Mickey Mantle: The Definitive Story (MLB Baseball Sports Documentary) 

I went to a game with my dad in 1961 at old Comiskey park in Chicago. Mantle and Maris were both chasing Babe Ruth's record of 61 home runs in a season. In batting practice Mantle hit 5 straight balls into the upper deck two almost went over the roof. In the first inning the Yankees loaded the bases with Mantle coming up. My dad said " the Sox have to walk him he hit all those balls in batting practice". I said "they are not going to walk in a run". the Sox pitched to him and he hit a grand slam deep into the upper deck in right field. My dad bitched the rest of the game and all the way home how they should have walked him. I will never forget that day or the memory of seeing one of the greatest baseball players ever.Six years ago I had the privilege of talking to Bill "moose" Skowron who is on this tape. He was one of Mickey's closest friends on the Yankees and described Mickey the same as he is portrayed on this tape.He said one game Mantle went 0 for 4 and when he sat down next to Mickey after the game he was crying and Moose said "forget about today we play again tomorrow". Mickey said" yeah I know but I let 50,000 people down today". Do you think any players today do that?. I don't think so.

The reason I learned to switch hit was Mickey. I went to the railroad tracks, like he did. Learned how to pivot without falling off the track. A true hero. Him, and Ted Williams. The kind of people we will never see again.

Baseball will never be like this again. What a golden age for baseball.

I was fortunate to be born in Manhattan and go to hundreds of N.Y. Yankee games. Every kid wanted to wear number 7 even on a tee shirt playing stick ball. God Bless you Mickey rest in peace. You gave me so many fond memories watching you play center field. I cried like a baby after watching this documentary.

If he would not of been injured... Mantle would of been the best ever.

We still love you in 2021 Mickey Mantle. Rest In Peace brother.

From an Orioles fan, thanks Mickey. Baseball is great, a lot of it's because of you.

As a boy, I had two heroes, Mickey and my dad. It was so amazing my dad and Mickey we’re just about the same age and looked so much alike. They had the same bodybuild with those big forearms, strong as horses but fast as a deer. And ironically they both died from the same disease. I was very fortunate to have them both in my childhood. So many fools continue to knock Mickey even to this day but they don’t realize he went through living hell is a child. He was sexually abused multiple times as a boy and this caused him to be a bedwetter to age 14. And of course he was haunted with the prospect of dying very young from Hodgkins. In the end, Mickey set the record straight, repented of his wrong doings and got right with God and his family. Let no one judge the hero who fell, for when a hero falls we do not step on him, we offer our hand of help, for what he has given us can never be repaid.

No matter fame and fortune. Popular or unpopular. The good or the bad. We are all human and share in commonality the thing called life. We all share highs and lows. What Mickey did for the game of baseball was great, but his messages about how to truly live toward the end of his life i'm sure helped more people than we will ever know. Keep swingin' Mick. We love you!

Was only alive for 4 days before Mickey Mantle died. But every few years I rewatch this doc and for years have researched Mantle and love learning about him. Even as a Met fan, Mantle is my favorite player. Wish it was around to watch him play and imo is the greatest of all time

The greatest of his era. An unbelievable ball player. First time I saw him as a 7 year old he hit one nearly 500 ft. Immediately became a fan.

I have this documentary in CD format. Every time I see it, it reminds me of my father and the loved he instilled in me for the Yankees and especially for the "Mick"... we both worshiped him and he will always be OUR HERO!!! Thanks Dad for giving me this special memory...one that I will take to my grave.

I frickin *hate* the Yankees, but whenever I play sports, I wear number 7 for Mickey Mantle. He was my Dads favorite player, so, respect.

as a red sox fan i am not ashamed to admit that in my youth Mickey Mantle was my hero.

He was larger than life. Every boy growing up in the 50`s & 60`s fantasized of becoming Mickey...nobody else!

I’m a proud Canadian who wore number 7 on my hockey jersey because of one of my heroes , “The Mick”. My dad , an auto mechanic and little Howie would listen to Yankee games with passion. The radio was magically transforming baseball into a bigger then life event. 🇨🇦👍

I am 72 years old and grew up my formative years in central. Illinois.There was a big sandlot right accross the street from my house and the kids from the whole area played baseball almost everyday during summers ..We were ALL Mickey Mantle fans and loved the Yankees, even being from the midwest. In the playoffs and World Series ,we even watched the Yankees play on TV at our middle school.We loved Micky, for he was our idol, and we always cheered him on to victory.

