He was a center fielder who was a switch-hitter and threw right handed. Mantle disclosed later that he had not married Johnson out of love but rather because his father told him to. [66] He established the Mickey Mantle Foundation to raise awareness for organ donations. Mickey Mantle, 63, the superstar slugging center fielder of the New York Yankees of the 1950s and 1960s whose baseball feats and golden good looks made him an American legend, died of liver cancer yesterday at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. He was 63. He had the highest stolen-base percentage in history at the time of his retirement. "Everywhere I go," he said, "guys come up and shake hands and say, 'Good job, Mick.' Mickey Mantle (1951) Mantle as a 19-year-old rookie Mantle baseball card Mantle was invited to the Yankees instructional camp before the 1951 season. At the time, Mantle did not know that most of the men in his family had inhaled lead and zinc dust in the mines, which can cause Hodgkin's disease and other cancers. "I'm not gonna be cheated," he would say. After a brief slump, he began dominating games and was called up to the Yankees after 40 games with Kansas City. This is based on data from the 2016 book The New York Times Best Seller List for Books About Money - published annually by the New York Times Magazine. He was of at least partial English ancestry; his great-grandfather George Mantle left Brierley Hill, in England's Black Country, in 1848. Some felt that his fame had permitted him to receive a donor liver in just one day,[69] bypassing patients who had been waiting much longer. Mickey Mantle's #7 was retired by the New York Yankees and he was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. liver cancer Mantle is 16th all-time in home runs per at-bats. His strength as a hitter became legendary. He died in Texas in 1995. His children also suffered from alcoholism and substance abuse problems. 1 His Alcoholism Ruined His Family Mickey Mantle Interview by Bob Costas Mantle believed that alcoholism ran on his mother's side of the family. I had four. God gave me a body and the ability to play baseball. In 1974 Mantle was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot. Mickey Mantle Original 1969 Topps Baseball Card #500. In 2006, Mantle was featured on a United States postage stamp,[85] one of a series of four including fellow baseball legends Mel Ott, Roy Campanella, and Hank Greenberg. Joe DiMaggio was playing center field. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels. Against Walt Masterson of the Boston Red Sox he struck out five times in one game. [10], Mantle began his professional baseball career in Kansas with the semi-professional Baxter Springs Whiz Kids. That's how I signed with the Yankees.". His transplant revived a debate over whether an alcoholic, even a recovering one, deserves a new liver, and whether his celebrity status had increased his chances of getting one. He was a center fielder who was a switch-hitter and threw right handed. "I thought you were dead.". He signed his first contract for $7,500 and his last for $100,000, which seemed princely enough at the time. [citation needed] Another Mantle homer, hit right-handed off Chuck Stobbs at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. on April 17, 1953, was measured by Yankees traveling secretary Red Patterson (hence the term "tape-measure home run") to have traveled 565 feet (172m). Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. Mickey Mantle Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Family It was originally purchased for $50,000 in 1991. MLB held two All-Star Games from 1959 through 1962. His final few years in baseball involved many injuries, though he remained a solid player. Mantle's #7 was retired by the New York Yankees and he was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. [89], Major leagues, New York Yankees (19511968), Song and film appearances, depictions, and references. The next was arguably his first great year, as he concluded with 37 home runs and a .306 batting average. He died on August 13, 1995, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, TX. He was selected an AL All-Star again, but as a reserve player, and he did not make the 28-player team for the second and last time because of an injury. [55] In an autobiography, Mantle said that he had married Merlyn not out of love, but because he was told to by his domineering father. The next summer, at 18, he played Class C ball in Joplin, Mo., where he hit .383 but made 55 errors in 137 games at shortstop, mostly on wild throws to first base. What was Mickey Mantle worth when he died? During his final season in 1968, he still managed to hit 18 home runs. Mickey Mantle was born in Spavinaw, Oklahoma in October 1931 and passed away in August 1995. Music! He is in 10th place in number of bases-empty bunt singles for his career, with 80 in only 148 at-bats. In 2017, Topps began including #7 cards in its main sets again, with Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez the first player other than Mickey Mantle to appear in the #7 slot since 1995. On August 12, 1964, he hit one whose distance was undoubted: a center field drive that cleared the 22-foot (6.7m) batter's eye screen, some 75' beyond the 461-foot (141m) marker at the Stadium. However, as the team slumped overall, he was still the team leader in several departments, for example in base stealing (23), runs