In 1948, Yankees scout Tom Greenwade came to Baxter Springs to observe one of Mantle's teammates. All Truth Of Leland Chapman's Wife - Jamie . Mickey attended Commerce High School and was an all-around athlete. Mantle hit some of the longest home runs in Major League history. Mickey Mantle, 63, the superstar slugging center fielder of the New York Yankees of the 1950s and 1960s whose baseball feats and golden good looks made him an American legend, died of liver cancer yesterday at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. Mantle was interred in the Mantle Family Mausoleum, located in the St. Matthew Section of the Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in Dallas. 1952 Bowman Mickey Mantle Yankees Card #101 HOF - Certified SGC 1. In addition, compared to the other four center fielders on the All-Century team, he had the lowest career rate of grounding into double plays, and he had the highest World Series on-base percentage and World Series slugging percentage. He was a 20-time All-Star and seven-time World Series champion. Early Life and Career. 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. "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. He currently resides in Spavinaw, OK. While Mantle was a hero on the field, he had his own struggles off of it battling alcoholism much of his life. He came out of the clinic a chastened figure, and his frailty was reinforced by the public decline in his health since June. | Movieclip(2) |", "Tom Russell's Talents Still Shine Through", "Mantle, Yanks' Rookie, Loses Duel With Sun", "Mickey Mantle Inherits Baseball's Biggest Job", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mickey_Mantle&oldid=1142182139, September 28,1968,for theNew York Yankees, 1956 - Mantle made a (talking) cameo appearance in, 1962 - Mantle and Maris starred as themselves in the film, 1988 - Mantle appeared in the official video for, 1993 and 1996 - References are made to Mantle in the sitcom, Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 23:52. Former New York Yankees star Mickey Mantle dies of liver cancer at the age of 63. I did it 1,710 times.". 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. Mantle received the transplant at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas on June 8, 1995. "Years later, we were sitting around the dining room at the Yankees' ball park in Fort Lauderdale, and they had this oilcloth on the table, and Mickey said: 'This is what we used to have in our kitchen at home. 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. [39] In roughly 25% of his total at-bats he hit .330 right-handed to .281 left. Who Is Mickey Mantle's Wife? The recent sale of a mint Mickey Mantle card for $2.88 made headlines. [7] He was an All-Star for 16 seasons, playing in 16 of the 20 All-Star Games that were played during his career. As a teammate, he never complained about his injuries and always tried to lead by example. After adjusting for inflation, he earned around $9 million from his various contracts. His strength as a hitter became legendary. Madden, Bill. Fairchild's poetry celebrates gritty lives in small towns", "Catch me if you can(2002) - You know why the yankees always win? He is in 10th place in number of bases-empty bunt singles for his career, with 80 in only 148 at-bats. 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.". Greer Johnson Net Worth Greer Johnson Net Worth 2023, Age, Height, Relationships, Married, Dating, Family, Wiki Biography. In both 1953 and 1961, he hit into only two double plays, over the course of 1,186 plate appearances. Anyone can read what you share. By Bruce Haring. Mickey's wallet was also getting thicker. That year, he brought home both the Triple Crown and the first of three Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Awards. 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. [79], In 1969, Mantle received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[80]. Mantle played for the New York Yankees his entire Major League Baseball career from 1951 to 1968. [72] He was 63 years old. 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. Mickey Mantle, the most powerful switch-hitter in baseball history and the successor to Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio as the symbol of the long reign of the New York Yankees, died of cancer yesterday in Dallas. Frail, and humbled by the sad events of his later life, Mantle received thousands of letters of support after his transplant operation and discovered that the public could forgive and forget. Mantle is 16th all-time in home runs per at-bats. Net Worth Net Worth 2020 $10 Million Salary 2020 Not known Mickey Mantle Salary Detail Mantle was invited to the Yankees instructional camp before the 1951 season. 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. Who is Mickey Mantle Dating? God gave me a body and the ability to play baseball. Retrieved December 9, 2012. I'll swear I expect to see that boy just take off and fly any time. On Aug. 9, the hospital said the cancer had spread to his abdomen. Mantle won the Triple Crown in 1956, when he led the major leagues in batting average (.353), home runs (52), and runs batted in (RBI) (130). He always talked about his love for the game. The hit is said to have traveled 643 feet. [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. After the 1966 season, Mantle was moved to first base, with Joe Pepitone taking his place in the outfield. In 1974 Mantle was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot. He returned to the center field position on September 2. . The first, he often was not. Mickey Mantle passed away on August 13, 1995 at 63 years old. Mickey Mantle Height, Weight & Measurements At 64 years old, Mickey Mantle height is 6' (1.83 m) . This was the first of numerous injuries that plagued his 18-year career with the Yankees. 