Iconic Baseball Photos of the 20th Century

[brian1961]

I love the photos, guys. Thank you.

Somewhere I have a card set devoted to the life of Mickey Mantle. For some wonderful reason, they chose a card of Mick shaking hands with a poor kid who had suffered horrific burns. There's something about it that makes me cry every time I see it. The kid had to be placed in an area of the Stadium where other kids couldn't crowd in for their "me too's"; otherwise, he would have suffered pain being jostled by the others. It's such a touching photo, and to me says a lot about Mickey the man, and hero.

I'm sorry I'm not loading up the photo, but hopefully my depiction will convey enough to you.

Keep 'em coming, mates! ---Brian Powell

[The-Cardfather]

Originally Posted by brian1961

..........It's such a touching photo, and to me says a lot about Mickey the man, and hero.

Brian,

One of my personal pet peeves is when someone talks about what a great man Mantle was. A great ballplayer - yes, but a great man - never.
Mantle was great when the cameras were rolling, but not so much otherwise.

I copied the two paragraphs below from one of my posts a few months back, and I think it needs repeating.

Mantle was a boozing, womanizing a$$hole, who wouldn't have survived a minute with today's scrutinizing media. (IMHO.)

A long ago co-worked once told me a story about when he was a kid. He said that he was collecting ballplayer autographs in some Washington hotel. (I assume that the Yankees were playing the Senators.) He said that when he approached Mantle with a ball to sign, Mantle literally slapped the ball out of his hand as he rushed past.

There are tons of similar stories out there about the "great" Mantle.

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by the cardfather

brian,

one of my personal pet peeves is when someone talks about what a great man mantle was. A great ballplayer - yes, but a great man - never.
Mantle was great when the cameras were rolling, but not so much otherwise.

I copied the two paragraphs below from one of my posts a few months back, and i think it needs repeating.

Mantle was a boozing, womanizing a$$hole, who wouldn't have survived a minute with today's scrutinizing media. (imho.)

a long ago co-worked once told me a story about when he was a kid. He said that he was collecting ballplayer autographs in some washington hotel. (i assume that the yankees were playing the senators.) he said that when he approached mantle with a ball to sign, mantle literally slapped the ball out of his hand as he rushed past.

There are tons of similar stories out there about the "great" mantle.

Charles,

No man on earth ever did the right thing all the time. What you said I am sure is true, to an extent. Mickey was not a good husband, nor a good father, and the shame-faced Mick on the cover of Sports Illustrated in the early 90s that told of his alcoholism and many misdeeds attested to his own loud and clear self-knowledge AND self-recrimination of his many blunders and wretched lifestyle much of his adult life. When he was dying and held his last press conference, he humbly told everyone not to look to him as a role model, or whatever it was.

Few individuals were approached as often for an autograph as Mickey Mantle. If he was under the effect of alcohol, or the Yankees lost the game, and especially if he felt he let the team down and contributed to the loss, you did not want to approach Mick with a ball to sign. A dumb kid wouldn't know or understand that. Many adults haven't a clue about such influences and matters, because all they care about is themselves and what they want.

It is truly surprising Mickey lasted as long as he did with the New York zoo press. But really, you seem very convinced in your hatred of him. Fine. That is your right and freedom to express such bias. I could get started on your Joe DiMaggio, but I won't, unless provoked.

Yeah, in today's media frenzy, no one comes out of it alive.

I won't weary you with why I have such a strong connection to Mickey Mantle. You're not worth the time, and with your attitude, it's none of your business anyway.

So, I shall be happy collecting Mickey Mantle. You can stay peeved, and if you ever get over it, hopefully you'll find someone to collect that might keep you happy, at least until you learn more about him.

----Brian Powell

[irv]

Originally Posted by brian1961

Charles,

No man on earth ever did the right thing all the time. What you said I am sure is true, to an extent. Mickey was not a good husband, nor a good father, and the shame-faced mick on the cover of sports illustrated in the early 90s that told of his alcoholism and many misdeeds attested to his own loud and clear self-knowledge of his many blunders and wretched lifestyle much of his life. When he was dying and held his last press conference, he humbly told everyone not to look to him as a role model, or whatever it was.

