Photo courtesy of Roger Horn
Countless St. Louis Cardinals fans over seven decades were fortunate enough to secure the always-legible and immediately identifiable autograph of the team’s greatest player of all time, Stan Musial.
The late Hall of Famer was always gracious with the public and generous with his time. Further, he sold many signed items over the years through his business, StanTheMan Inc.
Heck, even I proudly possess a Stan autograph – and I am not into memorabilia. The explanation of how I acquired it is buried in the minutiae of a long story recapping how a multi-year research quest ultimately enabled me to prove that for one major league spring training camp – in 1942 – Stan did not wear his now-retired number 6.
Years before I took up the challenge of trying to date and identify the location of the where the surprising photograph was taken – in which Musial was wearing a Cardinals number 19 jersey – St. Louisan and long-time fan Roger Horn was intrigued by a similar old photo.*
Having discovered what appeared to be an original for sale on eBay, Horn tried to purchase it. After losing out on the bidding, he grabbed copies of the images in the listing. His next stop was to have it transferred onto photographic-quality paper.
* If you check out my original article, the photo I chased down was taken toward the Waterfront Park stands, which became crucial in its identification. Its source was The New York World-Telegram. Later in time (and later in the same article), I shared how another similar photo, but oriented toward the outfield, came into my efforts.
The Horn photo (left below) has the same source as this second one (right). Both originated with Acme News Pictures, Inc. The slightly different cropping and the different, but similar Acme-stamped backs suggest they are different copies sourced from the same original. Because Horn’s is actually a copy of a copy, it is understandably less crisp.
But there is a major difference between the two. Back to Horn’s story.
Another encounter
Having prior success getting Musial to sign a jersey for him, Horn decided this was his opportunity to try again. He took his number 19 photo to Stan’s office, then located “just off of Manchester behind the Des Peres cinema,” Horn said. It was in the 2004 to 2006 period, more than 60 years after the photo was taken. By then, Musial was in his mid-80s.
The fan was in luck, as “The Man” was at work that day.
“Stan remembered the picture well,” Horn recalled. “I’m not all that positive, but I believe he told me it was taken during spring training in St. Petersburg. It was spring training for sure, but the location I’m not positive about.
“At the time, I really couldn’t be sure of the number on the jersey, but Stan told me (Cardinals manager) Billy Southworth gave him the jersey to wear, and that the number was 19.”
Here is where the unicorn appeared, thanks to Horn’s quick thinking and Musial’s appreciation of the photo’s rarity.
“I asked him if he would sign the picture with #19 rather than the storied #6,” Horn said. “He looked at me a little puzzled, then smiled and said, ‘Sure, why not? “It will be one of a kind!’”
Stan quickly performed his magic with a blue Sharpie, as he had done tens of thousands of times before – but with one major difference.
And so it is – one of a kind. I would hazard a guess that this is a truly unique autograph on what we know is a very unusual photo.
“It was a day I’ll always remember,” Horn said.
A long wait
Here is where I re-enter the story.
After reading my February 2013 article, Horn contacted me, eight months after it was posted. He briefly shared the background of his signed photo, but ultimately decided not to allow it to be reproduced on-line at that time.
Just last week – almost five years since our last communication and five-and-a-half years since Musial’s passing – I received an email from Horn. He was now ready to share his signed photo with me – and all of you as well. I now had a copy of the front to go with the back I had been provided in 2013 as validation.
Due to Horn’s generosity, this new article was subsequently written.
When I asked him, “Why now?” his reply was one we could all appreciate.
“Stan was my childhood hero and always will be,” Horn replied.
On that point, he is far from unique.
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