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Mickey Mantle
Age: 63 (passed away Aug. 13th, 1995)
Height: 6' 0"
Birth Place: Spavinaw, Oklahoma, USA
Born: Oct. 20th, 1931
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Mickey Mantle's Main TV Roles
NOTE: Complete List of Works can be found at
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BIOGRAPHY: Mickey Charles Mantle was born in Spavinaw, Oklahoma, on October 20, 1931, the son of a minor-league player who never made it to the big leagues and named him after Major Leaguer Mickey Cochrane. Mickey's father and grandfather--who also never made it to the majors--taught him how to play baseball, but more importantly also taught him how to be a switch-hitter.
Mickey grew up during the Great Depression, which hit Oklahoma especially hard. Times were so tough that the only way to play sports as a kid was to play with friends; there were no organized leagues around back then. It was while playing baseball with his friends that Mickey's astonishing talent for baseball made itself evident. When he got into high school he played baseball, basketball and football and excelled at all three, and some thought that he would become a football player when he grew up, but Mickey had known what he wanted to be since the age of five: a baseball player, and nothing else. A devastating knee injury almost ruined his chances of getting into that, or any other, sport and would be the beginning of the knee problems that would plague him all through his career.
He was drafted into the minors at the age of 18, and while in the Yankee farm system his astounding talent was so obvious that he was jumped from the Class C division directly to the Yankee team itself. When he got there he was given #6, because Yankee management thought he would be the next "superstar" and in line with the other Yankee greats: Babe Ruth (#3), Lou Gehrig (#4), Joe DiMaggio (I) (#5). Mick didn't do well, however, and was sent back down to the minors. After a couple of lackluster games he told his dad he was going to quit, but after giving it some thought, he stayed and soon began to hit again. He was recalled back to the Yankee team (and given #7 this time), and that was when the Mickey Mantle of legend was born. He started in right field before DiMaggio left. During the 1951 World Series Mickey stepped into a water drain in the outfield, a serious injury that affected his playing for the rest of his career.
In his 18-year career he set, and broke, numerous records and, as he himself has said, if he had taken better care of himself, he would have broken every record in the book. Mostly all of his home runs were hit while he was injured. He once hit a home run with one arm, and even hit them while he was half-drunk and hung over. In his later years he came to regret the chances he had and missed because of his penchant for drinking and partying. He even made a public service message to the kids who idolized him, recounting the kinds of things he had done and the mistakes he had made, and telling them, "Don't be like me." It's doubtful if there ever CAN be anyone like him; someone like Mickey Mantle comes along only once in a lifetime. He died August 13, 1995 at the age of 64.
TRIVIA:
- Was third on the all-time home run list when he retired.
- Admitted he would have put up better numbers during his playing career had he taken care of himself.
- Named on 20 All-Star teams.
- Arguably the greatest all-around centerfielder of the 1950s.
- Went from Class C in 1950 to the Yankees in 1951, jumping five classifications in the process.
- Holds both single season and career home run records (54 & 536, respectively) for switch-hitters.
- Without a doubt, he was the greatest switch-hitter (able to bat from either side of the plate) of all time.
- Hit only .237 during his final season in 1968 which dropped his lifetime batting average to .298.
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