Mickey Mantle--1969
Looking through my cards, I came
across a tattered Mickey Mantle card.
Wrinkled, with small tears and holes
from thumb tacks, at that point of his
career, The Mick was essentially as
torn and ripped apart physically as
my '69 card (his last Topps card).
Unfortunately for many of us who saw
him in the twilight of his career, we
remember Mantle as a gimpy slugger
who saw his production suffer as he
closed his career. Sure he had the
aura of stardom, but during his last
season (1969), the future Hall of
Famer hit just .237 with 54 ribbies in
144 games.
With a few extra dollars to spend in
my i-Tunes account, I purchased the
video of Game 7 of the 1952 World
Series between the Yankees and
Brooklyn Dodgers. Seeing a
20-year-old Mantle fly down the
firstbase line on a foul ball tapper
and watching him launch his 6th
inning homer of Dodger starter Joe
Black was a genuine treat.
It was a different Mantle than the
aging player who resided in the
sketchy recesses of my memory. I
wish I could see more of his games
from early in his career... and
encourage you to treat yourself to
the 1952 video. It was well worth the
$1.99.
across a tattered Mickey Mantle card.
Wrinkled, with small tears and holes
from thumb tacks, at that point of his
career, The Mick was essentially as
torn and ripped apart physically as
my '69 card (his last Topps card).
Unfortunately for many of us who saw
him in the twilight of his career, we
remember Mantle as a gimpy slugger
who saw his production suffer as he
closed his career. Sure he had the
aura of stardom, but during his last
season (1969), the future Hall of
Famer hit just .237 with 54 ribbies in
144 games.
With a few extra dollars to spend in
my i-Tunes account, I purchased the
video of Game 7 of the 1952 World
Series between the Yankees and
Brooklyn Dodgers. Seeing a
20-year-old Mantle fly down the
firstbase line on a foul ball tapper
and watching him launch his 6th
inning homer of Dodger starter Joe
Black was a genuine treat.
It was a different Mantle than the
aging player who resided in the
sketchy recesses of my memory. I
wish I could see more of his games
from early in his career... and
encourage you to treat yourself to
the 1952 video. It was well worth the
$1.99.
