Mickey Mantle - interview - Later with Bob Costas 10/20/91 New York Yankee 

When I was a kid Mickey Mantle was my hero. I'm 80 years old now.

Mickey Mantle, what an Icon. So talented, so humble. Thanks #7.

Mantle was an awesome player who wins the triple crown with amazing numbers, yet he is as humble as can be.

Bob Costas was a pro at interviewing... he keeps things friendly and interesting. Like talking to a friend!!!!

I was at the Memorial Day 1956 game when Mantle hit the facade the first time. His previous at bat he beat out a bunt. Definition of complete player.

Bob Costas, where ever you are, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Growing up in the 60s, I idolized Mantle and would never have imagined how humble and down to earth he is, the coal miner's son from Oklahoma.

There was something special about Mantle. He was flawed human with insane baseball gifting. His love for baseball ⚾️ is what I share with him. Costas has genuine love for baseball too.

Mickey has such great stories. Costa is a great interviewer.

Love this interview. It was really moving that Mickey paid tribute to Gehrig in his speech.

I was pleasantly surprised when Bob Costas had the interview with Mickey Mantle back in '91. I had always known that Mantle was a heck of a player, but at that time I was a San Diego Padres fan and I thought we had some good players too. But what got me in this interview was that he, Mantle, was so "down to earth" and un boastful about himself. I'm thinking he was indeed one of the "BEST"!

For me Mickey, you're back and more popular and loved more than ever - only took me 50 years to realize that.

What strikes me about this interview is the level of sincerity Mantle expresses. He seemed to have such a basic decency about him, with a wonderful sense of humor. When he challenges Bob, offering his watch as a prize, you can see the level of joy and rapport he had with others, apparently even more so with teammates, particularly Martin and Ford. Still, it's hard not to think of the pain and regret he felt regarding his alcoholism-being a good, noble, superstar athlete doesn't make you immune to the human condition...Mantle knew Costas adored him and always carried his rookie card in his wallet. I love watching these old "Later" shows. Costas is a superb, well prepared interviewer. I wish he'd come back and do more...

I met him in front of his restaurant in 57th st 1985 I said Mickey let's do a shot and he obliged What a great moment in the history of life!

The amazing thing about Mantle was the enormous power he had and he was 6 feet 195 pounds. He wasn’t a huge guy though very strong. No one will ever hit a baseball farther than he did on many occasions. He will forever be a cherished part of my youth.

Few people became as precious to a whole generation of boys, the smile, the modesty, the reliable performance. All of us teenage boys in the '50s, stepping to the plate at recess at our elementary schools, declared before we hit, "I'm Mickey Mantle." We all wanted to be. We still do. I turn on reruns of old ball games just for a glimpse of him at bat, one more time. It brings that much back.

Mickey was my idol when I grew up in the 1950's. So much so that I practiced and became a switch-hitter myself in my teens and later during college ball at the University of Illinois. RIP Mickey.

Mickey mantle was the best center fielder in the 1950's, after joe DiMaggio retired he could hit for power, run like a deer, and had a cannon for an arm, i miss you mick R.I.P. AND GOD BLESS YOUR SOUL. ⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾

One of the great interviews I've ever seen! Mickey Mantle was both the greatest and a humble, kind-hearted guy. Never fought with anyone. So many lessons here for today. Thanks for uploading this!

Growing up I was a huge Yankee fan. I was at a game at the old Yankee Stadium in 58 otr 59 and Mickey had been out for 3 or 4 weeks on the dl and in about the 7th inning he came up to pinch hit and the crowd went nuts and gave him a 10 minute standing ovation. As soon as we all sat down he blasted a home run and the crowd erupted again. Mickey was the most popular guy in New York.

A blind man could tell that it was Mantle's turn in the cage during batting practice just by the sound of his bat making contact with the ball.

I wasn't old enough to have seen him play but he is my favorite player of all time.

My dad's favorite player when he was a kid. I'm pushing 50 now and he still tells me Mantle stories. It's endearing how self deprecating Mickey was but it's also a bit sad that he, possibly, didn't fully realize the impact he had on fathers and sons and their shared love of baseball.

