Former New York Yankees star Mickey Mantle dies of liver cancer at the age of 63. After he retired in 1968, Mantle found success in business outside of baseball but he also battled alcoholism and health issues up until he died in 1995. He was the blond, muscled switch-hitter who joined the Yankees at 19 in 1951 as DiMaggio was winding down his Hall of Fame career. He remembered what his doctor told him then: "Your liver is still working, but it has healed itself so many times that before long you're just going to have one big scab for a liver. When Greenwade came back a week later, he said he'd give me a $1,500 bonus and $140 a month for the rest of the summer. 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. Well, collectors find a value that goes beyond the edges of those baseball cards. Mantle finished in second place in MVP voting for 1964, as Baltimore's Brooks Robinson won the award. 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. Alex Rodriguez Has Finally Gotten His Last Paycheck From The MLB How Much Did He Make. [82] Topps unretired the #7 in 2006 to use exclusively for cards of Mantle in the current year's design. Mickey Mantle was an American professional baseball player who had a net worth of $10 million at the time of his death. 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. Beginning in 1997, the Topps Baseball Card company retired card #7 in its baseball flagship sets in tribute to Mantle, whose career was taking off just as Topps began producing them. Mantle, playing right field, raced for the ball together with center fielder Joe DiMaggio, who called for the ball (and made the catch). ", Said Gene Woodling, who played in the outfield beside Mantle for four seasons: "What can you say about Mickey after you say he was one of the greatest?" See the article in its original context from. During this time, Mantle lived with his agent Greer Johnson. He won the Triple Crown in 1956 and a Gold Globe Award in 1962. Mickey Mantle was 5-11 (180 cm) tall. Who is Mickey Mantle Dating? However, Mantle still died on August 13, 1995 at Baylor University Medical Center. A Mickey Mantle baseball card from 1952 sold for a jaw-dropping $12,600,000 early Sunday morning, according to a news release from Heritage. Fairchild's poetry celebrates gritty lives in small towns", "Catch me if you can(2002) - You know why the yankees always win? [52] In 1983, he worked at the Claridge Resort and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey as a greeter and community representative. He also hit his second All-Star Game home run that season. [10], Mantle was assigned to the Yankees' Class-D Independence Yankees of the KansasOklahomaMissouri League,[15] where he played shortstop. After adjusting for inflation, he earned around $9 million from his various contracts. "Everything he owned was in a straw suitcase," he said. After the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995, Mantle joined with fellow Oklahoman and Yankee Bobby Murcer to raise money for the victims. "[47][63], Mantle's wife and sons all completed treatment for alcoholism and told him that he needed to do the same. Mantle began attending school there and was an all-around athlete at Commerce High School. "Then Ralph Houk came along and changed my whole idea of thinking about myself. . [15] Mantle won the Western Association batting title, with a .383 average. He admitted that he had often been cruel and hurtful to family, friends, and fans because of his alcoholism, and sought to make amends. "[66] Richardson read the poem at Mantle's funeral, which he described as being extremely difficult. 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. And from 1960-64, with the addition of Roger Maris, they won five pennants and two World Series. [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. Mickey Mantle was an American professional baseball player who had a net worth of $10 million at the time of his death. I guess he even protected me. On December 23 1951, Mantle married Merlyn Johnson in Picher, Oklahoma. Mutt drove to Independence, Kansas, and convinced Mantle to keep playing. He died on August 13, 1995, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, TX. Mantle signed for $140 per month (equivalent to $1,600 in 2021) with a $1,500 signing bonus (equivalent to $17,100 in 2021). He was also honored with the Hickok Belt as the top American professional athlete of 1956. The season was bad for the Yankees, too, as they finished third. Having reached that pinnacle in his 13th season, he never asked for another raise.[28]. Mantle's wife, mother, and mother-in-law were in attendance and received recognition at the ceremony held in honor of him. That's how I signed with the Yankees.". He was 47. For the second consecutive year, he narrowly missed winning his third MVP award, finishing four points behind repeat winner Maris. [44] Dr. Stephen Haas, medical director for the National Football League Players Association, has speculated that Mantle tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during the incident and played the rest of his career without having it properly treated since ACLs could not be repaired with the surgical techniques available in that era. Not only that, but in their championship year of 1961, Mantle and Maris provided a seasonlong drama in their chase of Ruth's home run record; Mantle, sidelined by an abscessed hip, dropped out in mid-September with 54, while Maris finished with a record 61. "Then in the World Series in 1951," Mantle said, "I tripped on the water-main sprinkler in the outfield while I was holding back so DiMaggio could catch a ball that Willie Mays hit, and I twisted my knee and got torn ligaments. That book reports that Mantle's estate was valued at $8 million to $12 million dollars. 