scored (104), on-base average /percentage (.399) and fielding (.995). Roger Maris Net Worth. Adjusted for inflation, he earned approximately $9 million. ", After Leaving Baseball, Day and Night Drinking, The Yankees stopped winning pennants after the 1964 season, and Mantle stopped playing after the 1968 season. Mantle played for the New York Yankees his entire Major . $1,847.75. He was 63 years old. The Last Days Of Mickey Mantle | News - Dallas Observer [84] That same year, Mantle was one of 100 nominees for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team, and was chosen by fan balloting as one of the team's outfielders. This story originally appeared in the Aug. 21, 1995 issue of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. [10] He was selected an "All-Star" for the first time and made the AL team, but did not play in the five-inning All-Star game that had Boston Red Sox Dom DiMaggio at center field. 500 and now he. [75], On Mickey Mantle Day at Yankee Stadium, June 8, 1969, Mantle's number 7 was retired and he was a awarded a bronze plaque to be hung on the center field wall near the monuments to Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Miller Huggins. [citation needed], Joe DiMaggio retired from baseball following the 1951 World Series. Mantle was selected an All-Star every season during his 18-year career except 1951 and 1966, and did not play in the 1952, 1963, and 1965 seasons. His job mostly involved representing the Claridge in golf tournaments and at other charity events, but Mantle was suspended from baseball by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn because any affiliation with gambling was viewed as grounds for placement on the "permanently ineligible" list. Mantle was one of the best players and sluggers of all time, and is regarded by many as the greatest switch hitter in baseball history. [13], When Mantle was four years old, his family moved to the nearby town of Commerce, Oklahoma, where his father worked in lead and zinc mines. Mickey Mantle was an American professional baseball player who had a net worth of $10 million at the time of his death. In spite of short foul pole dimension of 296 feet (90m) to left and 301 feet (92m) to right in original Yankee Stadium, Mantle gained no advantage there as his stroke both left and right-handed drove balls there to power alleys of 344' to 407' and 402' to 457' feet (139m) from the plate. We didn't even have chairs then; we had boxes instead of chairs, and linoleum on the floor. Adjusted for inflation, he earned approximately $9 million. "[66] Costas continued: "In the last year of his life, Mickey Mantle, always so hard on himself, finally came to accept and appreciate the distinction between a role model and a hero. He was a 20-time All-Star and seven-time World Series champion. In 1974 Mantle was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot. When he arrived, he started packing his son's clothes and, according to Mantle's memory, said "I thought I raised a man. When Mantle was 4 years old, his father would come home from work and teach him how to swing the bat from both sides of the plate while his mother held dinner for them until there was no more daylight. Mantle, playing right field, raced for the ball together with center fielder Joe DiMaggio, who called for the ball (and made the catch). He showed a certain amount of humility and never let the stardom go to his head. He was a center fielder who was a switch-hitter and threw right handed. She died on August 10, 2009 in Plano, Texas, USA. He was 84. Mickey Charles Mantle ( October 20, 1931 - August 13, 1995) was an American baseball player who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. He spent his final two seasons at first base. mickey mantle net worth - Net Worth Mickey Mantle was an American professional baseball player who had a net worth of $10 million at the time of his death. How much did Mickey Mantle weigh when playing? "No boy ever loved his father more," he said. Mickey Mantle Net Worth (Baseball Player) The doctor bluntly told Mantle that the damage to his system was so severe that "your next drink could be your last." Mantles first baseball contract in 1951 paid him $5,000. He returned to the center field position on September 2. Mantle broke many records and made many accomplishments throughout his career. When Mantle called it quits in March 1969, he became a restaurateur, television commentator, and appeared in numerous commercials for various products. [48] In 1972 he served as a part-time television commentator for the Montreal Expos. Mantle's top salary was $100,000, which he reached for the 1963 season. Early Life and Career. Mantle's parents drove him at midnight to Oklahoma City, where he was treated at the children's hospital with the newly available penicillin, which reduced the infection and saved his leg from amputation. [86], In August 2022, a 1952 Topps baseball card (Topps; 1952; #311; SGC MT 9.5) in mint condition sold for $12.6 million, a record for sports memorabilia at the time. 14. Those words were carved on the plaque marking his resting place at the family mausoleum in Dallas. On July 28, he re-entered Baylor Medical Center for treatment of cancerous spots in his right lung. 