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's doctors insisted that the transplant was based solely on medical criteria, but acknowledged that the very short wait created the appearance of favoritism. Mickey Mantle played his first game for the New York Yankees in 1951, replacing the legendary Joe DiMaggio in center field. Mantle began his professional career in baseball in Kansas with the semi-professional Baxter Springs Whiz Kids. Mickey Mantle's #7 was retired by the New York Yankees and he was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. She was married to Mickey Mantle. In 1950, Mantle was promoted to the Class-C Joplin Miners of the Western Association. In 1962, he became the highest-paid player in baseball with a $90,000 per year contract. [10] However, Mantle struggled defensively at shortstop.[10]. Mantle died at 2:10 A.M. Eastern time at Baylor University Medical Center, succumbing to the disease that had spread from his liver to most of his other vital organs. Mantle returned to the hospital in late July, and the cancer was found to have spread throughout his body. In 1994, he checked into the Betty Ford Clinic, where doctors diagnosed him with cirrhosis, hepatitis, and cancer of the liver. ", 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). [55] In an autobiography, Mantle said that he had married Merlyn not out of love, but because he was told to by his domineering father. While these facts are widely known, here are some not so popular ones you may not know about. Once, he put a live snake in Marshall Bridges's uniform, and another time he released a live mongoose into the visitors clubhouse at Tiger Stadium.[47]. Although he was a feared power hitter from either side of the plate and hit more home runs batting left-handed than right, Mantle considered himself a better right-handed hitter. He said, "When I die, I wanted on my tombstone, 'A great teammate.' He did, however, regain his status, hitting .330 in the second half of 1958, and leading his team back to the Series. He had his first drink at the age of 19. He hit often, he hit deep and he did it from both sides of the plate better than anyone else. During this time, Mantle lived with his agent Greer Johnson. He also hit his second All-Star Game home run that season. Roy Clark sang and played "Yesterday, When I Was Young". On September 10, 1960, he hit a ball left-handed that cleared the right-field roof at Tiger Stadium in Detroit and, based on where it was found, was estimated years later by historian Mark Gallagher to have traveled 643 feet (196m). Merlyn Mantle Net Worth is $1.3 Million Merlyn Mantle Bio/Wiki, Net Worth, Married 2018. . Salary 2020. [41], Mantle was also one of the best bunters for base hits of all time. My mother made every baseball uniform I ever wore till I signed with the Yankees. The internet stared in awe as the sports memorabilia sold for a whopping $5.2 million. Interestingly, the games best player at the time never tried to renegotiate a better deal after the 1963 season. When Mantle was four years old, his family moved to Commerce, Oklahoma, where his father worked in lead and zinc mines. [45] Still, Mantle was known as the "fastest man to first base" and won the American League triple crown in 1956. In 1995, doctors discovered that Mantle's liver had been damaged by cirrhosis, hepatitis C, and liver cancer. 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. He not only hit the ball, he hammered it. His original Yankee Stadium Monument Park plaque is displayed at the front entrance. A school in Manhattan was renamed for Mantle on June 4, 2002. [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. Mantle was named in honor of Mickey Cochrane, a Hall of Fame catcher in baseball. But the bigger, untold story is that there are three gem mint PSA 10 '52 Topps Mantles which are twice as rare--three . I'm not going to lie to you: The next drink you take may be your last.". 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. [71] Richardson recited the same poem (God's Hall of Fame), which was written by a baseball fan, at Roger Maris's funeral. The first main series #7 card not issued to Mantle or a Yankee was to shortstop Orlando Arcia of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2021. 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. "This is a role model: Don't be like me," a frail Mantle said. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (19511968) with the New York Yankees as a center fielder, right fielder, and first baseman. Adjusted for inflation, he earned approximately $9 million. ", After Leaving Baseball, Day and Night Drinking, The Yankees stopped winning pennants after the 1964 season, and Mantle stopped playing after the 1968 season. The ball park was right beside the road, and he was on his way to watch some guy play in another town. He also had an excellent .984 fielding percentage when playing center field. Trip Back to Minors In First Year in Majors. The ball went over the center field fence, which was 460 feet from home plate. Mantle's wife, mother, and mother-in-law were in attendance and received recognition at the ceremony held in honor of him. In 1974, Mantle was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Baseball scholars often ponder "what if" had he not been injured, and had been able to lead a healthy career. Mickey Mantle was 5-11 (180 cm) tall. You see, when you have a prairie fire, if you don't clean out a 10-yard spot around a telephone pole, it will burn the telephone pole out, and it will cost you a lot of money. "Everything he owned was in a straw suitcase," he said. He played in 2,401 games and went to bat 8,102 times -- more than any other Yankee -- and delivered 2,415 hits for a .298 