Stars of the 1960s: Mickey Mantle

Continuing with my "Stars of the 1960s" series, today's batter is Mickey Mantle.

Unlike with Willie Mays, Topps saw fit to use a new photo each year for Mantle's cards.  You'll notice that the '66 card is a recent reprint.  The 1967 card was my first Mantle card, and I can still recall the feeling I had that day "Look!  A Mickey Mantle card!"  I was never a Yankees fan, but always a Mantle fan. (Who wasn't?)


In the summer of 2009, my son and I were driving from Pennsylvania to Arizona. While in Missouri and Oklahoma, we would occasionally get off the interstate and check out some sights on old Route 66. As we entered the extreme northeast corner of Oklahoma, we decided to get off the interstate and drive the half-mile up into Kansas (just to say we were in Kansas).

When we picked up Route 66 and drove back into Oklahoma, the first town we entered was Commerce. Driving down the main street, they have banners hanging from the street lights proclaiming it as the hometown of Mickey Mantle. What an unexpected treat, and completely by accident!

Mickey Mantle Day - 1969

I found this button a few weeks ago at a nearby antique shop. It's a 4-inch pin commemorating Mickey Mantle Day on June 8, 1969 (just about 2 years after Whitey Ford retired). Mantle had retired during spring training that year, after 18 seasons in Yankees' pinstripes.

I've never been a Yankees fan, but (like just about every kid from my generation, I would guess,) I've always been a Mickey Mantle fan.

A few days later, I found out it was a re-issue made in the 1980s, but that's ok.

1960s Blog Hall of Fame Results (#2)

The balloting for the 1960s Hall of Fame closed yesterday, and three players have been elected: Mickey Mantle, Frank Robinson, and Ernie Banks.

They join the 16 elected in the first class:


26 ballots were cast, with Mantle and Robinson each named on 23 ballots (88%), while Banks received 21 votes (81%). Richie Allen hovered around 75% for most of the time, but finished up with 65%.

It was a complete shock to me that the Mick wasn’t named on 100% of the ballots. I also thought that Whitey Ford and Warren Spahn (both first-timers) would be shoo-ins, although not with 100%. Spahn finished with 13 votes (50%) and Ford tallied 12 votes (46%).

I was surprised that Allen got so many votes early-on.  He was one of my favorite players back in the day, but given his MLB HOF snub and his surly past, I figured his popularity was confined to Philadelphia and Chicago fans only.  I also thought that Ron Santo might make the cut, since this election came right after his induction into Cooperstown. Santo and Orlando Cepeda (another first-timer) fell short with 58% of the vote.


Those receiving less than 15% will be dropped from the next ballot: Danny Murtaugh, Don McMahon, Ron Perranoski, Red Schoendienst, Elston Howard, Ralph Houk.
Held over for the next ballot will be: Allen, Cepeda, Santo, Spahn, Ford, Roger Maris, Jim Bunning, Maury Wills, Rod Carew, and Joe Torre (who just barely made the cut at 15%).


My ballot went this way:
Locks - Mantle, Robinson, Banks, Ford, Spahn
Deserving - Cepeda, Santo
Sentimental Pick - Maris

I had planned to vote for Allen, but opted for Maris.

Discuss…

1967 Scrapbook - Mantle, Ford, Mays

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Today I'm starting a new series called "1967 Scrapbook". A few months ago, I found a baseball scrapbook I had made in 1967, containing photos that I clipped from the Philadelphia sports pages that summer. Most of the photos are from the previous night's Phillies game, with the exception of the two photos in this first installment.


WHITEY FORD'S RETIREMENT - May 31



WILLIE MAYS - July 1



The back of the Willie Mays photo may be more interesting than the front. Here, not only do we see Mets' rookie pitcher Tom Seaver helping his wife with the grocery shopping, but on the far left, there's a picture of Phillies' farmhand Lowell Palmer, for once photographed without his trademark sunglasses.

Yankees' All-1960s Team (Batters)

These are the top players at each position during the 1960s for the Yankees, the team America loved (well, maybe not everybody).

Although the decade ended badly for the Yankees, it started off as per usual, with 5 trips to the World Series in 5 years. Then the wheels started falling off.

Here are the players who made at least 20 starts for the team during the 1960s (click to enlarge):



Long-time Braves manager Bobby Cox made the all-rookie team in 1968!

(see: Elston Howard, Bobby Richardson, Tom Tresh, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris)
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