---

In 1951 when the calendar turned to May, Mickey Mantle was nothing more than a rookie saddled with high expectations. With 50 plate appearances under his belt, the 19-year old held a .222 batting average.

On May 1st Mantle and the Yankees faced the Chicago White Sox. Bob Cain started on the hill for the Pale Hose and surrendered 5 runs in as many innings before departing. Randy Gumpert came on in relief.

After getting the number nine hitter Phil Rizzuto on a foul pop out to first, Gumpert gave up a double to Yanks pitcher Vic Raschi.

Up came leadoff man Mantle. Sitting at o-for-3 on the day, Mantle stepped in against he 6’3″ Gumpert looking to drive in Raschi.

Mick hammered a Gumpert fastball over the fence in right field for his first big league home run. The slugger finished the day with the first 3-RBI performance of his career.

In the collection is a handwritten letter from Gumpert with content about that fateful day.

He writes, “I wasn’t aware I had given Mantle’s till 25 years later. We were both instructors in Spring Training. During lunch break he told me. He was the best athlete to ever play baseball. Regards, Randy Gumpert”.

---

Dr. Bobby Brown had an illustrious baseball career, hitting .439 in his 17 World Series games and later becoming president of the American League. Brown was a five-year Yankee veteran with three Fall Classic titles under his belt by the time Mickey Mantle joined his team.

Brown saw Mantle mature from a 19-year old rookie to one of the greatest players in the game.

In this handwritten letter, Brown writes, “Mickey Mantle as a rookie in 1951 had the most raw talent of anyone I’ve ever seen — then and now.” Throughout the letter Brown praises Mantle’s abilities.

Brown signs the letter and the original 1950 Bowman baseball card on the bottom right.

---

On April 14, 1985 Mickey Mantle appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman to plug his autobiography. The Yankee slugger came on stage to a rousing New York ovation.

Letterman introduced the Hall of Fame outfielder. “Between 1951 and 1968 my next guest played 2,401 games as a New York Yankee. He is the man who made the number 7 legendary and this is his new autobiography The Mick. My pleasure to welcome Mickey Mantle.”

The pair enjoyed some opening banter about the ’85 Yanks. Soon the conversation turned to early days of Mickey’s 18-year career and his drinking buddies Billy Martin and Whitey Ford.

“Billy was the first real roommate I had with the Yankees,” Mantle said. “My first seven years – I came up in 1951 – and he was my roommate through those first seven years. And we got along really good and Whitey kind of hung around with us too. We all kind of went to the same spots.”

Letterman interrupted and asked the man about the Yankee trio’s infamous night life escapades, “Who was the instigator of the three?”

“Well, we thought Billy was,” Mantle explained, tongue in cheek. “They traded him in 1957 because they said he was a bad influence on me and we found out about two or three years later it wasn’t Billy. It was Whitey.”

Mickey, Billy, and Whitey enjoyed a lifelong friendship that transcended the game.

Shown here is a government postcard signed by Billy Martin in Mantle’s third year with the club. The back side of the postcard has a New York postmark from August 11, 1953 at 11:00pm. It can be seen by clicking here.

---

Larger than life, Babe Ruth set both the single-season and career home run marks then held them for the rest of his life. In 1961 fellow Yankees Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle mounted a challenge to Ruth’s 60-home run 1927 season.

New York fans rooted for lifelong Yankee Mantle. In contrast, Maris was playing for his third team and in only his second season with the Yankees.

The M&M boys both got off to hot starts. By the end of June both sluggers were ahead of Ruth’s pace in 1927. As the calendar turned to August, Maris had 40 homers with Mickey just one behind. By September 15th Roger had 56 with Mickey at 53.

Mantle hit just one more the rest of the way while Roger kept hitting balls out of the park. Maris caught the Bambino on September 26th with a homer off of Baltimore’s Jack Fisher. Three games against Boston remained.

Maris went homerless in the first two; it all came down to the final game of the season.