I was born in 1970 didn't know who he was till I was in my teens my mom told me about him and took me to a card show in Toledo Ohio in 86 he's still one of my favorite ballplayers that I've never seen play before I was born. He was very nice to meet and still have the picture my mom took of shaking his hand. Sorry for the long read.

no doubt at all , Mickey was my Hero , my Idol , to this day i still look up to Mickey , there is always a part of him in my life

As an Australian... this is one of the most moving sporting documentaries. Mickey mantle #7

As a kid growing up in the 60's, Mickey Mantle without a doubt, was the greatest switch hitter I ever saw, and that includes Eddie Murray who I thought was a great ballplayer. If you look up the stats on switch hitters, they're are only 3 to bat over 300 throughout the history of the game, and they were all slap hitters, or as Mickey use to say; a hitter in a skirt. Fourth on the list is Mickey at 298 and change. Just one of baseballs true greats! I was at Yankee Stadium when they retired his number, what an amazing scene. Mel Allen introduced him as the mightiest of them all, followed by a 9 minute standing ovation to a sold out crowd. Not many athletes receive that kind of reception. He was definitely one of the most beloved sports figures of all time. THE GREAT MICKEY MANTLE!

Who here loves the part at 53:40 with the voice of Bob Sheppard? Brings me chills down my spine! Love this documentary! RIP Mickey Mantle! Died the year I was born, 1995, but never forgotten! ❤️❤️❤️

He was my hero. The reason I played and is still my favorite player ever. Love you Mick

Mickey Mantle was such a mythical figure for me growing up a little kid in the 70's, I actually thought he wasn't even a real person but like some kind of baseball superhero. Without the internet our knowledge of anything or anyone was limited to short film clips on TV and baseball cards and that was it. Over the years he became one of my all time favorite players.

I remember being in the bleachers at Yankee Stadium in the 50's with the P.A.L who supplied transportation and admission to the ball park for about $1.50 . Seeing mick smiling in center field ,shading his eyes from the sun was so magical ,and the stadium grass so green with that brown infield dirt was so much better than seeing a game on a small black and white TV ! Like getting a glimpse of Heaven ! He hit a line drive home run that day that seemed to be about telephone pole height into the center field bleachers ,about 40 feet from where we were sitting .I went there with about $5.00 my mom had stashed for me ,and came home with a manila envelope with 8x10 pictures of each player and a team picture ,and a little dagger in a suede scabbard ,plus had a hot dog and a soda ! Can you imagine ! Those were the greatest days !

What a story. I grew up in Oklahoma. Mickey Mantle, Jim Shoulders, and OU Football brought Oklahoma out of the dust bowl and put Oklahoma on the map. Of the three, Mickey Mantle was my hero. I would watch Yankee games on black and white TV, later in color during the Mantle-Maris home run spree. You just don't see athletes like that anymore. $1100 signing bonus? Parking meters are more than that in New York.

one of my favorite Mantle stories is when there was a Congressional Hearing about baseball being monopolized and they brought in Casey Stengel & Mickey to testify and first up was Casey and he went on a rambling discussion going on and on and to be honest not making a whole lot of sense...it was a real mind twist...and then they called on Mickey to testify an all he said was...'I agree with everything Casey said'......classic.

The Mick was a special part of my youth. Thanks for an excellent, well-balanced documentary.

I met Mickey Mantle in October 1988 a card show at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds. He was awesome. I knew the promoter of the shows and after it was done he let me stick around in back and I got to talk with him for a few minutes. I was an usher at Met Stadium when I was in high school and when I was working the entry right by the visitor's clubhouse I met Billy Martin who was managing the A's. So we talked a little about that, I told him I had read his book The Mick he said I should have brought it for him to sign. Big difference from how he said he had treated people in the past in the book. He might not have been a good guy as a player ( as he admitted in the book) but he was sure gracious that day for sure.

Mantle is part of American myth. Strong as a horse from either side of the plate, from the heartland, great name, looked like the boy next door. Carried himself like a warrior. One of the most compelling ball players of all time.

Mantle did just fine,he played he partied and like all of us he had his regrets

My hero growing up. He once hit a popup to the infield that went so high it went out of the stadium lights. The infielders put gloves on their heads to not get hit. Not sure if he got a single or double out of it. He was the ultimate clutch player. So many walk off homers. Never showboated. You’re the best Mickey!

Of all the baseball games my father took me and my brothers to see - all of them Yankees games - there wasn't any other team, the only one I still clearly recall was on Sunday, June 8, 1969 - Mickey Mantle Day - the day #7 was retired - "A Day To Remember". What a day that was, forever etched into my memory!

