This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Feb. 18, 2011 - WASHINGTON - When Stan Musial hit the ultimate American home run by being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House on Tuesday, he called the star-studded ceremony one of his greatest days.
For one witness at the event, seeing the St. Louis Cardinals baseball icon at the White House recalled one of his own greatest days, nearly a half century ago, when he took Stan the Man to the mansion to meet then-President John F. Kennedy.
"It was a day I'll never forget," recalls John H. Zentay, who grew up in St. Louis' Central West End. Musial's meeting with Kennedy -- who had re-established the Medal of Freedom in 1963 -- also impressed The Man. He told the Beacon this week that JFK was his favorite of the 11 presidents he has met during his 90 years.
"Kennedy was a great president," Musial said, recalling his tour of the White House. Stan the Man had supported Kennedy in his 1960 presidential campaign and met several Kennedy family members before he visited JFK in the White House.
Zentay, now an attorney in Washington, likes to tell the story of how he took Musial to meet with Kennedy. Back then, Zentay was a young staffer for then-Sen. Stuart Symington, D-Mo., who knew the Musials and the Kennedys. The morning after the All-Star Game in Washington in July 1962, Symington called Zentay into his office.
"I walked in, and there was Stan Musial, his wife, Lil, and their daughter Janet," Zentay recalls. "The senator told me, 'Here are the keys to my convertible; take Stan and his family around Washington for the day. Your first appointment is with [Attorney General] Bob Kennedy at the Justice Department.'
"So we visited with Bob Kennedy and played with his dog and did an FBI tour. As we were leaving, Bob said, 'Would you like to see my brother at the White House? And Stan -- typically humble -- said, 'Oh, no, no, we don't want to bother the president.' And I said, 'Stan, we're going to the White House.' So he said, 'OK.' "
After a quick tour of memorials and museums, Zentay drove the Musials to the White House in the mid-afternoon. "We spent some time talking in the Cabinet Room, and President Kennedy walked in. We visited with him for awhile and he asked if we'd like a tour of the White House. They gave us a complete tour, and it was wonderful."
Afterward, Zentay invited the Musials for drinks at his Georgetown house, and they went out for dinner with the senator's son, Jim Symington and his wife Sylvia. Symington later became a U.S. congressman representing St. Louis County. Later, Musial signed a photo from the visit of a smiling Stan the Man and JFK, and sent it to Zentay with the inscription: "To John, a great fan."
Zentay isn't sure whether Kennedy mentioned to Musial that day the possibility that he might become the administration's physical fitness adviser -- a JFK idea that President Lyndon B. Johnson implemented, naming Musial to the post a few months after Kennedy's assassination in 1963.
Musial has led a long and productive life since his retirement from baseball in 1963, and so has Zentay, who is still "a die-hard Cardinals fan." He left Symington's office to work for the U.S. Agency for International Development and then entered private law practice, rising to become a partner at what is now the world's largest law firm, DLA Piper.
When he heard about Musial getting the Medal of Freedom this week from President Barack Obama, Zentay sent a message one of his law partners, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who has close ties to Obama.
"I said, 'I went to the White House in 1962 and I would love to go back and be there when he gets the award.' They called and the White House thought it was a great idea, so I got an invitation," Zentay said.
He said the Medal of Freedom ceremony was moving and brought back memories of his visit with Musial to the White House in the Camelot years.
After this week's ceremony, Zentay said, "I had a nice chat with Stan and his family at the reception in the State Dining Room. Everybody was shaking hands with him and Stan said hi and he signed my program.
"We shook hands, and I said, 'Stan, it's great to see you again.' And it was."