I wrote this piece two years ago upon the death of Stan Musial. The story tells why his obituary interested me:
January 21, 2013
BASEBALL and FOOTBALL
Stan “The Man” Musial died yesterday at age 92. He was a baseball great who played for the St. Louis Cardinals.
The house where I grew up had a small spice cabinet on the wall in the kitchen. A little radio sat on top. Underneath was an electric outlet, and the ironing board fit nicely there for ironing my Dad’s starched shirts and khaki pants. Ironing was my job after my mother became unable to do it and after she died. I would wait until the afternoon during baseball season so that I could listen to a game while I ironed. I knew the major league teams and the names of the players of that time (1949 -1953).
I like baseball because I understand what is going on in the game. I always know where the ball is, and the scoring is easy to comprehend. Football, on the other hand, does not interest me that much. Football definitely ruled Breckenridge in that era. I attended every high school game from the time that I entered the band in the eighth grade. The only games I missed were a few when I was too sick to march. It was more social for me than any real interest in football. We cheered when the cheerleaders asked us to, played when the band director fired us up, and we did a great half time show. Some watched every play of the game. Others of us watched now and then. It always looked like players were just butting heads, and I was not always sure where the ball was.
Pep rallies were held downtown in the middle of the main street on Fridays except when the weather was bad, and they had to be kept inside in the gym. US Highway 180 was blocked at one intersection, and traffic detoured around it. The student body marched /walked behind the band from the high school to that intersection. This highway was a major east-west highway going from the east coast to the west coast. (Imagine doing that today). If the games were out of town, some stores would close so that employees could go to the game. My sister once remarked, “You can’t even buy a loaf of bread in Breckenridge on a football Friday.” That was just the way it was.
I may be the only person you know who will not be watching the Super Bowl on TV.