A really sad story for a tremendous baseball player. Bigger than life in society but troubled personally. This was a very well made documentary. Brought back lots of memories. Thank you

This is a great documentary - especially for those who never got the opportunity to see Mickey Mantle play. Thanks for posting! Just to give you an idea of how much he was revered, he was the only player in my lifetime who was wildly cheered by fans in opposing ballparks. Watching Mickey Mantle come to the plate, especially in his prime was almost like a religious experience for many fans. He was that great. You never knew how far the ball would go if he made solid contact. He lost so many home runs to death valley in the old Yankee Stadium - which was over 460 feet to center. He was asked after retirement why the increase in home runs. Most of you would say steroids and you'd be right. But Mick said the new ballparks are bandboxes compared to the parks he played in - and that's a fact . Baseball did everything to increase offense and that included smaller ballparks. Injuries and all, if Mantle's career were in the current parks he would've overtaken Bonds (steroids), Ruth and all the rest. And..if he had taken care of himself he would've done the same even in the old huge parks. The greatest and most exciting player I ever saw.

I'm just about 61. And yep... I saw Mickey, Willie, Roberto, Hammering Hank... Dam glad i did.

He was my favorite player as a boy growing up. When I heard he was dying I wrote him a letter. I let him know I was his fan. Told him I still remembered the world series against the Dodgers. How he batted against Sandy Koufax and then he homered against the great Koufax. I was excited by his homerun. Even though the Dodgers swept the Yankees in 4 games, Mickey Mantle was still my hero.

“It’s unbelievable how much you don’t know about a game you’ve been playing all your life” Mickey Mantle

Wow! I grew up a Yankee fan! Mickey Mantle was my hero! I idolized him and the Yankees as they went to 12 World Series in 14 years. In 1965 I was able to get his autograph on a baseball... Wish I knew what happened to that ball...

I'm 11 years old. I never saw Mantle play, but now he's y favrote yankee. He will be missed

One thing Mantle had was a great sense of humour. Jim Bouton played with Mantle through the 60's & his book BALL FOUR was very controversial when it came out in 1970. Many people haven't read the book but have criticized it, these last close to 50 years. Everyone was talking about Bouton's book at the time. When Mickey was asked about the book BALL FOUR written by Bouton, his answer was: "Jim…who?"

Mantle and Maris take me back to my childhood. My cousin was a baseball geek and tell you all the records that the Yankees had. Those were happy times then you grow up and seems that we concentrate too much on our work and careers. By the way my cousin Steve was killed in a car accident in 69. When I hear of the Yankees from that period I think of Steve and his love of the Yankees.🇺🇸✝️

My hero growing up. I tried to switch hit, run with my head down, imagine I was him, like almost every other kid in America. Part of my memories forever.

This story was all about me and my love for my HERO... Mickey Mantle!!!! I am so glad I got to meet him and I was even lucky enough to have a picture of me and Mick that I cherish to this day. Like all of us he was not a perfect person but he sure was the perfect ballplayer! I am 67 years old and I still play softball with the young guys and I always have and always will wear the number 7 on my back... I love you Mickey!!!

What a show. I’m sitting hear with tears. I remember the games.

"A God made baseball player" How true! No one before or since Mantle can equal all his talents.

That press conference he had after getting the liver transplant was heart wrenching. But it was really admirable how honest he was telling people that he was not a role model which couldn't have been more true.

Greatest player thru the 50’s and 60’s. Couldn’t wait to see him get up and usually came thru to help the Yankees win. Childhood hero!

The greatest baseball player to ever lace them up.

Mantle, Maris, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford..... No wonder I was a Yankees fan. Glad I lived thru those days.

I vaguely remember watching Mickey at the end of his career on an old black & white TV. My Dad was a Brooklyn fan and hated the Yanks.My brother,12 years my senior,was a closet Mantle fan because my dad forbid him to root for the Yanks. Wish I could have seen him play in his prime as I'm in awe watching old film of him! Love the Mick!!! Just picked up a little plastic figure of Mantle that was made in 1960 and have his 64 Topps card that my brother gave me.My brother passed 20 yrs ago and I'll never get rid of that card.

Glad I finally watched this. What a great piece of work. Laughed and cried through most of it. I sure needed that. Way to go HBO sports. And I still miss the Mick.

Mickey Mantle...was my all time favorite baseball player. Growing up, I wore #7 no matter what sport I played. I was a switch-hitter and threw right handed. I became a Yankee fan in 1959. For the past 57 years, it's been a wondereful road. My daughter is also a Yankee fan and her era was jeter. Incidently, she knows every player who's single digit number has been retired. We're both die-hard Yankees at heart. He will always have a warm place in my heart!

