Stark, actually: Who left a bat at Thurman Munson's Jackson Township gravesite?

WHAT: A now-weathered wooden baseball bat is among mementoes left at the gravesite of Thurman Munson .

WHERE: Sunset Hills Burial Park on Everhard Road NW in Jackson Township.

WHEN: This photo was taken the morning of Feb. 10, 2023.

THE STORY: A wooden baseball bat, engraved with "Bill Carr, Marlins" lies at the foot of Thurman Munson's monument.

More Thurman Munson: What the famous catcher means to his children after all these years

More Thurman Munson: Memorial Stadium was going, going, almost gone. Old teammate helped save it

One of the Canton area's greatest, Munson played for the New York Yankees until his death in a plane crash on Aug. 2, 1979. The bat was placed there in June 2021 by Bill Carr, of Bayonne, N.J. The 60-year-old Carr grew up a Munson fan. He still plays in adult baseball leagues and tournaments — he's always worn number 15 (same as Munson) since his Little League days.

During Carr's first visit to Canton, he stopped at the cemetery; grabbed a box of rags and window cleaner from his vehicle and cleaned Munson's monument; then he took the bat from his trunk and placed it at the site.

"When I was a kid, I'd wanted to go to his funeral," he said "... I was crying; my parents had to explain we couldn't. 'Billy, it's a nine-hour ride.'"

Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 ortim.botos@cantonrep.com.On Twitter: @tbotosREP