Stan the Man is 91. He batted .331 lifetime. It ought to be a national holiday.
After 22 years as a Cardinal, Stan Musial ranked at or near the top of baseball’s all-time lists in almost every batting category. The dead-armed Class C pitcher was transformed into a slugging outfielder who topped the .300 mark 17 times and won seven National League batting titles with his famed corkscrew stance and ringing line drives. A three-time MVP, he played in 24 All-Star games. He was nicknamed The Man by Dodgers fans for the havoc he wrought at Ebbets Field and was but one home run shy of capturing the National League Triple Crown in 1948.
Today is also the birthday
… of “That Girl” Marlo Thomas, now 74.
… of Malcolm John “Mac” Rebennack, Jr. That’s Dr. John, in the right place, wrong time. He’s 71 today.
… of actress Juliet Mills. Hayley’s older sister and John’s older daughter is 70. Juliet Mills first appeared in a movie in 1942, when she played an infant.
… basketball hall-of-famer Earl Monroe. The Pearl is 67.
… of writer-director-actor Harold Ramis. He’s 67. Ramis co-wrote the screenplay and directed “Groundhog Day,” enough to make me a fan. He was the doctor in the film.
… of Goldie Hawn. Kate Hudson’s mom is 66.
… of the other Judy Garland daughter, Lorna Luft. She’s 59.
… of journalist and editor Tina Brown. She’s 58.
… of the not so desperate Nicollette Sheridan. She’s 48.
… of Björk Guðmundsdóttir. Björk is 46.
… of football hall-of-famer Troy Aikman. He’s 45.
… of probable future baseball hall-of-famer Ken Griffey Jr. Junior is 42.
… of Michael Strahan, 40.
Coleman Randolph Hawkins was born on this date in 1904. According to Wikipedia:
Lester Young, who was called “Pres”, in a 1959 interview with The Jazz Review, said “As far as I’m concerned, I think Coleman Hawkins was the President first, right? As far as myself, I think I’m the second one.” Miles Davis once said: “When I heard Hawk, I learned to play ballads.”
François-Marie Arouet was born in Paris on this date in 1694. We know him as Voltaire.
“Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.”