batting average. [57] He batted left-handed hitting while Simon pitched left-handed. [15] Mantle won the Western Association batting title, with a .383 average. [33], Mantle hit .237 with 18 home runs and 54 RBI during his final season in 1968. Throughout his life, Mantle had been a heavy drinker. His football playing nearly ended his athletic career. Is Mickey Mantle in the Hall of Fame? Despite the fears of those who knew him that this tragedy would send him back to drinking, Mantle remained sober. Mantle was just 63 years old at the time of his death. Greenwade returned in 1949, after Mantle's high school graduation, to sign Mantle to a minor league contract. A year later, his salary bumped up to $100,000 per year. Mike Trout is the best MLB player of his generation and he might be even higher on the all-time list of best baseball players . On May 22, Mantle hit a line-drive home run off the third-tier facade at Yankee Stadium, the closest that any hitter had come to hitting a fair ball out of the park. The next summer, at 18, he played Class C ball in Joplin, Mo., where he hit .383 but made 55 errors in 137 games at shortstop, mostly on wild throws to first base. Mantle was a prized guest at baseball-card shows, commanding fees far in excess of those of any other player for his appearances and autographs. The following year, he became the highest-paid player in baseball by signing a $75,000 contract, which was incredibly high at the time. Agent and companion of Mickey Mantle. [83] In 2018, the #7 card was issued to Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier. In 1960 Mantle started in both All-Star games, getting two walks in the first and a single in the second game. Meanwhile, you might be wondering how card trading is still a thing nowadays. Roger Eugene Maris (September 10, 1934 - December 14, 1985) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nevertheless, Mantle accepted the position because he felt the rule was "stupid." Mickey Mantle was born in Spavinaw, Oklahoma in October 1931 and passed away in August 1995. In the 1930's, they won five pennants and five World Series. [76] The plaque was officially presented to Mantle by Joe DiMaggio. In total, Mickey earned $1,128,000 during his career. But it finally became a nightmare that undermined his life. 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". 7/5/1957-Washington, DC: New York Yankee slugger Mickey Mantle (via Getty). American professional baseball player Mickey Mantle had an estimated net worth of $12 million dollars at the time of his death, in 1995. After Mantle graduated from high school, Greenwade returned to sign Mantle to a minor league contract. Mickey Mantle, with his death Sunday at 63, passes from these pages forever and becomes the property . . 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. [14] In addition to his first love, baseball, Mantle was an all-around athlete at Commerce High School, playing basketball as well as football. 1969 Topps #500 Mickey Mantle UER VGEX X2696604. The couple had four children together during the course of their marriage. Mickey Mantle was an American skilled baseball participant who had a It was a record that Mantle put into perspective when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame on Aug. 12, 1974. His rationale was that the men in his family had all died young, so he expected to die young as well. [24][35], Mantle announced his retirement at the age of 37 on March 1, 1969. Mickey Mantle was born in Spavinaw, Oklahoma in October 1931 and passed away in August 1995. Two months into the 1951 season, Manager Casey Stengel sent Mantle down to the Yankees' top farm team in Kansas City because he was striking out too much. Mantle was invited to the Yankees instructional camp before the 1951 season. May 7, 2022 2:25pm. He admitted that he had often been cruel and hurtful to family, friends, and fans because of his alcoholism, and sought to make amends. The Cardinals won the World Series in seven games. He was one of those rare hitters who could hit for both average and power and was a three-time MVP. That was the start of my knee operations. "No money, none of those $400 suits he got around to buying a couple of years later. He was the blond, muscled switch-hitter who joined the Yankees at 19 in 1951 as DiMaggio was winding down his Hall of Fame career. And after leaving the Betty Ford Center, he seemed to be a revived person. [citation needed], Joe DiMaggio retired from baseball following the 1951 World Series. "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." In fact, if it weren't for the injuries that nagged him, he might've been able to contend for GOAT status. "[47][63], Mantle's wife and sons all completed treatment for alcoholism and told him that he needed to do the same. In 1998, The Sporting News placed Mantle at 17th on its list of baseball's 100 greatest players. Mantle's #7 was retired by the New York Yankees and he was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. $1,847.75. $237.50. He occasionally attended the local Methodist church, and sometimes ate Sunday dinner with members of the congregation. He was a center fielder who was a switch-hitter and threw right handed. The Powerful Symbol Of a Yankee Dynasty. Mantle is 60 years old and white-headed with a familiar face. Mickey Mantle was born in Spavinaw, Oklahoma in October 1931. Five years earlier, in 1956, Mantle had challenged Ruth's record for most of the season, and the New York press had been protective of Ruth on that occasion also. During their empire years, the Yankees built on the mountains of success they had fashioned in the days since Ruth joined them in 1920. A decades-old, mint-condition Mickey Mantle baseball card could break a record at auction. He commanded the biggest stage in sports as the center fielder for the most successful team in baseball, and he did it at a time when New York was blessed with three great center fielders renowned as "Willie, Mickey and the Duke," home run hitters who captivated the public in the 1950's as the leaders of memorable teams: Willie Mays of the Giants, Mantle of the Yankees and Duke Snider of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Frequently, he would dump ice water on those who were showering. He showed a certain amount of humility and never let the stardom go to his head. Mantle made an appearance in the music video for "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" by Paul Simon in 1988. Maris did not follow suit, and many in the press viewed him as surly. The 1952 Mantle rookie card, which was in mint. 