SportsData LLC. His lifestyle was restored to one of luxury by his position of leadership in the sports memorabilia craze that swept the US beginning in the 1980s. 1960 was also the year he hit what was and is, the longest home run, in history. [69] The plaque was officially presented to Mantle by Joe DiMaggio. It became one of New York's most popular restaurants, and his original Yankee Stadium Monument Park plaque is displayed at the front entrance. ... MIckey Mantle … [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. He became involved in ...read more, Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog” (1956) is one of the biggest and most instantly recognizable pop songs in history. In 2006, Mantle was featured on a United States postage stamp,[78] one of a series of four including fellow baseball legends Mel Ott, Roy Campanella, and Hank Greenberg. "[18], After a brief slump, Mantle was sent down to the Yankees' top farm team, the Kansas City Blues. Mantle afterwards, gave a similar plaque to DiMaggio, telling the huge crowd in Yankee Stadium, "Joe DiMaggio's deserves to be higher. [42] There are no other power hitters in the top ten. After fouling a few off, he belted a towering home run over the 402 foot sign by the bullpen. Although his batting average was his lowest since his rookie year, his league-leading 40 home runs and 94 runs batted in, saw him come in a close second to Roger Maris’ MVP award. G.O. His final game was on September 28, 1968. Mantles legacy as one of the greatest baseball players will live on in the hearts of fans, but it’s his soul that will live on forever in eternity with our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 decades ago. 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. [68], On Mickey Mantle Day at Yankee Stadium, June 8, 1969, Mantle's Number 7 was retired and he was a given a bronze plaque to be hung on the center field wall near the monuments to Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Miller Huggins. Like Mickey, Merlyn and three of their sons became alcoholics,[50] and Billy developed Hodgkin's disease, as had several previous men in Mantle's family. His knee twisted awkwardly and he instantly fell. His liver had been severely damaged by alcohol-induced cirrhosis as well as hepatitis C. Prior to the operation, doctors also discovered that he had an inoperable type of liver cancer known as an undifferentiated hepatocellular carcinoma, which further necessitated a transplant. The press seemed to root for Mantle and to belittle Maris. [10], Mantle began his professional baseball career in Kansas with the semi-professional Baxter Springs Whiz Kids. Mantle had another "off year", Mantle's son Danny and grandson Will appeared briefly as a father and son watching Mantle hit a home run. Madden, Bill. 73. The following year, Mantle moved to center field. [34] He was selected an AL All-Star and pinch hit at the All-Star Game on July 11. The season featured two amazing feats by Mantle: a line drive home run off the third tier facade at Yankee Stadium, off Kansas City's Pedro Ramos. Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed The Commerce Comet and The Mick,[1] was an American professional baseball player. In 1924, ...read more, On August 13, 1781, Patriot forces led by Colonel William Harden and Brigadier General Francis Marion, known as the “Swamp Fox,” lure British commander Major Thomas Fraser and his 450 soldiers into an ambush at Parker’s Ferry, 30 miles northwest of Charleston, South Carolina. You can come back to Oklahoma and work the mines with me. Mantle had his first 100 plus RBI year, in 1954, in a full season and regained .300 status . After Captain America died, The Incredible Hulk inherited the mantle. On August 25, 1996, about a year after his death, Mantle's Monument Park plaque was replaced with a monument, bearing the words "A great teammate" and keeping a phrase that had been included on the original plaque: "A magnificent Yankee who left a legacy of unequaled courage." [10] In 1948 Yankees scout Tom Greenwade came to Baxter Springs to watch Mantle's teammate, third baseman Willard "Billy" Johnson. Mantle was one of the greatest offensive threats of any center fielder in baseball history. Mantle was the starting center fielder in the second All-Star Game's lineup, getting a single and a walk in four at bats. But Mantle was suspended from baseball by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn on the grounds that any affiliation with gambling was grounds for being placed on the "permanently ineligible" list. He died August 13, 1995 at the age of 64. [63], Mantle died on August 13, 1995, at Baylor University Medical Center with his wife at his side, five months after his mother had died at age 91. [53][54], Before Mantle sought treatment for alcoholism, he admitted that his hard living had hurt both his playing and his family. While his drinking became public knowledge during his lifetime, the press (as per established practice at the time) kept quiet about his many marital infidelities. The second, he always will be. He gave a "farewell" speech on "Mickey Mantle Day", June 8, 1969, in Yankee Stadium. The town respected Mantle's privacy, refusing either to talk about him to outsiders or to direct fans to his home. [64] The Yankees played the Indians that day and honored him with a tribute. Mickey Mantle was born on October 20, 1931, in Spavinaw, Oklahoma, the son of Lovell (née Richardson) Mantle (1904–1995) and Elven Charles “Mutt” Mantle. Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Bobby Murcer, and Hank Bauer served as pallbearers, and carried Mantle’s body to its final resting place at Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery. 7 numeral were retired at a ceremony on the second Mickey Mantle Day on June 8th, 1969. Out of frustration, he called his father one day and told him, "I don't think I can play baseball anymore." [citation needed], Mantle appeared in the 1958 film Damn Yankees as himself in an uncredited role. Despite being among the best-paid players of the pre-free agency era, Mantle was a poor businessman, making several bad investments. As the years passed, Mantle frequently used a line popularized by football legend Bobby Layne, a Dallas neighbor and friend of Mantle's who also died in part due to alcohol abuse: "If I'd known I was gonna live this long, I'd have taken a lot better care of myself. [citation needed]. Most of you know that Mickey Mantle died in August from deadly cancer that spread throughout his body. Pride of October: What It Was to Be Young and a Yankee. [46] Over the next decade, Mantle experienced increasing difficulty hitting from his left side. His on-base percentage at one point, reached .537. Beginning in high school, he suffered both acute and chronic injuries to bones and cartilage in his legs. Mantle's popularity led to controversy concerning the conditions of his liver transplant. Mickey Mantle. In 1962 Mantle batted .321 in 121 games. He was selected an All-Star for the eleventh consecutive season and played in the first game,[29] but due to an old injury acting up, he did not play in the second All-Star game. To inaugurate the Astrodome, the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees played an exhibition game on April 9, 1965. Mantle reached base more times than he made outs (319 to 312), one of two seasons in which he achieved the feat. 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. When Mantle finally fell short, finishing with 54, there seemed to be a collective sigh of relief from the New York traditionalists. Mantle served as a part-time color commentator on NBC's baseball coverage in 1969, teaming up with Curt Gowdy and Tony Kubek to call some Game of the Week telecasts as well as that year's All-Star Game. At the time of his death Mantle held many of the records for World Series play, including most home runs (18), most RBIs (40) and most runs (42). Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. 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. [8] Despite his numerous accolades on the field, Mantle's private life was plagued with tumult and tragedy, including a well-publicized bout with alcoholism that led to his death from liver cancer. Mutt named his son in honor of Mickey Cochrane, a Hall of Fame catcher. However, if they take one drink, they suffer from an overwhelming urge to keep on drinking to excess. Having reached that pinnacle in his 13th season, he never asked for another raise.[28]. [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. Beginning in 1997, the Topps Baseball Card company retired card #7 in its baseball flagship sets in tribute to Mantle, whose career was taking off just as Topps began producing them. In 1956, he won the Triple Crown, leading his league in batting average, home runs and runs batted in. Mantle returned to the hospital shortly thereafter where it was found that his cancer had spread throughout his body. 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. Despite the fears of those who knew him that this tragedy would send him back to drinking, he remained sober. In 1972, Stayner’s childhood took a tragic turn when his younger brother Steven, then seven, was kidnapped while walking home from school in the ...read more, Responding to increasing Soviet pressure on western Berlin, U.S. and British planes airlift a record amount of supplies into sections of the city under American and British control. [62], During Mantle's recovery he made peace with his estranged wife, Merlyn, and repeated a request he made decades before for Bobby Richardson to read a poem at his funeral if he died. Mickey Mantle was 63 years 9 months and 24 days old when he died on 08/13/1995. By his own admission, Mickey abused his body through years of hard living and hard drinking. In his sophomore year, he was kicked on the left shin during a practice game, and he developed osteomyelitis—a crippling disease that was incurable just a few years earlier—in his left ankle. He later wrote a book (My Favorite Summer 1956) about his best year in baseball. He played halfback and Oklahoma offered him a football scholarship. Relevance. [10] Later in his life, Mantle expressed relief that his father had not known Cochrane's true first name because he would have hated to be named Gordon. Mantle made an appearance in the music video for "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" by Paul Simon in 1988. - IMDb Mini Biography By: frankfob2@yahoo.com Spouse (1) And the aforementioned home run, following his long rehabilitation. Mickey Mantle Jr. died of cancer Wednesday, five years after the disease killed his father. Music! Mutt drove to Independence, Kansas and convinced Mantle to keep playing. [10] During a slump, Mantle called his father to tell him he wanted to quit baseball. October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995. I'll swear I expect to see that boy just take off and fly any time. [10] Mantle hit .313 for the Independence Yankees. 63. How old was Mickey Mantle when he died? [17], In 1950 Mantle was promoted to the Class-C Joplin Miners of the Western Association. His jersey and No. The massive resupply effort, carried out in weather so bad that some pilots referred to it as ...read more, The German engineer Felix Wankel, inventor of a rotary engine that will be used in race cars, is born on August 13, 1902, in Lahr, Germany. Two months later, on August 13, 1995, Mickey Charles Mantle died at the age of 63. On December 23, 1951, Mantle married Merlyn Johnson (1932–2009) in Commerce, Oklahoma; they had four sons. [10] Mickey Mantle's salary for the 1951 season was $7,500. All Rights Reserved. Mantle received a liver transplant at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, on June 8, 1995. This was the first of numerous injuries that plagued his 18-year career with the Yankees. [10][15] Shulthis Stadium, the baseball stadium in Independence where Mantle played, was the site of the first night game in organized baseball. He was well-liked by the citizens of Greensboro, and seemed to like them in return. Mantle's original plaque, along with DiMaggio's, are now on display at the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center, with the DiMaggio plaque still hung higher than Mantle's. Dollar Menu. This ESPN's coverage from Sunday morning, August 13th, 1995. In 1980 Mickey and Merlyn separated, living apart for the rest of Mickey's life, but neither filed for divorce. Cortés’ men leveled the city and captured Cuauhtémoc, the Aztec emperor.