In Major League Baseball's National League, who was the first ballplayer to sign a $100,000 contract?

Stan Musial, in full Stanley Frank Musial, byname Stan the Man, (November 21, 1920, Donora, Pennsylvania, U.S.— January 19, 2013, Ladue, Missouri), American professional baseball player who, in his 22-year playing career with the St. Louis Cardinals, won seven National League (NL) batting championships and established himself as one of the game’s greatest hitters.

After leading the Cardinals to World Series titles in 1942 and 1944, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Upon his return to baseball in 1946, he led the Cardinals to another World Series title.

He signed the National League’s first $100,000 contract in 1958, saying that he saw himself playing “one or two more years.” That same year he became a member of the 3000-hit club and finished with a batting average of .337.

In 22 years, he was never ejected from a game.

When he finally got around to retiring from baseball September 29, 1963, he had a career batting average of .331 and he held nearly every National League hitting record.