Stanley F “Stan” Musial was born on November 21, 1920, in Donora, Pennsylvania. He started his professional career as a pitcher with Williamson in 1938, and went to Daytona Beach in 1940, where a shoulder injury prompted a move to the outfield. He moved up to Springfield of the Western Association in 1941 and played 12 games for the Cardinals before the year was out.

Musial batted .357 to win the National League batting title and MVP award in 1943. During the winter months of 1943-1944, Musial, along with Danny Litwhiler, Hank Borowy, Dixie Walker and Frankie Frisch, was part of a USO sponsored group that traveled to Alaska and the Aleutian Islands entertaining troops.

When it became obvious that Musial would be inducted, Pete Reiser tried to convince him to sign up with the Army. That way, Reiser could get Musial to Fort Riley where he could play with the service team. "I told Pete, 'Naw, I'm going into the Navy'," he explained to author Frederick Turner. "I just liked the Navy for some reason - the water and all. You know where a lot of those guys wound up who were at Fort Riley? At the Battle of the Bulge."