(LOT 23)
1951 Mickey Mantle Rookie - Type 1 PSA Encapsulated New York Times Original News Service Photo
Few can deny that Mickey Mantle was one of the greatest baseball players to ever step onto a Major League diamond. His skills and powers on the field are legendary and record-setting. After all, he led the American League four times in home runs, four times in slugging percentage, earned 20 All-Star nominations, captured seven World Series titles and won the elusive Triple Crown in 1956 en route to one of his three AL MVP awards. But, in 1951, a slump and demotion to the Kansas City Blues nearly derailed, or even ended, his budding career. If not for his father's tough love, which Mickey referred to "as though Mutt had leveled a double-barreled shotgun to my head", Mickey may have vanished to the fields of Oklahoma never to dazzle another baseball fan again. Thank you, Mutt. Offered is a 1951 New York Times original Type 1 news service photograph of the young outfielder in his rookie campaign. This 7" x 9" beauty shows The Mick taking a mighty swing against the St. Louis Browns on May 22, 1951. Encapsulated by PSA, this is an absolutely marvelous image of Mantle with little to no surface flaws with excellent borders. The back still carries NYT stamping as well as a printed caption entitled "Feature on Mickey Mantle for Sunday Dept." A truly spectacular image of Mickey Mantle swinging for the fences.

MIN BID $750
_