Mickey Mantle: Yankee Legend
The shining star of the New York Yankees
A look into the life, times and death of one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
Famous Baseball Players
Early Years
Mickey Mantle was born in Spavinaw, Oklahoma, on October 20, 1931. His father, "Mutt," who died of cancer at the age of 39, named him after Detroit Tigers Hall of Fame pitcher, Mickey Cochrane.
His father's death came sadly just as Mickey Mantle was launching his own career. That he never told his father he loved him, was one of the greatest heartaches of his life. The family moved to Commerce, Oklahoma when Mickey Mantle was four years old. In high school, Mickey Mantle was an all-around athlete, excelling at both baseball and football.
Playing Career
Mickey Mantle was spotted in 1948 by a Yankee scout who signed him to a minor league contract with the Yankees Class D team in Independence, Kansas, in 1949. Mickey Mantle started as a right fielder, but in 1952 moved to center field, replacing Joe Di Maggio who retired at the end of the 1951 season. Mickey Mantle played center until 1967, when he moved to first base. Among his many accomplishments, are all-time World Seriesrecords for 18 home runs as well as some of the longest home runs in Major Leaguehistory. On September 10, 1960, Mickey Mantle hit a ball that cleared the right field roof at Tiger Stadium in Detroit and was estimated to have traveled more than 640 feet. Mickey Mantle remains the last man to win the Triple Crown.
Retirement and Death
Mickey Mantle retired in 1969 as did his uniform #7, and in 1974 he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Although among the best-paid players of the era, Mickey Mantle was a poor businessman, having failed at several ventures. His fame continued, although it swerved in another direction as the sports memorabilia craze of the 1980s took hold. Mickey Mantle-related items to this day still garner the highest prices with the possible exception
Babe Ruthmemorabilia.
Mickey Mantle died on August 13, 1995, of liver cancer brought on by years of alcohol abuse. A wife from whom he was separated for 15 years and four sons, all of whom suffered from the disease, survived him
Mickey Mantle remains an icon in the annals of American baseball, and a man whose life befitted the glory of the American dream. How much better spent it could have been is another question.
Keep on hitting, Mickey Mantle. Wherever you are.
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