Facing the Red Sox 6’5″ right-hander Tracy Stallard, Maris brought the crowd to its feet in the first by launching the first pitch deep down the left field line. Boston outfielder Carl Yastrzesmki ranged back and caught the ball just in front of the warning track. The crowd collectively exhaled.

Maris came up again in the 4th. After taking two pitches outside of the strike zone, Maris waited intently. Stallard delivered the 2-0 pitch and Roger put his barrel on it. The ball climbed high in the air and went over the right field fence for #61. The record was his.

The epic run in ’61 by Mantle and Maris set the still-standing record for most homers by a pair of teammates in a season.

Shown here is an autographed baseball card of Roger Maris from 1960.

---

Since the creation of the All Star Game in 1933 four big leaguers have been selected to the contest at least 20 times. Hank Aaron hold the record with 25 All Star nods. Behind him are Stan Musial and Willie Mays with 24 each. Then comes Mickey Mantle with 20.

His best performance in the Mid Summer Classic came in when he went 2-for-6 with a home run and three RBI. Overall Mantle managed ten hits, nine walks, two home runs and four runs batted in against the NL All Stars.

Mantle holds the American League record for most All Star selections. Ted Williams and Cal Ripken each had 19 to trail Mick by one.

In the collection is a notarized signature of Mickey Mantle. Signed on May 1, 1990, this sheet has a picture of the sweet-swinging 20-time All Star as well as his career stats.

Forged autographs have permeated the market. Many Yankee signatures such as Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, and Mantle are among the most forged in the hobby. The notarization guarantees this one’s authenticity.

---

On September 28, 1968 Mickey Mantle played his last big league game. The starting pitcher for the Red Sox that day was Jim Lonborg.

Hitting third in the Yankee lineup, Mantle came up in the top of the first. In what proved to be his final at bat, Mantle hit a pop-up into short left field.

Boston shortstop Rico Petrocelli backpedaled slightly onto the outfield grass and caught the ball. So ended the career of the great Mickey Mantle.

In the collection is this questionnaire filled out and signed by Lonborg. The pitcher recalls the specifics of Mick’s final at bat, the pop out to Petrocelli.

Mantle went 13-for-32 with six walks in his career against the Boston right-hander. Lonborg also hit him with a pitch once.

Asked what made Mickey so tough, Lonborg wrote, “He was just a good hitter and I had trouble pitching him inside.”

In the rest of the questionnaire Lonborg responds about his inspiration and his most memorable moments in the game.

---

When Mickey Mantle hung up his spikes after the 1968 season, only Babe Ruth and Willie Mays had more home runs. In the years since, fifteen players have surpassed Mick’s 536 career dingers.

The fifth slugger to eclipse Mantle was Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt. Shown here is lineup card filled out by Phillies manager Lee Elia for July 14, 1988, the night Schmidt passed the Yankee legend.

It happened in the top of the 6th on the first pitch from former Cy Young Award winner Mike Scott. Schmidt crushed the ball deep over Veteran Stadium’s centerfield fence to move into 6th on the all-time list.

---

Yankee teammates for 15 seasons, Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle combined for 30 All Star selections. Pitcher Ford left the game in 1967 after 17 seasons; Mantle in ’68 after 18 years.

In Ford’s first year on the Cooperstown ballot only Warren Spahn received more votes. However, Ford gained support on 67.1% of the, a bit below the 75% required for election.

The following year Mantle appeared on the writers’ ballot for the first time. Fittingly the teammates who shared Yankee Stadium for a decade and a half were both elected. Ford and Mantle were inducted in 1974.

In the collection is this vintage government postcard signed by Whitey Ford in 1953, his second big league season.

The reverse shows a New York postmark of July 10, 1953. It can be seen by clicking here.

On July 9 the night before, Ford surrendered three runs in a complete-game effort against the Red Sox. Boston hurler Mel Parnell was even better, twirling a shutout against the eventual World Series champions.

The loss was just the fourth of Ford’s Hall of Fame career.