I was fortunate enough to see Mickey Mantle play in person one time. It was in the summer of 1965, near the end of his career. I could see that he played with pain. I clearly remember two plays. The first was a line drive to center hooking away that he tracked down with a burst of acceleration. The second was beating out an infield hit with his spikes clawing the baseline dirt out behind him. He was clearly special. It's hard to describe.

Mickey Mantle was my idol as a kid, I knew who Mickey Mantle was before I knew who the president was. What a great interview.

Bob costas is such a great host , and it’s almost startling the way he looks one age and seemingly has photographic recall of an entirely different era in baseball when Mickey asks about the watch

My hero. Love you forever Mick.

Great interview, great stories . .

Thank you for sharing this with us.

I met and chatted with Micky (my childhood hero) in the 80's. When he shook my hand it was like a bear claw.

Mickey is so… SO… Down to earth. Ya feel like ya know him even if ya never meet him. God I hope he got a new knee in heaven and is playing some ball 🙏🏻🙏🏻❤️❤️

We had tickets to see the Yankees in 1963 in Detroit. Mick broke his foot in Baltimore 2 days before the game. The 7th game of the 1960 series was the only time my parents let me stay home from school. It was an exciting game, but heartbreaking for me and Mick. My aunt taught Mickey Jr. in Dallas.

How many times did I go to Yankee Stadium as a kid. I usually sat behind first base in the middle deck of the old Yankee Stadium. Occasionally, I sat behind third base. From there you could look inside the Yankee dugout. But I preferred first base becasue there was so much action there. Even when Mantle got into the on deck circle waiting for his turn at bat, the crowd would roar. RIP - Thanks for all the memories when baseball was great!!!

Great interview, Bob.

Excellent interview

Awesome interview

Mickey Mantle day at Yankee stadiim memorable speech by the great YANKEE CENTERFIELDER the crowd wouldn't let him speak for 10 minutes those YANKEE fans sure liked old #7

Hmm I'll just watch about 5 minutes of this...........annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd i watched the whole thing. Great interview

Fortunate to have gotten to watch him play live once at Comiskey in May 1966 as the Yankees came to town. Of course, we were there early to watch all of batting practice.

Great interview of the Mick !!!!!

Mickey Mantle. I can still remember being a little leaguer wanting to stand just like a Mickey did at the plate.

Mickey Mantle was my hero when I was a kid. I grew up in Kansas City but I was a Yankees fan. The A’s weren’t much to cheer for back then.

Wow I’d never seen this whole interview . Awesome

Mickey Mantle hit his 7th MLB home run on ... 7/7/51 And the Yankees were seven runs behind when he hit it.

Not a Bob Costas fan here, but he was right about the long ovation for MM on MM Day. It was June 8, 1969 and I was sitting down the right field line (sect 23 Box D) lower level. There's actually a YT video of MM passing by us in the golf cart. One of the best days of my life.

I love Mickey Mantle. I love Mickey Mantle! He is a conflicting character, though. He is like your father. Love him, but eternally in conflict with him. He is an icon, beyond us mortals . (despite schilling watches)

good stuff!!

When I was a kid, he was it. Everyone knew Mickey Mantle even when I was like 5.

Legend

Back in the 60's The MLB game of the week always featured the Yankees. A lot of people got to see The Commerce Comet and all the other New York stars- Berra, Richardson, Boyer, Tresh, Kubek, Pepitone, Elston Howard, Ford, Maris etc. So a lot of kids grew up watching Mickey ply his trade.

First week of June 1991...was staying at a hotel in Atlanta. Card Show at the hotel across the street. I saw Mantle....and that was that....

he is my all-time favorite !!!

Good stuff right there.

That watch bit at the end was hilarious! I got Kinder, once he said Boston; lucky guess.

What a nice guy he was

The pull of drinking is powerful..the night's last drink flows into tomorrow..

The greatest to wear #7 on a jersey in baseball.

Just imagine his statistics if he had not ruined his left leg in his second season and if he had been playing at at time with players were actually fit and did not go drinking after every game. I really believe he had no equal.