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's top salary was $100,000, which he reached for the 1963 season. "[77] In response, DiMaggio's plaque was hung one inch higher than Mantle's. Mickey Mantle net worth: Mickey Mantle was an American professional baseball player who had a net worth of $10 million. Mantle was hospitalized with an abscessed hip resulting from a flu shot that he had received late in the season, leaving Maris to break the record (he finished with 61). That amount combined with his restaurant business and endorsements deals after he retired, Mantles net worth was $10 million when he died in 1995. Those words were carved on the plaque marking his resting place at the family mausoleum in Dallas. In addition to his wife and son David, he is survived by two other sons, Danny and Mickey Jr. Funeral services are scheduled for 2 P.M. Tuesday at Lovers Lane United Methodist Church in Dallas. [32] In 1966, his batting average increased to .288 with 23 home runs and 56 RBI in 333 at-bats, in large part because of very strong June and July, when he returned to his 1964 form until he was sidelined with another injury. In the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 3 of the 1964 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Mantle hit Barney Schultz's first pitch into the right field stands at Yankee Stadium, which won the game for the Yankees 21. Death Cause, Rea. He was selected an All-Star for the eleventh consecutive season and played in the first game,[3] but because of a recurrence of an old injury, he did not play in the second game. [84] That same year, Mantle was one of 100 nominees for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team, and was chosen by fan balloting as one of the team's outfielders. [2] Mantle was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974[3] and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999. Mickey Mantle played for the New York Yankees from 1951 to 1968, and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. . He spent his final two seasons at first base. In 1950, the year before he arrived, the Yankees won the Series again. He is best known for setting a new MLB single-season home run record with 61 home runs in 1961. He acknowledged that some of them were self-inflicted, especially drinking, a habit that had seemed harmless enough when crowds were cheering and he was playing and hitting home runs despite an occasional hangover. Withdrew 33 personal items belonging to Mantle's before a 1997 auction after his widow Merlyn Mantle filed suit. Mutt drove to Independence, Kansas, and convinced Mantle to keep playing. Not till Houk came along and told me, 'You are going to be my leader. He later wrote a book (My Favorite Summer 1956) about his best year in baseball. [82][87][88] This card is sometimes erroneously referred to as Mantle's rookie card, though Mantle had in fact appeared in the 1951 Bowman Baseball set. Long after the cheers faded, so did Mantle, although he revived his image as a kind of fallen hero who carried his afflictions with grace and humor. Over the course of time, however, Mantle (with a little help from his teammate Whitey Ford, a native of Queens) had learned to deal with the New York media and had gained the favor of the press. But he pulled his car over and stopped and watched us play. 500 and now he. 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. It makes you feel good. The low batting average caused his lifetime average to dip below .300, which caused him anguish the next year as he worked with a statistician to review all of his at-bats since 1951, hoping to find enough uncounted hits to elevate his average to .2995, but his lifetime average remained .298. ". [70], During Mantle's final days he made peace with his estranged wife Merlyn and repeated a request that he expressed decades earlier for Richardson to read a poem at his funeral. Despite missing 41 games, he was selected as MVP for the third time, beating out teammate Bobby Richardson in the voting. I mean, she sewed them right on me. Mickey Mantle was one of the greatest players in MLB history for nearly two decades with the New York Yankees. He was a center fielder who was a switch-hitter and threw right handed. He hit 344 doubles, 72 triples and 536 home runs (373 left-handed, 163 right-handed), and he knocked in 1,509 runs. Mantle was the uncle of actor and musician Kelly Mantle. He is the only player in history to hit 150 home runs from both sides of the plate. [42], Mantle's career was plagued with injuries. He took such an all-out swing at the ball that he struck out regularly and broke the record set two generations earlier by Ruth. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball career with the New York Yankees as a center fielder, right fielder, and first baseman. [52] In 1983, he worked at the Claridge Resort and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey as a greeter and community representative. 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.