Mantle’s Allure
Wow, this thread was started back in 2016! It’s probably not a Net54baseball record — but still - wow!
I have a somewhat humorous story to tell about this 1960 Mantle card. A former New Yorker lived a few doors down from me in my previous mid-Michigan neighborhood. I never saw any visitors at his house — so I don’t think he had many friends. He had also recently gone through a sad divorce. He’d often wander down to my house when he saw me working in the front yard. I enjoyed chatting with him because I loved hearing his Bronx accent.
One day our conversation turned to sports — and then to baseball cards. I brought out this 1960 Mantle card, and, of course, his eyes light up. He proceeded to tell me about his great childhood collection (that included this card) that, alas, his mom threw out when he went off to college.
The funny thing is, as he continued to watched me do my front yard work, and we continued to talk baseball, he slipped the card into his shirt pocket. I noticed it — but didn’t say anything. But, when my wife called me in for lunch, and he started to head for home, I had to tactfully remind him to return the card. For a moment I thought that maybe I had somehow conveyed to him the false impression that I was giving him the card. But the sheepish look on his face told a different story.
I’ve since moved to a different Michigan city, but when I see this card, I often think of him. Sometimes I wish I had just given the card to him — rounded corners, severe creases and all.
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