IN: Musial was born in Donora, Pennsylvania, the fifth of the six children (four girls and two boys) of Lukasz and Mary (Lancos) Musial (, MOO-show). His mother was of Carpatho-Rusyn descent and his father was a Polish immigrant who chose the name Stanislaw Franciszek for his first son, though his father always referred to Musial using the Polish nickname Stasiu, pronounced "Stashu". Musial frequently played baseball with his brother Ed and other friends during his childhood, and considered Lefty Grove his favorite ballplayer. Musial also had the benefit of learning about baseball from his neighbor Joe Barbao, a former minor league pitcher.

Musial's rookie year with Williamson in 1938 was a period of adjustment both on and off the field. He began gaining more in-depth knowledge about baseball strategy while posting a 6-6 win-loss record and a 4.66 earned run average (ERA), to go along with a .258 batting average. Off the field, he experienced feelings of homesickness while learning to live comfortably and independently on his $65-per-month salary. Musial finished his high school education before returning to Williamson in spring 1939. That season his numbers improved to a 9-2 record, a 4.30 ERA, and a .352 batting average.  Musial spent the 1940 season with the Cardinals' other Class D team, the Daytona Beach Islanders, where he developed a lifelong friendship with manager Dickie Kerr. His pitching skills improved under the guidance of Kerr, who also recognized his hitting talent, playing him in the outfield between pitching starts. On May 25, 1940, Musial married fellow Donora resident, Lillian "Lil" Labash, in Daytona Beach, and the couple's first child followed in August. During late August, Musial suffered a shoulder injury while playing in the outfield, and later made an early exit as the starting pitcher in a 12-5 playoff game loss. For a while Musial considered leaving baseball entirely, complaining that he could not afford to support himself and his wife on the $16 a week pay. Kerr talked him out of it, and even took the Musials into his own home to relieve the financial burden. To repay the debt Musial bought Kerr a $20,000 home in Houston in 1958. In 113 games in 1940 he hit .311, while compiling an 18-5 pitching record that included 176 strikeouts and 145 walks.  Musial was assigned to the Class AA Columbus Red Birds to begin 1941, though manager, Burt Shotton, and Musial himself quickly realized that the previous year's injury had considerably weakened his arm. He was reassigned to the Class C Springfield Cardinals as a full-time outfielder, and he later credited manager Ollie Vanek for displaying confidence in his hitting ability. During 87 games with Springfield, Musial hit a league-leading .379 before being promoted to the Rochester Red Wings of the International League. He was noted for his unique batting stance, a crouch in which his back was seemingly square to the pitcher. This stance was later described by pitcher Ted Lyons as "a kid peeking around the corner to see if the cops were coming". According to a 1950 description by author Tom Meany, "The bent knees and the crouch give him the appearance of a coiled spring, although most pitchers think of him as a coiled rattlesnake." Musial continued to play well in Rochester--in one three-game stretch, he had 11 hits. He was called up to the Cardinals for the last two weeks of the 1941 season.

Did he have any significant achievements in the minors?

OUT: In 113 games in 1940 he hit .311, while compiling an 18-5 pitching record that included 176 strikeouts and 145 walks.


IN: James Black was born in Hackensack, New Jersey on 1 May 1800. James' mother died when he was very young and he had difficulty getting along with his stepmother. Black ran away from home to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at age 8 and was apprenticed to a silversmith. At age 18 he migrated westward and took jobs on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.

During his travels, Black had befriended Elijah Stuart. Stuart opened a tavern at Washington and Black was hired by a local blacksmith named William Shaw. Black, due to his previous training, worked on firearms and knives while Shaw concentrated on horse shoes, wagon wheels, and the like. Black would later become a partner in the business with Shaw. Stuart's tavern would become famous as the place where Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and William B. Travis created the plan for an independent Texas and Black would go on to create some of the world's finest knives. Black fell in love with his partner's daughter, Anne Shaw, and was forced out of the partnership when Shaw would not allow the marriage. Backed by the note he had received from the dissolved partnership Black purchased some land along the Cossatot River and established a blacksmith's shop, dam, and mill.  Black's endeavor came to an end when he was thrown off of his land. Local officials claimed that the land was Indian treaty land and that Black could not legally inhabit it. Black then discovered that the note he had received from William Shaw for his share of the partnership was actually worthless. Black set up his own blacksmithy in competition with Shaw's and married Shaw's daughter in 1828 despite Shaw's objections and also convinced Shaw's son to join him in his business. Black was soon recognized as the best blacksmith in the area which had a bad effect on his father-in-law's competing shop.  Black and his wife had three sons and a daughter during this period: William Jefferson in 1829, Grandison Deroyston in 1830, Sarah Jane in 1832, John Colbert in 1834, and Sydinham James in 1835. Black became a respected member of the community and served in local government posts.

Was he successful in getting Shaw's son to join him in business?

OUT:
convinced Shaw's son to join him in his business. Black was soon recognized as the best blacksmith in the area which had a bad effect on his father-in-law's competing shop.