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's MVP award. Ex-Yankee Joe Pepitone suing baseball museum for Mantle bat - AOL "Once, they operated on my shoulder and tied the tendons together. I had everything and I just . [70], During Mantle's final days he made peace with his estranged wife Merlyn and repeated a request that he expressed decades earlier for Richardson to read a poem at his funeral. A year later, Mantle received a liver transplant, but on August 13, 1995, he died of a heart attack at the age of 63. Mickey Mantle - McGill University She was married to Mickey Mantle. On December 23, 1951, Mantle married Merlyn Johnson (19322009) in Picher, Oklahoma; they had four sons. "This is the most aggressive cancer that anyone on the medical team has ever seen," said Dr. Goran Klintmalm, medical director of transplant services at Baylor. He could drag a bunt, too, with runaway speed, and he played his role with a kind of all-American sense of destiny. Mutt drove to Independence, Kansas, and convinced Mantle to keep playing. He was safe 8 out of 10 times in which he attempted to steal a base. [29] On June 5, he tried to prevent a home run by Brooks Robinson in Baltimore when his shoe spikes were caught in the center field chain-link fence as he leaped against the fence for the ball and was coming down. Mantle was invited to the Yankees instructional camp before the 1951 season. Mickey Mantle Net Worth and Earnings 2022 | Wealthy Genius His life in baseball and afterward was the pith and marrow of a basic . Mickey Mantle is one of the greatest baseball players ever. By then, he reported, he was living in a steady haze induced by all-day and all-night drinking. Oklahoma Heritage Society: Oklahoma Hall of Fame. What was Mickey Mantle worth when he died? - Sage-Answers As the years passed, Mantle frequently used a line popularized by football legend Bobby Layne, a Dallas neighbor and friend who also died in part from alcohol abuse: "If I'd known I was gonna live this long, I'd have taken a lot better care of myself. [6] He hit 536 career home runs, batted .300 or more ten times, and is the career leader (tied with Jim Thome) in walk-off home runs, with 13: 12 in the regular season and one in the postseason. On August 13, 1995, two months after the liver transplant, Mickey Mantle was dead. [10] In 1948, Yankees scout Tom Greenwade came to Baxter Springs to watch Mantle's teammate, third baseman Willard "Billy" Johnson. [50], After the failure of Mickey Mantle's Country Cookin' restaurants in the early 1970s, the popular Mickey Mantle's Restaurant & Sports Bar opened in New York at 42 Central Park South (59th Street) in 1988. For the second consecutive year, he narrowly missed winning his third MVP award, finishing four points behind repeat winner Maris. Witnesses say it looked "like he had been shot." Not known Mickey Mantle Salary Detail. He checked into the Betty Ford Clinic on January 7, 1994 after being told by a doctor that his liver was so badly damaged from almost 40 years of drinking that it "looked like a doorstop". With 37 homers, he was now a home run hitter, not just an all-around player with tremendous power. The New York press was harsh in its treatment of Mantle in his early years with the team, emphasizing that he struck out frequently, was injury-prone, was a rube from Oklahoma, and was perceived as inferior to his predecessor in center field, Joe DiMaggio. Mantle's off-field behavior is the subject of the book The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood, written in 2010 by sports journalist Jane Leavy. His lifestyle was restored to its former luxury by his leadership in the sports-memorabilia craze that swept the U.S. beginning in the 1980s. He has the third highest career OPS+ among MLB players who played the majority of their career after 1950, behind only Barry Bonds and Mike Trout. "I was still in high school and we were living out near Commerce in 1948, and we didn't have a hell of a lot. He remained the Yankees' all-time leader in games played until Derek Jeter broke his record in 2011. Mickey Jr. later died of liver cancer on December 20, 2000 at age 47. Mickey Mantle Net Worth - News and Gossip The value of Mickey Mantle's baseball card just shot up into the sky like a homerun. His batting average in mid-season had climbed as high as .392. Greenwade returned in 1949, after Mantle's high school graduation, to sign Mantle to a minor league contract. In getting out of DiMaggio's way, Mantle tripped over an exposed drain pipe and severely injured his right knee. May 7, 2022 2:25pm. Mantle's signature is valued at $100 to $125. Mickey Gilley Dead: Country Star Who Ran 'Urban Cowboy - Deadline However, Mantle still died on August 13, 1995 at Baylor University Medical Center. Mantle's #7 was retired by the New York Yankees and he was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In 1974 Mantle was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot. Mantles success individually helped contribute to a very successful run for the Yankees. Mantle and former teammate Whitey Ford were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame together in 1974, Mantle's first year of eligibility, Ford's second.