My father had the priviledge to play briefly with Stan "The Man" Musial. My dad couldn't say enough good things about him. As a rookie, Mr. Musial treated my father, not as a donkey as Joe Garragiola did, but to a helping and teaching hand.
Stan waa a class act and one of the best players ever, but it seems because of his nature, he gets less mentioned than some of the other greats.
I got to see Stan The Man's 3,000th hit. It was the spring of 1958 (or maybe 57). The Cardinals were playing at Wrigley Field. They kept Stan out of the line-up because they wanted him to get #3,000 at home. But the game was tight, and they had a runner on 2nd with one or none out. In comes Stan The Man as a pinch-hitter. He lined a double down the left field line... #3,000 and a game winner. And he was a humble and unassuming as a sports hero can be... Class act indeed!