My favorite player of all time. From a 64 year old man

What a wonderful documentary! Mickey Mantle......BASEBALL. Love you Mick

Growing up a few miles north of NYC, Mantle was my hero. He came up as a shortstop; so did I. He moved to centerfield; so did I. Years later, I had the opportunity to meet the 'Mick' at an investment banking golf outing sponsored by Salomon Bros in Litchfield, CT. Each of us got to play a few holes with Mick. Following the outing, Mantle presented an autographed baseball to each guest. I took mine, then asked if Mick would sign my baseball glove. His agent said 'NO', Mr. Mantle doesn't sign gloves. A week later I took my glove out of my car's trunk. It had Mick's autograph across the forefinger; I still have it today.

As much as Micky is admired and respected, he still may be the most underrated athlete there has ever been. The guy was, imo, the greatest player that ever lived. Given his injuries and battle with alcohol, he still put up out of this world numbers. He could hit, field amd run as well, if not better, than anyone who ever put a glove on. A true 5 tool player.

We used to drive from indy to chiccago when the yanks were there I was just a teenager at the time. We got 8mm film of him while was in center as we were in the outfield stands. In batting practive mick would hit balls into our stands. I will never forget it. And like so many kids of my era I idolized the mick and wore his number on my high school football halfback jersey. Many people didnt know why I wore that number but were a little surprised when they asked me and I told them. RIP Mick , we love you.

When I was in the fifth grade I read a biography about Mickey Mantle. It said that when Mickey was just a couple weeks old his father put a baseball into the crib with him while Mickey was sleeping... His father said that the ball rolled and touched Mickeys hand and while he was still asleep Mickey clutched onto the baseball with his tiny little hand and just kept sleeping. Mickey Mantle was born to play baseball. :-I

Thank you so much for sharing this about one of our favorite all-time ball players. Rest in peace Mickey and God bless everyone

Grew up with Mickey as my hero. He never knew how loved he was.

V moving! He was a hero for me, and every time my dad and I would go to Yankee Stadium, Mickey would hit a home run. Golden years and I was a wide-eyed kid.... great time to be alive

The only player I ever saw that no matter where the Yankees played, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Baltimore and so on...everyplace he played he got standing ovations....The Mick

mantle holds record for most Home runs in world series play 18.lm 73 now never saw to this day that kind of raw power,and he hit em when you needed them.

Larger than life. He was the greatest in my lifetime, and in the lives of a million others.

This is documentary was beautiful.

HUGE fan of Mickey growing up! Yankees held spring training in St. Petersburg, FL for decades, Ruth and Gehrig were there. Rumor was that Mickey was renting a cottage a few blocks from our house on the beach. My dad took me to the beach to 'check' things out. Late 50's, I was 7-8, we got to the beach and someone was sitting on the seawall. Dad said it was Mickey! He looked at us, mainly me, and I stared back for 3-4 minutes, the HIGHLIGHT of my growing up!!

Mickey Mantle was my sports Hero At 10 years old and he is still my Hero at 68 years old. I am spell bound every time I see films when He played the game. I love you Mickey Mantle. I cried when they made me pitch in Little League because they took me out of Center Field. I love Center field and hitting.

Without question, the greatest IDOL of my life! I went to my first baseball game when I was 7 (his number) and Mick hit THREE HOME RUNS in a doubleheader. From then on, he was my hero. Seventeen years later, I met him in Dulles Airport, got his personalized autograph (as he made wife Merlyn hold his garment bag) ... and then when the hydraulic lift at LAX Airport broke, delaying the baggage, I stood next to him in the terminal and proceeded to recite virtually EVERY great thing he'd done in his career (which was a lot)! I simply couldn't HELP myself. He listened patiently for the 45 minutes it took to fix the baggage conveyor, answering each anecdote with either "yep" ... "uh-huh" or "that was big thrill." One of the most glorious days of my life (though I suspect one of the most typical of his :-)

One clear advantage of Mantle over most other batters was that instead of a "golf swing" at a knee-high pitch, he lowered his body so much that his trailing knee was as close to the ground as was his heel. This allowed him to swing level (something chanted by little league coaches).

Mick was my childhood idol..I knew he wrapped up his legs and played hurt better than anyone. I grew up in the Bronx, had millions of dollars worth of baseball cards if I still had them. I took 2 busses to watch them in the 60s and later on. I drew a picture of him on my book covers. I read his book. He was larger than life. I knew he had too much fun, but he was still the best and will always be The Mick. #7.

