Baseball

Building the Perfect Stan Musial Collection

Vintage sports collectors are a bit different than modern sports collectors. The key measure after the common bond of baseball is that they are adding history into their passion for collecting. Collecting trophy cards or rookie cards is pretty common, as is collecting key players of a collector’s favorite team. What about those collectors that want to collect every card and every other bit of memorabilia they can about their favorite player of all-time? There may not be a “perfect collection” by definition, but some collections come close. Having a massive collection of the best cards and collectibles of Stan Musial is nothing short of a treasure trove.

Collectors Dashboard has found a collector who is building the perfect vintage Stan Musial collection. His name is Hunter Hall from Birmingham, Alabama. Hunter also was quick to point out that Birmingham is the home of Rickwood Field, the oldest professional baseball stadium in the country! Hall has a rather colorful story about his love of baseball, his years of collecting and taking a break, and how Stan Musial became such a big focus for his collection.

Like many collectors, his interest in collecting was rekindled during the pandemic lockdown in 2020. One aspect that has come back into the hobby in recent years is that collectors have been buying and selling cards almost like they are stocks viewed for short-terms gains. This is more of a love of the hobby and the admiration of one of baseball’s greatest players. In fact, this is one of those dedicated stories that should be admired when it comes to deep collecting and because it proves how dedicated some collectors can be.

As we have noted previously, Stan Musial is a key player that is missing from many of the key 1950s Topps and Bowman sets. There are 1948, 1949, 1952 and 1953 Bowman examples of Stan the Man (see below), but Topps did not manage to print a regular Stan Musial until the 1958 All-Star card. It is possible that Stan Musial might even be more coveted for collectors had there been more annual issuances of his cards from the 1950s when he was playing so well.

Stan Musial Bowman Cards

Collectors Dashboard has received many photos and received many answers about how and why this perfect Stan Musial collection has come about. This has been written and the photos have been used with Hunter Hall’s permission. And one observation we would want to add in is that building a perfect Stan Musial collection isn’t cheap when you get into some of the more scarce cards. His “rookie card” and others from the 1940s can easily cost northwards of $5,000 and some are going to be hard to find under $10,000 in the stronger conditions.

One aspect that stood out here and forced my hand to reach out to Hunter Hall is a curiosity of just how the chase for a perfect Stan Musial collection really came about. I would have assumed it was a regional or team issue at first. Birmingham is about 500 miles away from St. Louis. Atlanta is only about 150 miles away, and Houston and Dallas really aren’t much further of drive once you think of those distances. Well, there is a history there about how this all came about.

Hunter is a fan of Stan Musial above and beyond other great baseball players in history, but it seems like there could be a few other players that might be key collections in the years ahead. Here is how it all started out and came to this point…

HH: I collected a lot as a kid in the 90’s and early 2000’s but I sort of fell out of the hobby for 15-20 years and came back (like many others) during pandemic lockdown at the end of 2020. It’s only taken me about a year to get this far, however, I did spend a lot of time branching out on my collection last year, which I have since corrected.

I mostly just collect Stan The Man, with a little Ted Williams, Bob Feller, and Warren Spahn on the side. Stan and Ted always had a friendly rivalry, they were titans of the game, and each year everyone knew that one of those two guys was going to be leading the league.

What is it that you like so much about Stan Musial that inspired you to go build that perfect collection?

HH: My love for Stan The Man comes from my grandfather, Musial was his favorite player. He even got to see Stan play some recreation games down in Pearl Harbor during the war. I grew up watching ESPN classics with my grandad and we always got excited when an old Cardinals game came on. It was his love for the game, the Cardinals, and Stan Musial that my grandfather passed down to me, and that’s what I carry forth into my collecting.

When did this goal of “I have to have all of Stan Musial’s cards!” materialize?

HH: My drive to ‘catch them all’ really started to happen when I found a solid group of online friends to collect and share with, both on Twitter and Reddit’s r/baseballcards. It’s nice to have a group of friends with a strong common interest to share and talk with.

How many cards is it in total that makes up your Stan Musial collection? And how many other non-card items do you have? Anything game-used or game-worn?

HH: It’s around 30 total cards that make up my collection, and about 30-40 other pieces including vintage press photos, postcards, signed art prints, other oddball items like the 1950 all star pin-ups for example, and signed memorabilia including a glove, hat, jersey, and bat. None were used by Stan, unfortunately.

Stan Musial Collection

Stan has a lot of mysteries about him versus other players. He was missing so many baseball cards despite him playing many years where there were no cards by the major issuers of the era. What is your view or opinion on that?

HH: Well, the answer to that one is surprisingly simple, Stan is quoted as saying he “just didn’t feel like signing a card deal with Topps” at the time. That’s part of what makes collecting him so fun though, he has so many ‘oddball’ issues in the late 40’s and throughout the 50’s, it’s quite the chase!

