Mickey Mantle Biography

Fast Facts

• In 1974, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame alongside teammate and best friend Whitey Ford
• Set the record for most World Series home runs at 18
• As a child, after his father got home from working in lead and zinc mines, the two would practice baseball next to an old, tin barn with his grandfather using tennis balls
• Scout Tom Greenwade signed him to a contract with the New York Yankees for $140 per month and a $1,150 signing bonus on his high school graduation day after watching him hit two home runs into a local river during a single 1948 game
• Played baseball in the Baxter Springs Whiz Kids semi-pro league when he was 15 years old
• Known as a center fielder for the New York Yankees
• Considered the greatest MLB switch hitter of all time
• At the time of his death, his 1953 565-foot home run was the longest measured home run in the history of baseball, and the term "tape measure home run" was coined because of it
• His father, hoping he would grow up to play professional baseball, named him after Hall of Fame catcher Mickey Cochrane
• His father once drove from Commerce, Okla․, to Independence, Mo․, to convince him not to quit baseball after a hitting slump