I was nothing. During his 18-year career with the Yankees, the switch-hitting slugger hit 536 home runs and was voted the AL Most Valuable Player three times (195657, 1962). In his first complete World Series (1952), Mantle was the Yankees hitting star, with an on-base percentage above .400 and a slugging percentage above .600. When Mantle called it quits in March 1969, he became a restaurateur, television commentator, and appeared in numerous commercials for various products. The Powerful Symbol Of a Yankee Dynasty. Mantle, playing right field, raced for the ball together with center fielder Joe DiMaggio, who called for the ball (and made the catch). His knee twisted awkwardly and he instantly fell. In 1974 Mantle was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot. [33], Mantle hit .237 with 18 home runs and 54 RBI during his final season in 1968. Alan Rosen, one of the biggest baseball card dealers in the business--in one year, he did $6 million worth of business--sponsored a reunion of the 1961 Yankees at Trump Castle in Atlantic City. See the article in its original context from. [66] In eulogizing Mantle, sportscaster Bob Costas described him as "a fragile hero to whom we had an emotional attachment so strong and lasting that it defied logic. Mickey Mantle Height, Weight & Measurements At 64 years old, Mickey Mantle height is 6' (1.83 m) . Mickey Mantle, with his death Sunday at 63, passes from these pages forever and becomes the property . Mantle's off-field behavior is the subject of the book The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood, written in 2010 by sports journalist Jane Leavy. I'll swear I expect to see that boy just take off and fly any time. [24][35], Mantle announced his retirement at the age of 37 on March 1, 1969. Mantle was so insecure that he remembered later how he had ducked DiMaggio, even though he was playing his final season in center field and Mantle, who had been converted from shortstop to the outfield, was playing alongside him in right. ", Mantle was assigned uniform #6, signifying the expectation that he would become the next Yankees star, following Babe Ruth (#3), Lou Gehrig (#4) and Joe DiMaggio (#5). Mickey Mantle is one of the greatest baseball players ever. My mother made every baseball uniform I ever wore till I signed with the Yankees. Because of these comparatively low numbers, he took a salary cut of 10,000 dollars, down to 60,000 dollars. What did Mickey Mantle suffer from? [27] DiMaggio, Hank Greenberg, and Ted Williams, who had just retired, had been paid over $100,000 in a season, and Ruth had a peak salary of $80,000. During the final years of his life, Mantle lived in a condo on Lake Oconee near Greensboro, Georgia. "Once, they operated on my shoulder and tied the tendons together. Mickey Mantle was an American skilled baseball participant who had a In 1994, while presiding over Mickey Mantle's restaurant in Manhattan as a greeter, he entered the Betty Ford Center in Palm Springs, Calif., to undergo treatment for alcoholism. He remembered what his doctor told him then: "Your liver is still working, but it has healed itself so many times that before long you're just going to have one big scab for a liver. $237.50. [13], When Mantle was four years old, his family moved to the nearby town of Commerce, Oklahoma, where his father worked in lead and zinc mines. After the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995, Mantle joined with fellow Oklahoman and Yankee Bobby Murcer to raise money for the victims. Withdrew 33 personal items belonging to Mantle's before a 1997 auction after his widow Merlyn Mantle filed suit. His rationale was that the men in his family had all died young, so he expected to die young as well. Mantle won three American League MVP Awards and was a four time AL home run leader and one time AL RBI leader. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture. On May 22, 1963, against Kansas City's Bill Fischer, Mantle hit a ball that fellow players and fans claimed was still rising when it hit the 110-foot (34m) high facade, then caromed back onto the playing field. This was the first of numerous injuries that plagued his 18-year career with the Yankees. The couple's four sons were Mickey Jr. (19532000), David (born 1955), Billy (19571994), whom Mickey named for Billy Martin, his best friend among his Yankee teammates, and Danny (born 1960). Mickey Mantle (born October 20, 1931) is famous for being baseball player. Shortly after Mantle completed treatment, his son Billy died on March 12, 1994 at age 36 of heart problems brought on by years of substance abuse. [51], Mantle worked as a customer-relations representative for the Dallas Reserve Life Insurance Company. He signed his first contract for $7,500 and his last for $100,000, which seemed princely enough at the time. The team played the rest of the season with black mourning bands topped by a number 7 on their left sleeves. All combined, Mantle earned $1.12 million during his career. He spent his final two seasons at first base. I jumped up and tried to catch it, and got my foot caught in the wire mesh on the fence, and that time I broke my foot about halfway up.". [29] On June 5, he tried to prevent a home run by Brooks Robinson in Baltimore when his shoe spikes were caught in the center field chain-link fence as he leaped against the fence for the ball and was coming down. "No, I'm still alive," Mantle responded. Hall of Famer Willie Mays, who had taken a similar position, had already had action taken against him. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels. The internet stared in awe as the sports memorabilia sold for a whopping $5.2 million. He checked into the Betty Ford Clinic on January 7, 1994 after being told by a doctor that his liver was so badly damaged from almost 40 years of drinking that it "looked like a doorstop". . "Mick was never a contrived person, he was a genuine person. In the 1930's, they won five pennants and five World Series. [citation needed], On January 16, 1961, Mantle became the highest-paid player in baseball by signing a $75,000 (equivalent to $680,000 in 2021) contract. Not till Houk came along and told me, 'You are going to be my leader. [76] The plaque was officially presented to Mantle by Joe DiMaggio. Also helping Mantle decide to enter the clinic was sportscaster Pat Summerall, who had played for the New York Giants football team at Yankee Stadium, by then a recovering alcoholic and a member of Mantle's Dallas-area country club. [45] Still, Mantle was known as the "fastest man to first base" and won the American League triple crown in 1956. Baseball scholars often ponder "what if" had he not been injured, and had been able to lead a healthy career. Mantle spoke with remorse about his drinking in a 1994 Sports Illustrated cover story. In 1974, Mantle was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. "[77] In response, DiMaggio's plaque was hung one inch higher than Mantle's. A Mickey Mantle baseball card sold for a record-smashing $12.6 million Sunday, the highest price ever paid for a piece of sports memorabilia. During Game 5 of the 1956 World SeriesDon Larsen's perfect game against the Brooklyn DodgersMantle kept the perfect game alive by making a running catch of a deep fly ball off the bat of Gil Hodges, and provided the first of the two runs the Yankees would score with a fourth-inning home run off Brooklyn starter Sal Maglie. Former New York Yankees star Mickey Mantle dies of liver cancer at the age of 63. Mantle's #7 was retired by the New York Yankees and he was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. [82] Topps unretired the #7 in 2006 to use exclusively for cards of Mantle in the current year's design. At the time, Mantle did not know that most of the men in his family had inhaled lead and zinc dust in the mines, which can cause Hodgkin's disease and other cancers. He broke his foot and did not play again until August 4, when he hit a pinch-hit home run against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. After an impressive spring training, Yankees manager Casey Stengel decided to promote Mantle to the majors as a right fielder instead of sending him to the minors. [66] The Yankees played the Indians that day and honored him with a tribute. I was the best man at Martin's wedding in 1988, and I can hardly remember being there." In 1958, he had a salary of $65,000 and was a leading earner from the salary. During the 1961 season, Mantle and teammate Roger Maris, known as the M&M Boys, chased Babe Ruth's 1927 single-season home run record. In 1956, he hit three home runs in the World Series, three more in the 1960 Series and three more in the 1964 Series, running his total to 18 and breaking Ruth's record. His lifestyle was restored to its former luxury by his leadership in the sports-memorabilia craze that swept the U.S. beginning in the 1980s. Mantle was also known for his incredible ability to avoid grounding into double plays. In the 1940's, they won five pennants and four Series. Key points: Mickey Mantle played for the New York Yankees between 1951 and 1968, winning seven World Series titles The 1952 card, considered to be in near perfect condition, was bought for $US50,000 in 1991 He undoubtedly spread it to his own children. He was a center fielder who was a switch-hitter and threw right handed. That amount combined with his restaurant business and endorsements deals after he retired, Mantle's net worth was $10 million when he died in 1995. ", But that's not how he was remembered by teammates. He hit 13 home runs in 96 games. Mantle became a Christian when his former teammate Bobby Richardson, a Baptist, shared his faith with him. On December 23, 1951, Mantle married Merlyn Johnson (19322009) in Picher, Oklahoma; they had four sons. "I thought you were dead.". This is based on data from the 2016 book The New York Times Best Seller List for Books About Money - published annually by