Some men are men there are special people that I can say get my full attention and that's WW2 vets sadly non are living and Mickey Mantle also not living but boy can they both tell some great stories

Nobody EVER had better skills,NOBODY!

You will not see the likes of this man ever again.

In 1980 I was in Boston for some noted occurence. It was storming and raining , a real uncomfortable day. Micky had a major part in the public presentation scheduled for after lunch I had a minor part, so we sat in the hotel room all morning laughing, joking etc. . We had mutual friends back in BIRMINGHAM ALA and killed time reminiscing and killing time. I had met a couple of U.S. presidents , but hardly remembered them. B U T I SURE REMEMBERED MICKEY MANTLE. I have never ask for an autograph from any one as I did not wish to be a bother to them. B U T, I sure wish I had gotten MICKEY'S AUTOGRAPH. HONESTLY, If I had asked Mickey for the shirt he was wearing, He would have REMOVED IT, GIVEN IT TO ME, and put on another shirt . I mentioned that to him , some years later, and he said " YOU SHOULD HAVE ASKED ME, I would have been tickled to gice you the shirt."-- 'WOW, THE MISTAKES WE MAKE !!!!!!!

Read the book DYNASTY. About the Yankees 1949-1964. A great read.

With Mickey there you just knew the Yanks would win annual world series.

Wow - in 1990 you could get an interview with Mickey Mantle for $400 bucks

To tell you the truth it’s difficult to fathom a player who never did any sort of physical conditioning or strength training beyond maybe pushups and sit-ups in addition to actually playing the different sports he did in high school having the kind of physique he did , let alone belting 600 ft homers with the speed of Rickey Henderson AND as Jane leavy said in her biography , no ligaments at all , in either leg … Mickey was one of a kind

Mick was probably the most talented player of all time. Unfortunately the alcohol detonated him and most likely caused injuries as well and he still put up staggering numbers

I want one of those watches.

This guy played when my mom was growing up.

@18:06 Ellis Kinder, Boston, July 7th 1951 top of the 9th inning.

It is such a shame that the Mick’s autograph is among the most faked in history. He signed for SO many people. He was a true player, and would sign for HOURS for adoring fans. And now, 18 out of 20 Mantle Autographs are FAKE. How terrible. Effin crooks

Growing up in the 90s I had no clue he was still alive lol I thought he was long gone and had been for 100 years, same as Babe Ruth lol I didn't understand time all that well

@2 min the Great Mickey Mantle describes being forgotten, or better, a lull in his popularity. Bob Dylan experienced that. Ray Charles experienced that. People forget the greats. 20 years go by, and everyone wonders where are the heroes?

If I had only saved those baseball cards.

Sad to see him selling watches after such a great career.

@16:35 If anyone has seen the movie 61*, Mickey and Tommy Jane would have been twins at this point if they were the same ages in life....if not, at the very least, regular brothers.

RIP # 7...

I can’t believe I spent 15 minutes digging though history just to actually get Ellis Kinder as the answer

This is who Mike Trout would’ve been like if the Angels didn’t draft him

Red rooster (Australian restaurant) more popular in 2000!

Mickey mantle bowling alley

I understand they wanted to retire Billy Martin's uniform with Billy in it

11:40 had me dying

Mickey may have misremembered the Bunning incident. That is because, in a regular season MLB game, Freehan never caught Bunning in a game in which Mickey had hit a home run.

SOME LIKE Amy Jo johnson now live in LA Hawaii or nz.

KFC after the interview finished? GREAT IDEA.

11:30 😂

Coke for the 2 drinks at $5 they bought at the deli in New York City.

His rookie card sold for over 12 million clams!!

When men are scared of your Glory they have none.

Mantle is the Pete Maravich of Baseball....

Freehan never caught Bunning in a regular season game.

He died 4 years after this interview.

Geez…I’m 60.

Mantle looks about 75 here

MOST

4:22

Does anyone know if Mantle was a Freemason?

So, MM agrees to appear on TV? So, he can sell watches??? Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? (to sell some coffee makers)

lol. he worked hard not to say BABE RUTH IS THE GREATEST AND ALWAYS WILL BE. leaving babes name out/ speakes volumns

Joe D didn't have to be a prick, but who knows what he was going through