Congres Cuts a Deal on StL ”Stan Span’, It Gets 2 Names

—————–
Post-Dispatch:
ST. LOUIS • Perhaps it was inevitable that two states that have been at odds over the new Interstate 70 bridge spanning the Mississippi River would spar over what to name it.

Missouri lawmakers wasted little time voting to name the Missouri half of the new four-lane bridge for the beloved late Cardinals great, Stan “the Man” Musial. Illinois lawmakers have gotten behind naming it for military veterans. Trouble is that both states have to agree on one name.

On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a compromise moniker aimed at satisfying both states: the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge.

“The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the most storied and successful first-rate franchises in sports history, and the best player to ever don the St. Louis Cardinal uniform was Stan ‘the Man’ Musial,” said Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., who came up with the compromise.

Off the field, Davis said, Musial led by example. In 1945, Musial took a year during the prime of his career to serve in the. Navy during World War II.

“Today, lets honor our veterans and Stan ‘the Man’ Musial,” he said.

Several members of the Illinois and Missouri congressional delegation backed the proposed name.

Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, was a chief sponsor along with Davis of the legislation.

“I’m proud to name it after Stan Musial not just because of what he did on the field, but off the field, too,” Clay said before Tuesday’s floor session. “He stood up to the racists and the ignorance of the 1940s and put his arms around people like Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Ernie Banks and demonstrated that they were human beings, too.”