Losing the Great Ones...

I know I’m not the only one that notices some of the greats of our lifetime who have passed on in the last few weeks. We watched the actors and comedians that made us laugh or impressed with their true talents. Those memories of our younger years often bring a smile to our faces but a bit of sadness as well.

It probably has been 10-20 years since we last saw them do anything meaningful but the appreciation for their accomplishments will never wane.

We have also seen some strange goings on with some athletes, like Manti Te’o and Lance Armstrong that make us wonder who we can believe. What sort of ego does it take to lie to the public when so many others knew what was really going on? I once thought a great deal about both of these guys but now I have more and more questions that it pains me to wonder what I should believe.

The heroes I had growing up seemed to have that certain something that oftentimes made you want to be like them as much as possible. Their lives didn’t end up on the front-page scandal sheet and they seemed to live exemplary lives.

I’m not naïve because I know a lot of crazy stuff used to not be reported in order to protect careers. With 24 hour news, and sports and gossip channels now, you would think the famous would try to be on their best behavior at all times. When I think about all of the camera phones and YouTube videos that are out there, I know that I for one would go into seclusion.

This past Saturday, two baseball Hall of Famers passed away. Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver and St. Louis Cardinal outfielder and first baseman, Stan “The Man” Musial, are now in baseball heaven with all of the other former greats.

Weaver could be a pest to many umpires and some of his best arguments with them are legendary. At 5 feet 7 inches, you could say he was feisty. I’m sure if you looked feisty up in the dictionary you would see Weaver’s picture next to it.

Weaver was a successful manager for the Orioles picking up four American League pennants and a World Series championship in 1970. He understood the game and made the right moves to put his team in the best situation to win. I may not have been a fan because I’ve never liked the Orioles most of the time but I did respect what he accomplished and those accomplishments were earned.

Growing up in the fifties and sixties you only needed to say Stan “The Man,” and everyone knew who you were talking about. As a Dodger fan growing up, I couldn’t say that I cared much for the St. Louis Cardinals but there was something about Musial that you had to like. A lot of it was the fact that he had a personality that everyone loved.

He had a smile that was a real trademark and you just knew that Musial loved what he was doing and he was going to do it better than anyone else just because he loved baseball. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I have a friend that has been a St. Louis Cardinal fan simply because of his love for Stan “The Man.”

I’m sure that if Musial’s teammates showed up in a funk before a game it didn’t take long for Musial to change that. Every interview that I saw of him was a real kick. The guy was loved by everyone most likely all of his rivals as well.

I heard a funny story this weekend. A friend told me that he knew a guy that was in the Army during World War II. Prior to this guy’s platoon heading overseas, they took them to a game at Wrigley Field between the Chicago Cubs and the Cardinals. The Army boys had a chance to meet the ballplayers from both teams. A rookie signed an autograph for this soldier to keep.

The guy told my friend that the autograph was Musial’s, but since the soldier had never heard of him he threw it away. He found out in a year or two that maybe he should have kept it.

We are losing some greats that made sports something special. These individuals played and managed the game because they loved it. Money wasn’t the reason and that is precisely why these individuals will be missed.