1969 Topps #500 Mickey Mantle UER VGEX X2696604. Roy Clark sang and played "Yesterday, When I Was Young". [76] The plaque was officially presented to Mantle by Joe DiMaggio. [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. That was the start of my knee operations. He was the storybook star with the storybook name, Mickey, or simply Mick, or Slick to Martin and Ford, who were also known as Slick to one another. In the 1940's, they won five pennants and four Series. Mickey attended Commerce High School and was an all-around athlete. [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). In addition, compared to the other four center fielders on the All-Century team, he had the lowest career rate of grounding into double plays, and he had the highest World Series on-base percentage and World Series slugging percentage. At Mantle's funeral, Eddie Layton played "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on the Hammond organ because Mickey had once told him that it was his favorite song. Mantle was one of the greatest offensive threats in baseball history and is considered to be one of the best baseball players of all time. Death Cause, Rea. He held the all-time World Series records for home runs, runs scored, and runs batted. Mickey Mantle weighed 195 lbs (88 kg) when playing. 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. The ball park was right beside the road, and he was on his way to watch some guy play in another town. My mother made every baseball uniform I ever wore till I signed with the Yankees. On Aug. 9, the hospital said the cancer had spread to his abdomen. It's unbelievable. She died on August 10, 2009 in Plano, Texas, USA. 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. He was assigned the #6 uniform, which signified that he was expected to become the next star of the team, as Babe Ruth had worn #3, Lou Gehrig had worn #4, and Joe DiMaggio had worn #5. He returned to the center field position on September 2. 25: Mickey Mantle's net worth at death was $10 million dollars. Martin died in a one-vehicle accident on Christmas night 1989. The following two seasons were more frustrating for Mantle, though he still played comparatively well and made the all-star team as a reserve player in 1959. Shortly before his death, Mantle videotaped a message to be played on Old-Timers' Day, which he was too ill to attend. 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. Mantle's cards, especially his 1952 Topps rookie card, are extremely popular and valuable among card collectors. Adjusted for inflation, he earned approximately $9 million. While these facts are widely known, here are some not so popular ones you may not know about. In 1956, he hit three home runs in the World Series, three more in the 1960 Series and three more in the 1964 Series, running his total to 18 and breaking Ruth's record. "Maybe because I was only 19 years old when I started playing for him, and a couple of years later my own dad was gone. Aberback, Brian (September 7, 2017). He sought treatment for alcoholism in 1994 when he checked in to the Betty Ford Clinic. "[47] Also displaying a sense of humor, he enjoyed playing practical jokes on his teammates. 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. He missed several weeks, so his numbers were modest but respectable, especially with 92 RBIs. In 1950, Mantle was promoted to the Class-C Joplin Miners of the Western Association. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (19511968) with the New York Yankees as a center fielder, right fielder, and first baseman. After an impressive spring training, the Yankees manager decided to promote Mantle to the major league team as a right fielder. Mantle is 16th all-time in home runs per at-bats. There was no next drink, Mantle said. Mantle won his second consecutive MVP in 1957[25] behind league leads in runs and walks, a career-high .365 batting average (second to Ted Williams's .388), and hitting into a league-low five double plays. At the time, doctors said he would die within two to three weeks if he did not receive a new organ. [citation needed], Joe DiMaggio retired from baseball following the 1951 World Series. By the close of the 1950s, with numerous individual awards and multiple World Series titles, Mantles contract had increased to $70,000. The Collected Wisdom of David Mantle, son of Mickey Mantle. Mantle admitted that drinking had become a way of life even while he was playing. 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. On August 13, 1995, two months after the liver transplant, Mickey Mantle was dead. In the 1920's, they won six American League pennants and three World Series. Mickey Charles Mantle was born in Spavinaw, Okla., on Oct. 20, 1931. He brought a lot of Oklahoma with him to New York and never really changed. 