Home > Mickey Mantle

Mickey Charles Mantle ( October 20, 1931 - August 13, 1995) was an American baseball player, regarded as one of the best of all time. He played his entire professional career for the New York Yankees.

He was born in Spavinaw, Oklahoma. He was named in honor of Mickey Cochrane, a famous baseball player, by his father, who was an amateur player and fervent fan. Apparently his father was not aware that Cochrane's real name was Gordon, and in later life, Mickey Mantle expressed great relief that his father had not known Cochrane's real first name, as he would have hated to be named Gordon.

"Mutt" Mantle taught his son how to be a switch-hitter. He had played shortstop in the minor leagues, but on arrival at the Yankees, he became the regular right fielder (playing only a few games at shortstop and third base in 1952 to 1955). He moved to centerfield in 1952, replacing Joe DiMaggioJoseph Paul DiMaggio (born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio November 25, 1914 in Martinez, California March 8, 1999 in Hollywood, Florida) was an American baseball player. A "picture player" at bat and in center field, many rate his 56-game hitting streak (from Ma, who retired at the end of the 1951 season after one year playing alongside Mantle in the Yankees outfield. He played centerfield until 1967Events January January 4 British motorboat racer Donald Campbell dies while attempting a water speed record in Coniston Lake. January 4 Algerian revolutionary Mohammed Khider is shot in Madrid. January 6 Vietnam War: USMC and ARVN troops launch " Operatio, when he was moved to first baseBaseball positions First base or 1B is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A first baseman is the player on the team playing defense who fiel. Among Mantle's many accomplishments are all-time World Series records for home runIn baseball, a home run is a base hit in which the batter is able to circle all the bases, ending at home plate and scoring a run, with no errors on the play that result in the batter achieving extra bases. Home runs are among the most popular aspects ofs (18), runs scored (42), and runs-batted-inIn baseball statistics, a run batted in RBI is given to a batter for each run scored as the result of a batter's plate appearance. There are certain exceptions: a player does not receive an RBI if he hits into a double play, if an error is charged on the (40).

Mantle also hit the longest measured home-run ever in a major league game. On September 10September 10 is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years). There are 112 days following it. Events 1608 John Smith elected council president of Jamestown, Virginia 1776 Nathan Hale volunteers to spy 1813 The U. defeats the British Fleet at the Battl, 1960Events January-February January 1 Independence of Cameroon January 9 Aswan High Dam construction begins in Egypt January 11 Chad declares its independence. January 14 Ralph Chubb, the gay poet and printer, dies at Fair Oak Cottage in Hampshire. January 23, he hit a ball that cleared the right-field roof at Tiger StadiumTiger Stadium Tiger Stadium Location Detroit, Michigan Opened April 20, 1912 Capacity 23,000 (1912) 30,000 (1923) 52,416 (1937) Owned By The City of Detroit Architect: Osborn Engineering Dimensions (Final): Left Left-Ctr Center Right-Ctr Right Backstop 34 in Detroit, which based on where it was found, was estimated years after the fact to have traveled 643 feet. Another Mantle homer at Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC on April 17, 1953 traveled 565 feet from home plate to the spot it was retrieved by a local boy. It should be noted that in both cases the ball must have bounced perhaps 50 feet from where it actually landed.

In 1956 Mantle won the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year. On January 16, 1961 Mantle became the highest paid baseball player by signing a $75,000 contract.

On December 23, 1951, he married Merlyn Johnson in their hometown of Commerce; they had four sons. In an autobiography, Mantle said he married Merlyn not because he loved her, but because his domineering father told him to. The couple had been separated for 15 years when he died, but neither ever filed for divorce. Mantle lived with his agent, Greer Johnson. Johnson was taken to federal court in November 1997 by the Mantle family to stop her from auctioning many of Mantle's personal items, including a lock of hair, a neck brace and expired credit cards.

Mantle announced his retirement on March 1, 1969 and in 1974, as soon as he was eligible, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame; his uniform number 7 was retired by the Yankees. (He had briefly worn uniform number 6, as a continuation of Babe Ruth's 3, Lou Gehrig's 4, and Joe DiMaggio's 5, in 1951, but the pressure on him that this caused led to his being switched to number 7 later in that season.) In 1983, Mantle took a job promoting an Atlantic City casino, and was suspended from baseball by Commisioner Bowie Kuhn. He would be reinstated in 1985 by Kuhn's successor.

Mantle received a liver transplant on June 8, 1994 after his liver had been damaged by years of chronic alcoholism, cirrhosis, and hepatitis C. He spent time at the Betty Ford Clinic to kick the bottle for good. Mickey Mantle died on August 13, 1995 in Dallas, Texas at Baylor University Medical Center after his liver cancer spread through out his body. He was interred in the Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in Dallas.