[81]. Mickey Mantle had an amazing baseball career with multiple records and fantastic stats. Mickey Mantle once threw up while in flagrante with Angie Dickinson That amount combined with his restaurant business and endorsements deals after he retired, Mantles net worth was $10 million when he died in 1995. This would be the first of many injuries that would plague Mantle's 18-year long career. I did it 1,710 times.". The season was bad for the Yankees, too, as they finished third. Mickey Mantle was quite the charmer, it seems. Merlyn Mantle Net Worth - Celebrity Net Worth Wiki Going down on Angie Dickinson made Mickey Mantle vomit - the DataLounge I guess he even protected me. Mantle was just 63 years old at the time of his death. He died in 1995 of a heart attack which he suffered months after receiving a liver transplant. Mantle was so insecure that he remembered later how he had ducked DiMaggio, even though he was playing his final season in center field and Mantle, who had been converted from shortstop to the outfield, was playing alongside him in right. During his 18-year career with the Yankees, the switch-hitting slugger hit 536 home runs and was voted the AL Most Valuable Player three times (195657, 1962). The former ballplayer attributed his poor. Is Mickey Mantle in the Hall of Fame? [66] In eulogizing Mantle, sportscaster Bob Costas described him as "a fragile hero to whom we had an emotional attachment so strong and lasting that it defied logic. In 1974, Mantle was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. After an impressive spring training, the Yankees manager decided to promote Mantle to the major league team as a right fielder. Fairchild's poetry celebrates gritty lives in small towns", "Catch me if you can(2002) - You know why the yankees always win? He took such an all-out swing at the ball that he struck out regularly and broke the record set two generations earlier by Ruth. While these facts are widely known, here are some not so popular ones you may not know about. Mantle batted left-handed against his father when his father pitched to him right-handed, and he batted right-handed against his grandfather, Charles Mantle, when he pitched to him left-handed. ", But that's not how he was remembered by teammates. Mantle was assigned to the Yankees' Class-D Independence Yankees of the Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League, where he played shortstop. 7/5/1957-Washington, DC: New York Yankee slugger Mickey Mantle (via Getty). [61] Before Mantle sought treatment for alcoholism, he admitted that his hard living had hurt both his playing and his family. Key points: Mickey Mantle played for the New York Yankees between 1951 and 1968, winning seven World Series titles The 1952 card, considered to be in near perfect condition, was bought for $US50,000 in 1991 Due to his parents' quick action in driving him to a hospital in Oklahoma City, his leg was saved from amputation. "Joe DiMaggio was my hero," Mantle said, "but he couldn't talk to me because I wouldn't even look at him, although he was always nice and polite." The Collected Wisdom of David Mantle, son of Mickey Mantle. His annual salary was around $7,500 during his rookie year in 1951 and during his final playing years, his annual salary was estimated to around $ 100,000. He homered for the third Yankee run in a 32 Game 6 win and he knocked in the winning runs in the 42 Game 7 win, with a homer in the sixth inning and an RBI single in the seventh inning. Overall, he hit slightly more home runs away (270) than home (266). [10], Mantle was called up to the Yankees after 40 games with Kansas City, this time wearing uniform #7. This was the first of numerous injuries that plagued his 18-year career with the Yankees. And after years of drinking and carousing with Whitey Ford and Billy Martin as his chief running mates, he joked, "If I knew I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself. Greer Johnson Net Worth Greer Johnson Net Worth 2023, Age, Height, Relationships, Married, Dating, Family, Wiki Biography. Just those two pairs of pastel slacks and that blue sports coat that he wore every place. The low batting average caused his lifetime average to dip below .300, which caused him anguish the next year as he worked with a statistician to review all of his at-bats since 1951, hoping to find enough uncounted hits to elevate his average to .2995, but his lifetime average remained .298. Mickey Mantle Net Worth - The Richest Nigeria "Years later, we were sitting around the dining room at the Yankees' ball park in Fort Lauderdale, and they had this oilcloth on the table, and Mickey said: 'This is what we used to have in our kitchen at home. [10] Stengel, speaking to SPORT, stated "He's got more natural power from both sides than anybody I ever saw. Mickey Mantle Net Worth Recently, he had been suffering from anemia, a side effect of aggressive chemotherapy treatment, and had been receiving blood transfusions. I still didn't have a lot of confidence. In 1964, he hit two home runs in his final two times at bat on July 4, and two more in his first two times up in the next game the following day. Mickey Mantle Net Worth - billionairespost.com A statue of Mantle is located at Mickey Mantle Plaza at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, the home stadium of the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers, 2 South Mickey Mantle Drive in Oklahoma City. Mantle played for the New York Yankees his entire Major . However, he was not able to find the power he once had in the lower minors. A settlement was reached allowing for the sale of some of Mantle's belongings for approximately $500,000. That year, he brought home both the Triple Crown and the first of three Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Awards. In 1949, he received a draft-examine notice and was about to be drafted by the US Army but failed the physical exam and was rejected as unqualified and was given a 4-F deferment for any military service.