Bob Costas has proven time and again that he has a gift for words.
The 60-year-old Costas has provided the soundtrack for dozens of the most memorable sporting events of the past few decades, and he will undoubtedly go down as one of the most popular sports broadcasters in American history.
So who better to eulogize Stan Musial, one of the most accomplished but least celebrated baseball players in American history than Costas? Musial surely knew what he was doing when, several years ago, he asked Costas to speak at his funeral.
This weekend Costas delivered a eulogy for the Cardinals' Hall of Famer, who passed away on Jan. 19, and it was everything we've come to expect of Costas. Equal parts touching, inspiring, thoughtful and humorous, Costas did Stan the Man justice with this speech.
Costas described how, even though Musial was as or almost as successful as contemporaries such as Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Joe DiMaggio, for various reasons Musial never reached quite the same cult status as those men.
"What was the hook with Stan Musial other than the distinctive stance and the role of one of baseball's best hitters?" Costas said. "It seems that all Stan had going for him was more than two decades of sustained excellence as a ballplayer and more than nine decades as a thoroughly decent human being."
(H/T to Larry Brown Sports)