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. Who Is Mickey Mantle's Wife? After fouling off a few pitches, he hit a towering home run over the 402-foot sign by the bullpen. . Mickey Mantle's Life Path Number is 8 as per numerology. Mickey Mantle played for the New York Yankees from 1951 to 1968, and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. . His rationale was that the men in his family had all died young, so he expected to die young as well. But he pulled his car over and stopped and watched us play. American professional baseball player Mickey Mantle had an estimated net worth of $12 million dollars at the time of his death, in 1995. What did Mickey Mantle suffer from? Mickey Mantle, the most powerful switch-hitter in baseball history and the successor to Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio as the symbol of the long reign of the New York Yankees, died of cancer yesterday in Dallas. On June 8, Mantle underwent a transplant operation to replace a liver ravaged by cancer, hepatitis and cirrhosis. On May 22, Mantle hit a line-drive home run off the third-tier facade at Yankee Stadium, the closest that any hitter had come to hitting a fair ball out of the park. He had his first drink at the age of 19. The cause was complications of cancer, his family said. The ball went over the center field fence, which was 460 feet from home plate. As of 2022, Mickey Mantle's net worth is $10 million. [26] Mantle made the AL All-Star team as a reserve player in 1959, as his numbers had tailed off from previous seasons, he was used as a pinch runner for Baltimore Orioles catcher Gus Triandos and replacement right fielder for Cleveland Indians Rocky Colavito in the first game with Detroit Tigers Al Kaline playing the center field position. Beginning in high school, he suffered both acute and chronic injuries to bones and cartilage in his legs. In fact, if it weren't for the injuries that nagged him, he might've been able to contend for GOAT status. In the 1961 season, the press appeared to view the Yankees as Mantle's team, with Maris often belittled and ostracized as an outsider and not a true Yankee. "Casey Stengel was like a father to me," Mantle said. 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. [89], Major leagues, New York Yankees (19511968), Song and film appearances, depictions, and references. In 1994, he checked into the Betty Ford Clinic, where doctors diagnosed him with cirrhosis, hepatitis, and cancer of the liver. He was a center fielder who was a switch hitter and threw right handed. Mantle became the highest-paid active player of his time. I had four. The internet stared in awe as the sports memorabilia sold for a whopping $5.2 million. In 1960 Mantle started in both All-Star games, getting two walks in the first and a single in the second game. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. [45] Still, Mantle was known as the "fastest man to first base" and won the American League triple crown in 1956. In that season, he also hit another long home run at Yankee Stadium to left-center field that was reported to have traveled 502 feet. While his drinking became public knowledge during his lifetime, the press kept quiet about his many marital infidelities. [10] Stengel, speaking to SPORT, stated "He's got more natural power from both sides than anybody I ever saw. After Mantle graduated from high school, Greenwade returned to sign Mantle to a minor league contract. In 1952, Mantle played his first complete World Series and became a hitting star for the team with an on-base percentage above .400 and a slugging percentage above .600. A year later, Mantle received a liver transplant, but on August 13, 1995, he died of a heart attack at the age of 63. He played halfback and Oklahoma offered him a football scholarship. And down in Baltimore in 1963, Slick was pitching one night and Brooks Robinson hit a home run over the center-field fence. 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. He delivered a farewell speech on Mickey Mantle Day, June 8, 1969, at Yankee Stadium. Oklahoma Heritage Society: Oklahoma Hall of Fame. Mickey Gilley, who ran one of the world's largest honky tonks in Pasadena, Texas, and was credited with helping foster country music's revival in the late . [47] Joe Collins, who played with him from 1951 through 1957, recalled that "Mickey was the type of guy who cared about you as a person. 7 Is Retired", "Quite A Day For Mickey at Proud Yankee Stadium", "Everyone Agrees: Steinbrenner's Plaque Is Big", "Monument of Babe Ruth removed: Artifact will make its way to new Yankee Stadium by year's end", "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement", "Baseball Card Sold for $12.6 Million, Breaking Record - The 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle baseball card is the most valuable piece of sports memorabilia ever to be sold at auction", "2017 Topps Baseball Brings #7 Out of Retirement", "About | Oklahoma City RedHawks Ballpark", "A Mickey Mantle Rookie Card Sells for $12.6 Million at Auction", "The man who sold the most valuable sports card of all time - Anthony Giordano got a record $12.6 million for a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle", "Mickey Mantle Named Outstanding Male Athlete Of Year: Yankee Star Leads Field By Overwhelming Margin", "To Fans of 40 Years, Teresa Brewer Meant 'Music!