The great Mickey Charles Mantle took his position at home plate with the crowd roaring like a tsunami all around him. Mickey swung at the zooming fastball and crack! The Mick had done it; two long bomb home runs in one game on both sides of the plate. Mickey Mantle was one of the best players to ever play the game of baseball.
Mickey Charles Mantle’s early life was not easy. He was born in the small town of Spaivinaw, Oklahoma on October 20, 1931 to Lovell ‘Mutt’ Mantle and Elvin Charles, who named their son after Hall of Famer Philadelphia Athletics catcher Mickey Cochrane (ESPN). Starting baseball as a young boy, Mickey learned how to bat on both sides of the plate when his grandpa Charley pitched to him right-handed while his father Mutt pitched left-handed (Gallagher 15). In school Mickey excelled in football, basketball, and baseball (ESPN). Mickey was once kicked in the shin during a football practice. Overnight his shin turned purple and swelled up. Doctors diagnosed him with early signs of the bone disease osteomyelitis. At one point, doctors thought that Mickey might have to get his leg amputated but luckily that did not happen (Gallagher 16).
Not long after in 1949, Mickey started playing his early baseball career for the minor league team Independence Yanks. After a bad season for the Yanks, Mickey called his father, wanting to quit the team but his father convinced Mickey to keep playing. That following season, Mickey had his best season while playing with the Yanks. A year later Mickey started playing for the Joplin Miners, a class C minor league team (Swearingen). After playing a season with the Miners, Mickey went to a spring camp at the University of Southern California. After a day of batting, Mickey hit two h...
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...transplant, but on August 13, 1995, the great Mickey Mantle died from a heart attack (Swearingen).
To conclude Mickey Charles Mantle was one of baseball’s best players. Mickey finished his career with one Triple Crown, three American League MVPs, four American League Home run and Slugger Leaders, fifteen All-Star Games, one Gold Glove, and a Hall of Fame induction.
Works Cited
ESPN. "Mickey Mantle." ESPN: MLB. 2013. Web. 31 Jan. 2014. .
Gallagher, Mark, Neil Gallagher, Jim Murray, and Earl Weaver. Mickey Mantle. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1991. Print.
Marlin, John. Mickey Mantle. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Sports, 2005. Print.
Swearingen, Randall. "Mickey Mantle: The Only Official Mickey Mantle Web Site.” Mickey
Mantle: The Only Official Mickey Mantle Web. 2012. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
Babe Ruth is still a very well-known person in history today, even almost one-hundred years later. He did not only change the way people viewed negro baseball leagues, but he also gained a large reputation for his ability to play baseball, obviously due to his amazing abilities. Ruth’s ability to play was almost impossibly good, in fact, he was even titled “athlete of the century” for his ability. With that ability and power that he had once he won, he would become a
In 1961, Roger and teammate Mickey Mantle received national attention as they chased the single season home run record of 60 set by Babe Ruth in 1927.
In 1983, at the age of twenty-three, Cal lead the Orioles to a World Series victory. He always seemed the favorite every group would vote for as player of the year. There were two reasons. First was his outstanding performance on the field. Second was the way Cal handled himself off the field. He loves being a role model for children, so he tries to be the best person he can in order to set a good example.
Albert Pujols said, “Baseball was an outlet for him to be able to do that, and he had some special talent to go through what he did and still set an example for others. You cannot replace it.”
..., and a .482 on-base percentage, the best of all time. Williams batting average is the highest of any MLB player to hit over five hundred home runs. Ted Williams was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966, in his first year of eligibility.
Born in Cairo, Georgia, Robinson moved with his mother and siblings to Pasadena, California in 1920, after his father deserted the family. At the University of California, Los Angeles, he was a star player of football, basketball, track, and baseball; the only athlete in UCLA history to letter in four different sports. He played with Kenny Washington, who would become one of the first black players in the National Football League since the early 1930s. Robinson also met his future wife, Rachel, at UCLA. His brother Matthew "Mack" Robinson (1912-2000) competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics, finishing second in the 200-meter sprint behind Jesse Owens.
