Mantle Reality

[50sBaseball]

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.