Both have brilliant speed: Mantle was timed from home plate ( batting left-handed ) to first base in 3.1 seconds, faster than any other major leaguer ; ;

His first foray into television was a documentary for NBC's Omnibus, Dancing is a Man's Game ( 1958 ) where he assembled a group of America's greatest sportsmen – including Mickey Mantle, Sugar Ray Robinson and Bob Cousy – and re-interpreted their moves choreographically, as part of his lifelong quest to remove the effeminate stereotype of the art of dance, while articulating the philosophy behind his dance style.

Doreen Mantle described her character as " wanting to do the right thing but always finding out that it was the wrong thing ".

On August 7,, after Williams was booed for dropping a fly ball from Mickey Mantle, Williams spat at one of the fans that was taunting him on the top of the dugout.

In Ken Burns ' documentary Baseball, Mickey Mantle claimed that Ford gave Rose the nickname after Rose, playing in left field, made an effort to climb the fence to try to catch a Mantle home run that everyone could see was headed over everything.

Mickey Charles Mantle ( October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995 ) was an American baseball center fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball ( MLB ) for the New York Yankees from 1951 to 1968.

Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974 and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999.

Mantle was noted for his hitting ability, both for average and for power.

Mickey Mantle was born in Spavinaw, Oklahoma, the son of Elvin Charles Mantle, a lead miner known as " Mutt ," and Lovell ( née Richardson ) Mantle.

He was of at least partial English ancestry ; his great-grandfather, George Mantle, left Brierley Hill, in England's Black Country, in 1848.

Mantle spoke warmly of his father, and said he was the bravest man he ever knew.

When Mantle was four years old, the family moved to the nearby town of Commerce, Oklahoma, where his father worked in lead and zinc mines.

Mantle was assigned to the Yankees ' Class-D Independence Yankees of the Kansas – Oklahoma – Missouri League, where he played shortstop.

In 1950, Mantle was promoted to the Class-C Joplin Miners of the Western Association.

Mantle was invited to the Yankees instructional camp before the 1951 season.

Mantle was assigned uniform # 6, signifying the expectation that he would become the next Yankees star, following Babe Ruth (# 3 ), Lou Gehrig (# 4 ) and Joe DiMaggio (# 5 ).

After a brief slump, Mantle was sent down to the Yankees ' top farm team, the Kansas City Blues.

Mantle was called up to the Yankees after 40 games with Kansas City, this time wearing uniform # 7.

In 1956, Mantle won the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year.

" Although emotionally scarred by the incident, Mantle indeed grew up to become a champion athlete, only to learn his father's procedure was altering his body in a way that would eventually kill him.

The two top talents of the time, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays, have hit the ball harder and more successfully so far this early season than at any period in careers which, to be frank about it, never have quite reached expectations.

Mays and Mantle, both 10-year men at 30, have so much ability that, baseball men agree, they've never hit the heights.

Mantle, more concerned with dress, buys his suits four at a time at Neiman-Marcus in Dallas and pays as much as $250 each.

Mantle is a master at dragging a bunt toward first base.

* April 17 – Mickey Mantle hits a 565 foot ( 172 m ) home run at Griffith Stadium in Washington D. C. Mantle's home run is believed to be the longest home run in baseball history by many historians.

Many scouts were looking at him play, including Tom Greenwade of the New York Yankees ( who discovered Mickey Mantle ), and Danny Murtaugh of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

However, Mantle struggled defensively at shortstop.

Mantle moved to center field in 1952, replacing DiMaggio, who retired at the end of the 1951 season.

Over the course of time, however, Mantle ( with a little help from his teammate Whitey Ford, a native of New York's Borough of Queens ) had gotten better at " schmoozing " with the New York media, and had gained the favor of the press.

In the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 3 of the 1964 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Mickey Mantle blasted Barney Schultz's first pitch into the right field stands at Yankee Stadium, which won the game for the Yankees 2 – 1.

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 ( 172 m ).

Mantle twice hit balls off the third-deck facade at Yankee Stadium, nearly becoming the only player ( along with Negro Leagues star Josh Gibson, though Gibson's home run has never been conclusively verified ) to hit a fair ball out of the stadium during a game.

When Mantle played for the Yankees, the distance to the right-field foul pole stood at a mere 296 feet ( 90 m ), with markers in the power alleys of 344 and 407, while the left-field power alley ranged from 402 to 457 feet ( 139 m ) from the plate.

Mays ' fly was hit to deep right center, and as both Mantle and DiMaggio converged to make the catch, DiMaggio called for it at the last second, causing Mantle to suddenly stop short as his cleats caught a drainage cover in the outfield grass.

In 1962, Mantle and Maris starred in Safe at Home !.

A statue of Mickey Mantle at Newcastle Field at Bricktown in Bricktown ( Oklahoma City ) | Bricktown, Oklahoma City

Mantle was a prized guest at any baseball card show, commanding fees far in excess of any other player for his appearances and autographs.

In 1983, Mantle worked at the Claridge Resort and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, as a greeter and community representative.

During the final years of his life, Mantle purchased a luxury condominium on Lake Oconee near Greensboro, Georgia, near Greer Johnson's home, and frequently stayed there for months at a time.

Both were scholastic stars in football, basketball, and baseball ( Mantle in Commerce, Okla., Maris in Fargo, N.D. ) ; ;

On December 23, 1951, Mantle married Merlyn Johnson in Commerce, Oklahoma ; they had four sons.