Mickey Mantle

Did You Know?

• Mantle was named after Hall of Fame catcher Mickey Cochrane.
• His great-grandfather George Mantle immigrated to the United States from Brierley Hill, England, in 1848.
• Mantle was the uncle of actor, musician, and reality television personality Kelly Mantle.

Professional baseball

Mantle began his professional career with the semi-professional Baxter Springs Whiz Kids in Kansas. In 1948, Yankees scout Tom Greenwade came to watch Mantle's teammate but saw Mantle hit three home runs. Greenwade returned in 1949 after Mantle's high school graduation and signed him to a minor league contract at $140 per month with a $1,500 signing bonus. Assigned to the Class-D Independence Yankees, Mantle hit .313 as a shortstop and hit his first professional home run on June 30, 1949, at Shulthis Stadium in Independence, Kansas, clearing a center field fence 460 feet from home plate.

Promoted to the Class-C Joplin Miners in 1950, he won the Western Association batting title with a .383 average, hitting 26 home runs and recording 136 RBIs, though he struggled defensively at shortstop. After the Korean War began in July 1950, Mantle was drafted but rejected for military service three times due to an osteomyelitic condition in his left leg. Invited to the Yankees instructional camp before the 1951 season, he impressed during spring training, notably hitting two home runs at Bovard Field against the USC Trojans, each reportedly traveling at least 500 feet.

Yankees manager Casey Stengel promoted the 19-year-old to the majors as a right fielder rather than sending him to the minors; Mantle's 1951 salary was $7,500, and he was assigned uniform No. 6.

Player profile

Mickey Mantle is widely regarded as one of the finest switch-hitters ever to play the game, capable of hitting for both average and power from either side of the plate. His strength was legendary, producing some of the longest home runs in baseball history. On September 10, 1960, batting left-handed, he launched a ball over the right-field roof at Detroit's Tiger Stadium; years later, historian Mark Gallagher estimated its total distance at 643 feet.

Another famous blast, hit right-handed off Chuck Stobbs at Griffith Stadium on April 17, 1953, was measured at 565 feet by Yankees traveling secretary Red Patterson, who coined the phrase "tape-measure home run." Twice he nearly became the only player to hit a fair ball out of Yankee Stadium during a game: on May 22, 1963, he struck the 110-foot-high facade, later estimated to have traveled 504 feet if unimpeded, and on August 12, 1964, he cleared the 22-foot batter's eye screen, which sat 75 feet beyond the 461-foot center-field marker.

Though he hit more home runs left-handed (372) than right-handed (164), Mantle was a better overall hitter from the right side, posting a .330 average there versus .281 left-handed. He hit slightly more home runs on the road (270) than at home (266).

Personal life

Mantle married Merlyn Johnson on December 23, 1951, in Picher, Oklahoma. The couple had four sons: Mickey Jr., David, Billy (named for Mantle's teammate Billy Martin), and Danny. In his autobiography, Mantle stated he married Merlyn not out of love but because his terminally ill father told him to. Mantle's drinking was public knowledge during his lifetime, but the press kept quiet about his marital infidelity; he was indiscreet, bringing his mistress along with his wife to his retirement ceremony in 1969.

He separated from his wife in 1980, and they lived apart for the rest of his life without divorcing; they made peace during his final days, and Merlyn was at his bedside when he died. During his last decade, Mantle lived with his agent and live-in aide Greer Johnson. After his death, his family sued Johnson to prevent her from auctioning personal items; a settlement allowed the sale of some belongings for about $500,000. Mantle purchased a condominium on Lake Oconee near Greensboro, Georgia, staying there for months at a time.

He occasionally attended the local Methodist church and was well liked by residents, who respected his privacy. Mantle's father bought beer for him while he was still underage, and alcoholism ran in his mother's family.

Legacy

Mantle was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1964 and received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 1969. On Mickey Mantle Day at Yankee Stadium, June 8, 1969, his number 7 was retired and he was presented with a bronze plaque to be hung on the center field wall near the monuments to Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Miller Huggins; Joe DiMaggio presented the plaque. Mantle gave a similar plaque to DiMaggio, telling the crowd that DiMaggio's deserved to be higher, and DiMaggio's plaque was hung one inch higher.

When Yankee Stadium was renovated in 1976, the plaques and monuments were moved to Monument Park. On August 25, 1996, Mantle's plaque was replaced with a monument bearing the words "A great teammate" and keeping the phrase "A magnificent Yankee who left a legacy of unequaled courage." In his first year of eligibility, Mantle was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame alongside Whitey Ford. The Sporting News placed him 17th on its list of baseball's 100 greatest players in 1998, and he was selected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

In 1999, ESPN's SportsCentury ranked him 37th on its list of Top 50 athletes of the 20th century. A school for children with disabilities in Manhattan was renamed for him in 2002, and he was featured on a U.S. postage stamp in 2006. A statue of Mantle was unveiled in Oklahoma City in 1998 at Mickey Mantle Plaza.