ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Stan Musial made his mark on a baseball diamond not far from where he lied in state Thursday, at Sportsman’s Park at Grand and Dodier.

On this bitterly cold winter’s day, it is hard to imagine the cheers erupting from this scene as Musial laced another double to right field or homered over the pavilion at Sportsman’s Park. It is especially tough for today’s residents of this neighborhood, like Anthony Swinson.

“It’s hard for me to see that. I wasn’t born until ’75 so it’s hard for me to see that,” he said.

While the neighborhood is filled with vacant and boarded-up buildings, Swinson says it is beginning to make a comeback. “There’s a lot of new homeowners. As you can see, there’s a lot of construction going on on the homes so I think it’s coming back.”

Games are still played here, either at the Cardinals Care All-Star Field or the Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls Club, but for younger residents like Darvis Logan it is hard to imagine that this intersection was once the center of Cardinals Nation.

“My grannie told me about it but I don’t know nothing about it,” he said.

See our photo gallery of Grand and Dodier then and now here.