Stan Musial Topps

Some cards and collectibles can be rather elusive. What cards and items Stan Musial do you not yet have that you are still hunting?

HH: Musial has quite a few elusive items. To name a few, his true rookie card – the 1946 Propagandas Montiel, 1947 Sports Exchange mini, 1951 Wheaties, 1953-55 Hunter Wieners, 1954 & 1955 Rawlings, and many others. I’m still hunting his 1948 Bowman and Leaf cards, as well as the 1946 Prop Montiel. I’ve spent a lot of time hunting down the more difficult issues first.

What is your favorite story about Stan Musial?

HH: My favorite story is a simple one, how Stan got his nickname. It’s not common for an opposing team to bestow upon a player the name that will follow them through the ages, but that’s what happened with Stan in 1946. Dodger’s fans knew their team had such difficulties getting Stan out, people in the crowd would chant “Here comes the man again”. Bob Broeg heard this and put it in his next story, solidifying Stan as The Man.

“It took the baseball-batty borough of Brooklyn, where you’re a crumb-bum if you’re not a Dodger, to supply with begrudging respect the best nickname yet bestowed, upon Stanley Frank Musial,”

“To Brooklyn’s fanatical baseball followers, Musial is simply ‘The Man.’ … the appearance at the plate of the Cardinals’ apple-cheeked first baseman frequently brought from several sections of the Ebbets Field stands a distinct: ‘O-O-h, here comes the man again.’

“Not that man, but THE man. And the nickname so aptly applied to a self-effacing player, one who lacks the color and cantankerous individuality of a Ted Williams, summarized the around-the-league regard for Musial, unquestionably THE man in the Redbirds’ race to the wire against the Dodgers.” — from Bob Broeg’s article

What is the most valuable card in the group?

HH: The most valuable card that Musial has is by far his 1946 Prop Montiel, usually going for $5k-$10k in good condition. After that I would say his 1953-55 Hunter Weiner cards are the next most expensive. They were a regional issue for the Cardinals and are very tough to find for any player. Musial’s Hunter Weiner cards will go for $1k + in good condition.

The eBay offerings (image from eBay listings) below will prove just how much those 1946-47 Propaganda Montiel can cost:

1946-47 Propaganda Montiel Stan Musial

Are there any baseball stories that tie all this together for you?

HH: No, not just one story or event that ties everything together for me. It’s just the love for the game, the Cardinals, and for Stan that was passed to me by my grandfather over the course of the time we got to spend together that makes it all click for me.

Are there other players besides Musial you want to start collecting? You know, like a next passion…

HH: Not really. Once I’m content with my Musial collection I’d like to focus more on Ted Williams, and that ties into my love of their friendly rivalry through their careers.

This may be a bit random, but have you been to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown?

HH: I haven’t ever been to Cooperstown, but I plan to make the pilgrimage one day!

If you want to know why a vintage baseball collector would obsess over a Stan Musial collection, let’s just think about a few of his career highlights. Musial finished with a .331 career batting average, and he hit above .300 for 16 straight full seasons (only 4 seasons sub-.300). Stan had 3,630 career hits, he had 1,949 runs and 1,951 RBI. He had a slightly better average at home, but he had 1,815 hits away and the same number at home. Most of us just think about Musial having been a consistent hitter, but Stan also 475 career homers!

Psssttt!!! Did you read THE MAN BUILDING THE PERFECT TED WILLIAMS COLLECTION!! yet?

AND FINALLY… Get ready for a flood of images!

It seems a safe bet that Hunter Hall’s Stan Musial collection will continue to be perfected closer and closer. It also seems a safe bet that his passion for other players may take hold as the Musial collection reaches that zenith. And it seems like a safe bet that he will head to Cooperstown now that all the lockdowns are not keeping from traveling.

Here are some additional photos from this wonderful collection….

Stan Musial’s “Rookie of the Year” event, way back in 1942 (not 1947 for the 1948 Bowman and Leaf sets counted as his rookie cards.

Stan Musial Rookie of the Year Program

Stan Musial autograph Rookie of the Year program

Here are some additional images from Mr. Hall’s great Stan Musial collection. First up… 1955 Rawlings hand cut cards:

1955 Rawlings Stan Musial

1951-1952 (3 cards) Hand Cut Wheaties cards:

Stan Musial 1950s Wheaties cards

1954 Red Heart and 1950 Royal Desserts

1954 Red Heart Stan Musial

1951 Berk Ross and 1952 Berk Ross

Berk Ross Stan Musial cards

Signed Red Man and Exhibits…

Red Man cards of Stan Musial

Stan Musial odds and ends… 1956 Yellow Basepath, 1966 St. Louis Cardinals coin:

1956 Yellow Basepath