the New York Times Magazine. And I hit three home runs in that game, two right-handed and one left-handed, and one of them even landed in the river out beyond the outfield. [58] Excerpts from the book have been published in Sports Illustrated. "He was not a phony role model, and I think people really identified with that," former teammate Tony Kubek said. [a] He was an American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times and a Gold Glove winner once. Mantle was the uncle of actor and musician Kelly Mantle. Merlyn Mantle Net Worth is $1.3 Million Merlyn Mantle Bio/Wiki, Net Worth, Married 2018. . I had everything and I just . We welcome all corrections and feedback using the button below. He could drag a bunt, too, with runaway speed, and he played his role with a kind of all-American sense of destiny. He sought treatment for alcoholism in 1994 when he checked in to the Betty Ford Clinic. Mantle insisted that the promoters of baseball-card shows always include one of the lesser-known Yankees of his era, such as Moose Skowron or Hank Bauer, so that they could also earn money for their appearances. Mantle began his professional career in baseball in Kansas with the semi-professional Baxter Springs Whiz Kids. [39] In roughly 25% of his total at-bats he hit .330 right-handed to .281 left. A 1952 Topps Mikey Mantle card with a 9.5 grade more than doubled the all-time record for a sports card, selling for $12.6 million. In 2020, the #7 card was issued to right fielder Aaron Judge. The 1952 Mantle rookie card, which was in mint. In 1998, The Sporting News placed Mantle at 17th on its list of baseball's 100 greatest players. Not only that, but in their championship year of 1961, Mantle and Maris provided a seasonlong drama in their chase of Ruth's home run record; Mantle, sidelined by an abscessed hip, dropped out in mid-September with 54, while Maris finished with a record 61. $234.00. His transplant revived a debate over whether an alcoholic, even a recovering one, deserves a new liver, and whether his celebrity status had increased his chances of getting one. He was of at least partial English ancestry; his great-grandfather George Mantle left Brierley Hill, in England's Black Country, in 1848. Mantle served as a part-time color commentator on NBC's baseball coverage in 1969, teaming with Curt Gowdy and Tony Kubek to call some Game of the Week telecasts as well as that year's All-Star Game. This story originally appeared in the Aug. 21, 1995 issue of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. Mantle was not entirely discreet about them, and at his retirement ceremony in 1969, he brought his mistress along with his wife. 500 and now he. In 1980, Mantle separated from his wife and the two lived apart for the rest of their lives and never got a divorce. Mantle was interred in the Mantle Family Mausoleum, located in the St. Matthew Section of the Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in Dallas. "I'm not gonna be cheated," he would say. He was survived by his wife, Merlyn (Johnson) Mantle, and three sons: David, Danny and Mickey Jr. His fourth son, Billy, had earlier died of Hodgkins disease. [66][67][68] In July, he had recovered enough to deliver a press conference at Baylor, and addressed fans that had looked to him as a role model. A Mickey Mantle baseball card from 1952 sold for a jaw-dropping $12,600,000 early Sunday morning, according to a news release from Heritage. Mantle appeared in 12 World Series including seven championships, and he holds World Series records for the most home runs (18), RBIs (40), extra-base hits (26), runs (42), walks (43), and total bases (123). Mantle is 16th all-time in home runs per at-bats. Kuhn warned Mantle before he accepted the position that he would be placed on the list if he took the job. [9], Mantle was born on October 20, 1931, in Spavinaw, Oklahoma, the son of Lovell (ne Richardson) Mantle (19041995)[10] and Elvin Charles "Mutt" Mantle (19121952). [10], Mantle was called up to the Yankees after 40 games with Kansas City, this time wearing uniform #7. The Old Man really helped me a lot. Then my dad got me a job cleaning out the area around telephone poles. January 24, 2023 by Maame Akua Owusuwaa. Mickey Mantle net worth is $18 Million Mickey Mantle Wiki: Salary, Married, Wedding, Spouse, Family Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 - August 13, 1995), nicknamed "The Commerce Comet" or "The Mick", was an American professional baseball player. The following two seasons were more frustrating for Mantle, though he still played comparatively well and made the all-star team as a reserve player in 1959. The team won the pennant by 25 games, and the following spring, he was in Phoenix as a rookie with the Yankees. When Mantle was four years old, his family moved to Commerce, Oklahoma, where his father worked in lead and zinc mines. For the second consecutive year, he narrowly missed winning his third MVP award, finishing four points