the stadium, the old concrete bowl.
I have met countless friends and family at the Stan the Man statue. Local friends. Visitors from out of town.
You could always find a ticket near Stan the Man in the 1970s. The stadium was usually half full. Vern Rapp. Ken Boyer. Garry Templeton. Roger Freed. Ted Simmons. Bad trades. The lost years.
I stood at the Stan the Man the night the Cardinals won the 1982 World Series. Budweiser trucks were dropping off cases of cold beer on curbs and sidewalks near the stadium. There were no fights or arguments. Just a lot of free beer, high fives and jubilant fans.
I stood at the Stan the Man many days and nights during the 1980s during the Whiteyball years. We’d meet at the old beer garden at the Marriott across from the stadium, before and after games. Go to the Stan the Man statue to find a ticket.
Recalling Stan’s final game & more
In a 1963 ceremony before Musial’s final game, Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick said of Musial, “Here stands baseball’s perfect warrior; here stands baseball’s perfect knight.” Five years later, those words were inscribed on the base of the Musial statue. They got it right.
In 2006, when the Cardinals opened the new Busch Stadium 3, the statue was relocated to outside the entrances on the west side of the ballpark, off Eighth Street, in front of the Third Base entrance, and it’s where I met my friends a few weeks ago.
2020 was a weird year, including baseball. I watched Cardinal games on TV. It seemed hollow without fans in the stands, and not going to games myself.
It felt good to meet friends at the Stan the Man statue, again. Really good. It may not look like him. But it’s him. Stan the Man. Just bulkier, thicker. Baseball’s perfect knight, on a perfect night for baseball.