Even as a child Derek loved baseball. He and his dad would often throw in the baseball field behind his house almost everyday. Although his dad sounds like a great role model for him, his Grandma Dot and Grandpa Bill were the most important people in his childhood. They were his moms parents. He would go visit them in New Jersey for weeks at a time. His Grandma would tell him stories about the best Yankee players and basically plant dreams in his head. At night he would watch the Yankee’s play with his Grandpa Bill and fall asleep in his lap. As soon as he woke up in the morning(which was ussualy pretty early) he would go into to his Grandma and say “Come on Gram! Lets go throw!”. They went through this routine every morning.
Jackie Robinson, born Jack Roosevelt Robinson, is known for being the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball. He was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia as the grandson of a slave. He was the youngest of five children and at six months old his father left them. At this time, because it was so hard for African-Americans in the south, his mother Mallie Robinson decided to move them to Pasadena, California where it was easier for African-Americans to live and find jobs.
Throughout the course of American history, there have been copious amounts of famous speeches, spoken by many different people. From political figures to sports players; these people have provided deep thoughts and great insights about who they are and the world we live in today. Being a sports enthusiast, a memorable speech comes to my mind. Lou Gehrig’s “farewell speech”, given on July 4th, 1939, to more than 62,000 fans at New York City’s Yankee Stadium, has become a cornerstone in the history of baseball in America. Lou Gehrig is considered one of the most under-rated sports players of all time. Gehrig played in the same era with greats like Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio. In Fact, Gehrig played on the same team and actually batted behind Ruth and DiMaggio. Gehrig’s nickname is the “Iron Horse,” which came about with Gehrig’s amazing consecutive games played streak. Gehrig played in 2,130 consecutive games, which stood as the consecutive games record until just recently broken by Cal Ripken, Jr. Gehrig died in 1941, at the age of 37. Though many famous speeches have been spoken throughout time, Lou Gehrig’s farewell speech has remained one of the most memorable speeches of all time, due to the way he captivated his fans with the use of rhetoric.
While “Shoeless” Joseph Jefferson Jackson may not have been given the same advantages that other ball-players of the time were given, valuable resources, an education, and the favor of the Major League Baseball Association, he nonetheless managed to apply his experiences as a lower middle class American to become a great baseball player. “Shoeless'” life experiences demonstrate not only the clichéd “rags to riches” ideal in many a fair tale, but also the fact that one's experiences early in life can drastically impact an individual's adult life. Regardless of his tarnished reputation in major league baseball, Joe was commemorated after his death in December of 1951 with the typical memorials for any baseball great, ballparks, statues, museums and the like.
“I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth” (“Farewell”, n.d.) These were the words on Henry Louis Gehrig on July 4th, 1939 at Yankee Stadium. For most of his life, Lou Gehrig had been just that…lucky. Gehrig was a baseball superstar. He had appeared in 7 all-star games and won 6 World Series titles (“All-Star Game”, n.d; “Lou Gehrig”, n.d.). His record of streak of 2130 consecutive games played had earned him the nickname, “the iron horse”. However, it is not for these accomplishments that Gehrig is most known. Gehrig is most known for the disease that took his career, his life, and finally, his name.
Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in Georgia. On this day, a legend arrived. Jackie was raised by his mother, and his mother alone. His father left before Jackie was born, and he didn’t remember one thing about him. Jackie had many siblings, brothers and sisters. Jackie had an older brother named Matthew, who was also very athletic. Jackie’s mother tried the best she could to raise these boys right, and teach them that no matter what the whites called them...they were special.
Danny always stood up for Holling (92). Mickey Mantle was in his town and everyone wanted to go see him, but he had to do the Shakespeare play so Holling couldn't go. Holling finished his play on time so he tried to rush to meet him. He ran and ran till he got to the bus stop.
The Great War rages on. An influenza epidemic claims the lives of several Americans. But, the Boston Red Sox have done it again. Last night, in a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Fenway Park (thanks to Carl Mays' three-hitter), the Boston Red Sox won their fifth World Series championship--amid death and disease, a reason to live ... Babe Ruth and the 1918 Red Sox. If I die today, at least I lived to see the Sox win the championship. For, it could be a long, long, time before this happens again.
This record stood until 1961 when Roger Maris hit 61 home runs. He might have been the best baseball player who ever played the game. He led the Yankees to seven World Series and made two million dollars in his career. Jack "the Manassa Mauler" Dempsey was one of the best heavyweight boxers of all time. He was a heavyweight champion and fought and won against Georges Carpentier.