BY:
MASON LUKE
1st Block Mrs. Todd
Mickey Charles Mantle was born on October 20, 1931 in
Spavinaw, Oklahoma. Mickey’s father, Mutt, wanted his son to
grow up to be a professional baseball player so he was named
after Hall of Fame catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics, Mickey
Cochrane.
Mickey attended Commerce High School and excelled in
baseball, football and basketball.
Mickey lived in Dallas, TX with his wife Merlyn and sons Mickey
Jr, David, Danny and Billy. He died on August 13, 1995 due to
liver cancer at the age of 64.

Yankee scout, Tom Greenwade, discovered Mickey while he was playing for the Baxter Springs
Whiz Kids in 1948. On that particular day, Mickey hit two tape measure home runs (one from
each side of the plate) that cleared the fence and rolled into the river which was 400+ from
home plate. Greenwade returned to Commerce on Mickey’s graduation day and signed him to a
professional contact with the New York Yankees for $140/month plus a $1,150 signing bonus.

In 1950, Mickey advanced to a Class C minor league team, the Joplin Miners. Harry Craft
moved up with Mickey to manage the team. Mickey earned $225 per month and won the
Western Association batting title with an impressive .383 batting average.

Mickey was invited to the Yankees instructional camp in Phoenix, AZ in the spring of 1951. He
impressed reporters, fans, team mates and opponents with his tremendous power, his blazing
speed and his powerful throwing arm.

Mickey’s first game in the Major Leagues was on April 17, 1951 in which he went 1 for 4 at the
plate and played right field while Joe DiMaggio played center field.

During the 1951 World Series vs. the New York Giants, Mickey badly injured his right knee
while trying to catch a fly ball off the bat of Willie Mays. The injury would plague Mickey for
the rest of his life and resulted in him needing to tightly wrap his leg from the hip to the ankle
before every game. Mickey played in great pain for most of his career and endured numerous
other injuries. Mickey impressed his team-mates and his opponents by his ability to play
despite the pain and play at a level far above that of most other players. Despite his leg injury,
Mickey was clocked at 3.1 seconds from home plate to first base which is a record that still
stands today.
 On April 17, 1953, the term “tape measure home run” was coined due to a blast by Mickey
at Griffith Stadium which raveled a record 565 feet. During his eighteen year career,
Mickey hit many other tape measure homers and became famous for his mammoth
blasts. His 565′ blast still stands today as the longest measured home run in the history of
baseball.
 Mickey’s greatest year was in 1956 when he won the Triple Crown, Male Athlete of the Year
award, the American League MVP award by a unanimous vote and the Player of the Year
award. That year he led the major leagues with a .353 batting average, 52 home runs and
130 RBIs.
 Mickey was also a hero in the 1956 World Series game in which Don Larsen pitched his
historic perfect game. Mickey homered in that game and also made a spectacular catch to
help preserve Larsen’s great game.
 Mickey also won the MVP in 1957 and 1962 as well as a Gold Glove in 1962.
 He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974 along with his team mate
and best friend Whitey Ford.
Mickey Mantle refused to sign Holling’s baseball because he was
dressed in his fairy costume.
The book, The Wednesday Wars, is based on the life of a 7th
grader, Holling Hoodhood, that grew up during the height of
the Vietnam War, 1967-1968.
Holling had been at a Shakespear play and left to go see Mickey
Mantle to get a baseball autograph
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v
=udXnVPVGK2Y
http://mickeymantle.com/
http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/61e4590a