behind repeat winner Maris. During his final season in 1968, he still managed to hit 18 home runs. NEW YORK A mint condition Mickey Mantle baseball card sold for $12.6 million Sunday, blasting into the record books as the most ever paid for sports memorabilia in a market that has grown. Fairchild's poetry celebrates gritty lives in small towns", "Catch me if you can(2002) - You know why the yankees always win? He was selected an AL All-Star again, but as a reserve player, and he did not make the 28-player team for the second and last time because of an injury. Three years later, he reached his peak salary of $100,000 and never asked for another raise again. [71] Richardson recited the same poem (God's Hall of Fame), which was written by a baseball fan, at Roger Maris's funeral. [75], On Mickey Mantle Day at Yankee Stadium, June 8, 1969, Mantle's number 7 was retired and he was a awarded a bronze plaque to be hung on the center field wall near the monuments to Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Miller Huggins. He admitted that he had often been cruel and hurtful to family, friends, and fans because of his alcoholism, and sought to make amends. In getting out of DiMaggio's way, Mantle tripped over an exposed drain pipe and severely injured his right knee. In the 1960 season, he hit what is still believed to be the longest home run in history. Like Mickey, Merlyn and three of their sons became alcoholics,[56] and Billy developed Hodgkin's disease, as had several previous men in Mantle's family. That year, he brought home both the Triple Crown and the first of three Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Awards. He became one of the damaged demigods of sport, but he played with such natural power that he remained the key figure on a team achieving towering success for the fifth straight decade. Deducting for bounces,[5] there is no doubt that both landed well over 500 feet (152m) from home plate. Mantle had his breakout season in 1956 after showing progressive improvement each of his first five years. Greer Johnson Net Worth Greer Johnson Net Worth 2023, Age, Height, Relationships, Married, Dating, Family, Wiki Biography. Throughout his life, Mantle had been a heavy drinker. When you consider how successful Mantle was for such a sustained period of time and how other players made the same or more money, he was vastly underpaid for his career. [30] In 1964, Mantle hit .303 with 35 home runs and 111 RBIs, and played center field in the All-Star game. He won the MVP award three times, finished second three times, and finished within nine votes of winning five times. After an impressive spring training, Yankees manager Casey Stengel decided to promote Mantle to the majors as a right . [46] Over the next decade, Mantle experienced increasing difficulty hitting from his left side. "I was also playing semipro ball for a team they called the Baxter Springs Whiz Kids, and one night a scout from the Yankees named Tom Greenwade came through Baxter Springs. Witnesses say it looked "like he had been shot." [86], In August 2022, a 1952 Topps baseball card (Topps; 1952; #311; SGC MT 9.5) in mint condition sold for $12.6 million, a record for sports memorabilia at the time. "I was still in high school and we were living out near Commerce in 1948, and we didn't have a hell of a lot. [48] In 1972 he served as a part-time television commentator for the Montreal Expos. Mickey Mantle played for the New York Yankees from 1951 to 1968, and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. . Of his fear of dying early, he once said: "I'll never get a pension. "No money, none of those $400 suits he got around to buying a couple of years later. It makes you feel good. [10], Mantle was assigned to the Yankees' Class-D Independence Yankees of the KansasOklahomaMissouri League,[15] where he played shortstop. Pride of October: What It Was to Be Young and a Yankee. A settlement was reached allowing for the sale of some of Mantle's belongings for approximately $500,000. "When I was a kid," Mantle remembered a few years after he retired, "I used to work in the mines with my dad for $35 a week. The recent sale of a mint Mickey Mantle card for $2.88 made headlines. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. The ball went over the center field fence, which was 460 feet from home plate. His football playing nearly ended his athletic career. 