Few individuals were approached as often for an autograph as Mickey Mantle. If he was under the effect of alcohol, or the Yankees lost the game, and especially if he felt he let the team down and contributed to the loss, you did not want to approach mick with a ball to sign. A dumb kid wouldn't know or understand that, and many adults haven't a clue about such influences and matters.

It is truly surprising Mickey lasted as long as he did with the New York zoo press. But really, you seem very convinced in your hatred of him. Fine. That is your right and freedom to express such bias. I could get started on your Joe DiMaggio, but I won't, unless provoked.

Yeah, in today's media frenzy, no one comes out of it alive.

I won't weary you with why I have such a strong connection to Mickey Mantle. You're not worth the time, and with your attitude, it's none of your business anyway.

So, I shall be happy collecting Mickey Mantle. You can stay peeved, and if you ever get over it, hopefully you'll find someone to collect that might keep you happy, at least until you learn more about him.

----Brian Powell

Well said, Brian.

Doesn't look like Mick had any issue with this pic being taken, despite the lack of media.

[Leon]

here is one..

[Nunzio11]

From a Baltimoron...I was in college and a group of us climbed the Eutaw St fence to see the festivities live.

[The-Cardfather]

Brian,

I simply gave my opinion.

And although I may not agree with your opinion, I respect it.

But, I have to ask (rhetorically), was the following sentence really necessary?

Originally Posted by brian1961

You're not worth the time, and with your attitude, it's none of your business anyway.

P.S. - I'm not trying to "provoke" you.

[brian1961]

Charles, it probably was not necessary of me to come off that irritated with you. You just seemed so vehement about the Mick's misdeeds, and your tone did not come across as merely a simple opinion. Believe me, depending on your values and personal life, I can understand your feelings. Not being worth the time stems from my belief that if I composed a long response about someone else, it would not really change your own mind about Mickey. Moreover, I really don't want to hurt the little boy within you concerning a hero you might have.

Nobody is totally worthy of any pedestal we put them on. Our heroes are really always flawed human beings. I guess a happy place for each of us is the warm memories we carry of those players when they were going well, and had their finest moments with their respective teams.

For that reason, I myself could never muster up enough courage to try to attend a show where Mickey Mantle was signing autographs for a fee. Odds are things would have turned out great, but I just could not emotionally risk the chance that the meeting would go well. So, I was content to cheer his memory from afar, and collect his cards, etc.

I do sincerely wish you well in your collecting pursuits and hope your little boy within never gets harmed.

Even within collecting Mickey, and I am certain this is true for many player collectors, there are numerous things and trends that I do not understand, nor agree with. The thinking, the reasonings, and the values of my fellow collectors is often infantile in my estimation. To be sure, they have their own reasonings that usually are based on sound advice and thinking. On the one hand, perhaps I strike one as the height of arrogance and self-importance as a card evaluator. I suppose since I've been doing this since the spring of 1961, I think I have a good handle on cards, et al relating to my hero. I am slow to learn that there's a lot of factors, trends, and financial/social/psychological factors that play in these matters.

More than a nickel pack's worth, I know, but I'm getting tired, bro, and I better go. Case closed. Take care and have a peaceful week.

---Brian Powell

[SAllen2556]

I think it depends what team you root for. Here in the Motor City there are two photos that every Tiger fan knows. If you're in St. Louis or San Diego, probably not. The photo of Lolich and Freehan, at one time, probably resided in more basements and bars in the Detroit area than any single baseball photo.

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77241714.jpg

[Bigdaddy]

Ok, if you want to include WS photos, here's one of my favorites from the WS and one of my all time favorites (you gotta read the story of the Todd Frazier photo):

[rats60]

They don't get any better than this one from the Baseball Hall of Fame