[22][23]. SI Vault: Mickey Mantle's legacy, 20 years after his death - Sports Nevertheless, Mantle accepted the position because he felt the rule was "stupid." He became one of the damaged demigods of sport, but he played with such natural power that he remained the key figure on a team achieving towering success for the fifth straight decade. Salary 2020. 2023 Celebrity Net Worth / All Rights Reserved. Applying thick wraps to both of his knees became a pre-game ritual, and by the end of his career simply swinging a bat caused him to fall to one knee in pain. Mickey Charles Mantle was born in Spavinaw, Okla., on Oct. 20, 1931. He won the Triple Crown in 1956 and a Gold Globe Award in 1962. You see, when you have a prairie fire, if you don't clean out a 10-yard spot around a telephone pole, it will burn the telephone pole out, and it will cost you a lot of money. Mantle was the uncle of actor and musician Kelly Mantle. [83] In 2018, the #7 card was issued to Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier. Mantle spoke with remorse about his drinking in a 1994 Sports Illustrated cover story. He was separated from Merlyn, his wife of 43 years, although they remained friendly. Mickey Mantle Net Worth After the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995, Mantle joined with fellow Oklahoman and Yankee Bobby Murcer to raise money for the victims. Withdrew 33 personal items belonging to Mantle's before a 1997 auction after his widow Merlyn Mantle filed suit. That was the start of my knee operations. Mickey Mantle, Great Yankee Slugger, Dies at 63, https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/14/obituaries/mickey-mantle-great-yankee-slugger-dies-at-63.html. He made $100,000 a year for the remainder of his contract until he retired in 1968. He outlived the family curse of Hodgkin's disease, which had contributed to the death by heart attack of his 36-year-old son Billy, and the early deaths of his father, at 39, his grandfather and two uncles. Ford, his ally on and off the field for years, remembered how shy and inarticulate the young Mantle seemed when he reported. [71] Richardson recited the same poem (God's Hall of Fame), which was written by a baseball fan, at Roger Maris's funeral. During their empire years, the Yankees built on the mountains of success they had fashioned in the days since Ruth joined them in 1920. [30] In 1964, Mantle hit .303 with 35 home runs and 111 RBIs, and played center field in the All-Star game. Signed mid-to-late 1950s Topps cards (excluding All-Star cards) sell for $1,000 to $2,000. He is the only player to win a league Triple Crown as a switch hitter. Roger Maris - Wikipedia Mickey Mantle died 22 years ago today on August 13, 1995. . But he became wildly famous for his strength, his dash, his laconic manner and, somewhat like Joe Namath in football, for his heroic performances on damaged knees. Mantle began his professional career in baseball in Kansas with the semi-professional Baxter Springs Whiz Kids. Frail, and humbled by the sad events of his later life, Mantle received thousands of letters of support after his transplant operation and discovered that the public could forgive and forget. ', "Damn Yankees: A Washington Fan's Fantasy", "Fanfares for the Common Man: B.H. 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. The hit is said to have traveled 643 feet. "[66] Richardson read the poem at Mantle's funeral, which he described as being extremely difficult. Mickey Mantle (Baseball Player) - Net Worth 2020 Other times, he would leave fake snakes, bugs, or frogs around for Phil Rizzuto to find. [10], Mantle was assigned to the Yankees' Class-D Independence Yankees of the KansasOklahomaMissouri League,[15] where he played shortstop. He hit 13 home runs in 96 games. Mickey Mantle Net Worth, Bio, Age, Height, Wiki [Updated 2023 January ] In 1960 Mantle started in both All-Star games, getting two walks in the first and a single in the second game. Mantle was the starting center fielder in the second All-Star Game's lineup, getting a single and a walk in four at bats. He is best known for setting a new MLB single-season home run record with 61 home runs in 1961. Aberback, Brian (September 7, 2017). [62][47] His father died of Hodgkin's disease at age 40 in 1952, and his grandfather also died young of the same disease. [59][60], Mantle allegedly took his first drink of alcohol at age 19, when teammate Hank Bauer gave him a beer that he "chugged as if it were soda pop", according to baseball historian Frank Russo. I was 16 years old then, and my brothers and me would play ball out in the yard or out back in one of the fields. It's unbelievable. [12] Mantle spoke warmly of his father and said that he was the bravest man whom he had ever known. [72] He was 63 years old. Former Bronx Bomber Joe Pepitone, in an upstate federal court complaint, claims legendary teammate Mickey Mantle used one of his loaned bats to smack historic home run No. He played halfback and Oklahoma offered him a football scholarship. He was selected an All-Star for the eleventh consecutive season and played in the first game,[3] but because of a recurrence of an old injury, he did not play in the second game. Mantle played center field full-time for the Yankees until 1965, when he was moved to left field.