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card gets police escort (NCD) (NCD) DENVER It's known as the Holy Grail of post-World War II baseball cards. The former ballplayer attributed his poor. The New York press was harsh in its treatment of Mantle in his early years with the team, emphasizing that he struck out frequently, was injury-prone, was a rube from Oklahoma, and was perceived as inferior to his predecessor in center field, Joe DiMaggio. Yankees slugger who was named American League MVP in 1960 and 1961 and beat out Mickey Mantle for Babe Ruth's home run record in 1961. He was a center fielder who was a switch-hitter and threw right handed. "TELEVISION: Summerall's Struggle with Alcohol" (, "THE DEATH OF A HERO; Mantle's Cancer 'Most Aggressive' His Doctors Had Seen", "Sports of The Times; Mickey Mantle's Cancer", "Questions Are Raised On Mantle Transplant", "Mickey Mantle, Great Yankee Slugger, Dies at 63", "Merlyn Mantle, widow of Mickey, dies at 77", "Cheers, Tears Ring For Mantle As Uniform No. Mantle gave a similar plaque to DiMaggio, telling the huge crowd in Yankee Stadium, "Joe DiMaggio's deserves to be higher. The hit is said to have traveled 643 feet. 1959 is said to be his only "off season" in his prime, and historians point to 75 runs batted in as particularly low for him. "Joe DiMaggio was my hero," Mantle said, "but he couldn't talk to me because I wouldn't even look at him, although he was always nice and polite." (2001) and The Greatest Summer of My Life: Billy Crystal and the Making of '61*' (2001). Mutt drove to Independence, Kansas, and convinced Mantle to keep playing. The doctor bluntly told Mantle that the damage to his system was so severe that "your next drink could be your last." I was 16 years old then, and my brothers and me would play ball out in the yard or out back in one of the fields. His life in baseball and afterward was the pith and marrow of a basic . Mantle desired to be remembered as a stellar teammate. He also hit a record total of 18 home runs in 12 World Series, and 2 more in 16 All-Star Games. Mantle is 60 years old and white-headed with a familiar face. In 2019, the #7 card was issued to Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres. Aberback, Brian (September 7, 2017). In 2006, Mantle was featured on a United States postage stamp,[85] one of a series of four including fellow baseball legends Mel Ott, Roy Campanella, and Hank Greenberg. Mantle hit the park's first home run. "Casey Stengel was like a father to me," Mantle said. He continued to be a solid player for the Yankees over the next few years and had his breakout season in 1956. "[66] Costas continued: "In the last year of his life, Mickey Mantle, always so hard on himself, finally came to accept and appreciate the distinction between a role model and a hero. People chose instead to remember his baseball feats, unforgettably part of the heroic character he portrayed. In 1974 Mantle was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot. The Cardinals won the World Series in seven games. Mickey Mantle (1951) Mantle as a 19-year-old rookie Mantle baseball card Mantle was invited to the Yankees instructional camp before the 1951 season. Although he underwent a liver transplant in June of 1995, the cancer had spread to most of his internal organs and Mantle died on August 13, 1995. 1959 was the first of four consecutive seasons that two All-Star games were played and Mantle played in seven of these games. He said, "When I die, I wanted on my tombstone, 'A great teammate.' In 1957, Mantle won his second consecutive MVP award. In 1956, Mantle achieved one of baseballs most elusive feats winning the American League batting triple crown with 52 home runs, 130 RBIs, and a .353 batting average. He occasionally attended the local Methodist church, and sometimes ate Sunday dinner with members of the congregation. How much did Mickey Mantle weigh when playing? Former Bronx Bomber Joe Pepitone, in an upstate federal court complaint, claims legendary teammate Mickey Mantle used one of his loaned bats to smack historic home run No. The Yankees started Mantle at Independence, Kan., where they had a Class D minor league club. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. [citation needed] Another Mantle homer, hit right-handed off Chuck Stobbs at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. on April 17, 1953, was measured by Yankees traveling secretary Red Patterson (hence the term "tape-measure home run") to have traveled 565 feet (172m). He was well-liked by the citizens of Greensboro, and seemed to like them in return. "[47][63], Mantle's wife and sons all completed treatment for alcoholism and told him that he needed to do the same. Mickey Mantle keeps his personal and love life private. He was the anchor of the team for 18 seasons, first in center field and later, when his knees couldn't take the stress anymore, at first base. Mantle reached base more times than he made outs (319 to 312), one of two seasons in which he achieved the feat. Mickey Mantle Jr., who struggled with the expectations accompanying the son of a baseball icon and the travails that afflicted his family far from the public eye, died Wednesday at a hospital. Mantle began attending school there and was an all-around athlete at Commerce High School. He always talked about his love for the game. Frequently, he would dump ice water on those who were showering. He died in Texas in 1995. He was born on October 20, 1931, in Spavinaw, Oklahoma. [10] Mantle hit .313 for the Independence Yankees.