Daniel “Rusty” Staub, born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1944,
is one of the greatest major league baseball players of all time. In addition to
playing for two teams no longer in existence (the Houston Colt 45’s and the
Montreal Expos), Staub had an illustrious career as a New York Met, which led to
the Mets upset victory in the American League Championship Series.

Staub,
who became known as “Le Grande Orange” during his time with the
Expos, also hit a record 105 RBI in 1975 with the Mets (which stood until 1987),
but was traded to the Detroit Tigers in spite of the amazing hitting record.
Although, the trade did not stop Staub from making his make in Detroit.

In 1978, he became the first player in MLB history to play in all 162
games of the regular season, and now stands number 7 in the list of all-time
longest playing streaks. Spending many of the next several years bouncing
between Montreal, Detroit and New York, Staub finished out his career at the age
of 41 as a New York Met in 1985.

He is the only player in MLB history
to have 500 hits with four different teams (Houston, Montreal, New York, and
Detroit) and, like Ty Cobb, is the only other player to both hit a home run
before the age of 20 and after the age of 40. In 1986 he was inducted into the
Yew York Mets Hall of Fame.

Since his retirement, Staub has become an
announcer for the Mets and has contributed to several charitable organizations,
including founding the Rusty Staub Foundation and the New York Police and Fire
Widows Fund. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Staub’s New York
Police and Fire Widows Fund has contributed over $112 million to families
devastated by the events on 9/11.