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-   -   Mantle Reality (http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=255158)

50sBaseball 06-13-2018 12:41 PM

I saw Mickey Mantle play in Fenway Park in 1959 (age 12 almost 13) and though the Red Sox (and Ted Williams) were not having a great year, neither were the Yankees. But it was, and still is, the Rivalry. And it was the presence of two legitimate superstars. I was a Red Sox fan, but had great respect for Mantle and treasured his cards.

In another thread about how friendly pro athletes were to us in person, I noted that at this game Ted Williams kindly posed for me with a bat on his shoulder so I could take a picture with my modest camera. (A quick primer on 1950s era inexpensive cameras: one put film in the camera, one could take about 20 photos, and then one took the film to be developed and prints made from negatives. BUT, one had to remember to manually advance the film, or one took two pictures on the same piece of film; these were "double exposures.")

I was taking pictures of Fenway Park near the visitors' dugout, and who happens to come out but Mickey Mantle. He was no more than 4 or 5 feet from me. I asked if I could take his picture. He said, "Sure, kid," and posed for me. BUT, I was so excited to see him that I forgot to advance the camera film manually. My Mickey Mantle picture was a "double exposure" with a view of Fenway Park.

Mantle's cards were valued highly in the 50s because he was a superstar, and if one had the opportunity to trade for a Mantle card, one paid dearly. I had the Topps 53,56,57,58 and 59 cards as a kid, and picked up a few 60s ones later. Mantle was a stud.

drmondobueno 06-13-2018 02:17 PM

Two things people do not think about Mantle
 
1. His legs were bad. After hurting his leg in 1951, he played in pain the rest of his career.

2. Both his father and grandfather died young, in their forties, and Mick was terrified the same was happening to him. He admitted later in life he did not take care of himself, and drank a little.

I am sure baseball historians could put things much more accurately than I have. I remember conversations between my dad and uncle talking about how Mick looked like he was always hurting when he ran. This was around 1959-1960. At the time I was a Yogi fan ( how many world series championships ?) at the age of seven and later would wear a Maris jersey before I saw Clemente play. Never saw Mantle in person but saw him play dozens of times on the tube. Mays was healthy, Mantle wasn’t.

50sBaseball 06-13-2018 06:05 PM

Keith posted an excellent thought to understand the mystique of Mickey Mantle. Indeed, Mantle played hurt most of his career and still put up incredible statistics. In a World Series game on October 6, 1951 -- 2 weeks from his 20th birthday -- Mantle injured his knee and had to have surgery to repair torn ligaments, the first of five knee surgeries over his career. Mike Lupica wrote a story in Newsday (6/10/1995) relating these facts and the fact that by the end of Mantle's career the cartilage in both knees was pretty much gone. Lupica noted that Mantle said in his book, "All My Octobers," that after the 1951 injury "I wouldn't play another game the rest of my career without hurting."
Mantle was a stud.

tedzan 06-13-2018 07:49 PM

Mantle Reality
 
I watched (on our TV) Mickey play from his rookie year in 1951 thru most of his career. Believe it or not, throughout the 1951 season Mickey was booed quite often.

It wasn't till the 1952 season when most baseball fans became quite excited over this 20 year old rookie. He had a great season in 1952 with 171 Hits and 23 HR's.
Scored 94 Runs....87 RBI's....and, batted .311.......what a coincidence, Mickey's BB card number in 1952, how did TOPPS know that ? :)

The most exciting game I saw as a young kid was on Oct 8th 1956. The day Don Larsen pitched his Perfect No-Hitter in the World Series vs the Dodgers. That day,
Mickey hit a HR. Plus, he made an unbelievable running catch of a 440-foot drive by Gil Hodges in deep Left-Centerfield (near the Yankee Stadium Monuments).

I could fill up this page with my Mickey Mantle stories. But, I'll leave you with this event......in July of 1973, my young daughters (avid Yankees fans) and I went to
the Oldtimer's Game. We saw Mickey hit his last HR deep into the Left-field seats at Yankee Stadium.


Here is the very Mantle card I acquired in the Fall of 1952. I paid a nickel at our neighborhood candy store, and opened up a Topps waxpack expecting to get Mickey.
I will never forget that day, as I very carefully shuffled thru the cards and Mickey was in the middle of the stack.

Also, I was very fortunate, as my folks stashed all my Sports and Non-Sports cards in our attic when I was in the Air Force.


http://photos.imageevent.com/tedzan7...wrapper100.jpg

http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/d...mmantle52t.jpghttp://photos.imageevent.com/tedzan7...TMantleRTx.jpg



I saw Mantle hit a number of 500+ foot HR's , but this one was one of his greatest.

http://photos.imageevent.com/tedzan7...xMantle50x.jpg


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

nat 06-13-2018 08:00 PM

"My Mickey Mantle picture was a "double exposure" with a view of Fenway Park."



You can't say something like that without showing us the picture!

50sBaseball 06-14-2018 08:25 AM

1 Attachment(s)
"NAT" -- your request to show the double exposure photo of Mickey Mantle and Fenway Park (August 1959) sent me on a search, and surprisedly I found the photo! Included the Ted Williams photo as well.
Would appreciate any technical support as to enlarging the photos. Thanks.

Jim

Puckettfan 06-14-2018 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CobbSpikedMe (Post 1777908)
Like Dustin, I was turned on to Mantle when I was a young collector mainly due to the prices he commanded. It was a dream of a 10 year old to one day have a real Mantle card. I've since acquired several but I'll always remember getting that first one. A 1966 Topps. I couldn't believe it when I got it in hand. I was thrilled to have one. I was shocked that I pulled the trigger on it since at the time my card budget was even smaller than it is now. I'll always have that Mantle.

AndyH

I have nearly the exact same feelings about the Mick. I feel like most collectors have a "first Mantle" story. Its a right of passage, like a first kiss, in our hobby.

I was born well after his career but when I started collecting vintage as a kid in 1989, he was all anyone would talk about. It was also my dream to one day have one. My first was a 58 Topps beater when I was 11ish years old. I was blown away when I actually held the card in my hand the first time. He had always seemed out of reach.

I have since acquired, kept, and sold many Mantles. But...I still have that 58 and it stands with other 'better' cards in my permanent collection.


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