The days with my dad watching Ken Griffey Jr, hearing stories about Micky mantle.. greatest days of my life!!

I wore #7 all my life and I'm 68. Mick just missed being matchless. Injuries and an undisciplined lifestyle prevented it.

This is great! My mother would always say "would you treat a Mickey Mantle card like that?" When referencing expensive items around the house us kids would break by rough housing..

May we all receive the fullest measure of Mickey Mantle's blessings.

Mickey Mantle was my hero then and still today, they just don't make them like that anymore.

This documentary is my favorite and the Ted Williams one is phenomenal as well

"A comet with a hat on".....perfect.

I was born several years after Mickey Mantle made his mark on society and baseball. I wish I had the opportunity to have a conversation with the Mick! He wasn’t perfect, but man I feel a connection to this legend. Star struck still as a student of history and baseball! Rest in Power Mick! I hope you’re in heaven playing ball and smiling down on us.

Greatest Switch in Baseball ⚾️

it's hard not to shed a tear while watching this.

I've been fortunate to see many great athletes play in person. Jordan, Magic, Kareem, Bird, Dr. J, Brady, Manning, McEnroe, Borg, to name a few. But on the 4th of July in 1967, my father and I saw Mickey Mantle hit a home run in Metropolitan stadium. That was the best!!!

Here’s a fun story. My great great uncle was good friends with Mickey. They played ball together allll the time. Supposedly Mickey hit his first ever home run off of one of my uncles pitches. When he went to the pros he would come back home every other summer and come down to kenwood Oklahoma to visit my uncle and friends and they would play ball alll day long every day of the summer. My uncle was the only one that could hang with him! To the point where Mickey even wanted to bring him back to New York for a try out with the Yankees. Unfortunately he never went with him but it’s definitely fun to think about what could have happened. It’s a fun and famous story Throughout our family and Community!

Great documentary on Mickey Mantle. I can remember watching "The Mick" on black and white TV in the early 50's. When we played back yard baseball, everyone wanted to be "The Mick". Mickey, OU Football, and Jim Shoulders (from Henryetta, OK) brought Oklahoma out of the Dust Bowl Era with new dignity and appreciation putting our State in a different perspective among the others. It was a great time to grow up in Oklahoma and I'm thankful to have been born, raised, and now retired in Oklahoma. OState '68 & '70, MBA, RVN 69-70

Just to add to the legend of Mickey Mantle, he is one of the best cards in The Show 20

I went to Yankee Stadium with the banner "He hits them left, he hits them right, he even hits them outta sight!! Go Micky

I knew an old timer in Commerce who talked about Mick as a little neighborhood kid who hung around with him and his brother . That old timer and his twin brother joined the Navy at 16 years old after Pearl Harbor..They were both highly decorated . Lots of good folks from our part of the world.

Thank you for posting this. What special memories.

hard to watch the ending with out getting choked up god bless you mickey R.I.P

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IVE SEEN THIS AND THIS DOCU. MADE ME CRY...GREAT DOC.

Mickey Mantle was a great ballplayer. Roger Maris was a great man.

I was a kid who idolized The Mick!....and yet i am more in awe of his humility in admitting mistakes and saying don't be like me than his prolific talent in baseball....he turned his life around...God Bless Him!

He bared his Soul in his last days and died a Humble man in God's Image...Not a lot of people do that...R.I.P. Mickey...

There are Mantle home runs that haven't come down yet. If I could go back in time, one place that I'd like to go is to watch Mantle taking batting practice in Yankee Stadium (the old Yankee Stadium).

Damn they did a great job with this documentary. I love the bluegrass music.

"apart of him that you carry with you for the rest of our lives, it never goes away." God blessed him and will forever keep him running as he was meant to run!

A real life Shakespearean Tragedy. Such a sad story for a man so loved by his fans.

I still remember buying a pack of topps baseball cards in 1959 (I was 10) and pulling a Mantle card - I was totally jazzed. I don't have that card today, lost it somehow when I joined the Navy in 1969.

I grew up in Oklahoma. And of course it was Mickey my hero the greatest baseball player I’ve ever seen.

I was born in '57 and grew up in Cocoa Beach, Fl. where as a young boy I rode bikes, went to the beach, played in the woods and pretty much played sandlot football every other available minute 365 24/7 in my life. Baseball was not even on my radar screen (haha, funny metaphor as Pop was a Radar Guidance Engineer out at Cape Canaveral).. Then one day in the early or mid 60's I saw Mickey Mantle on TV playing baseball for the Yankees...it was like a school girl crush at first sight...I asked my dad who he was and he Said Mickey Mantle. Just the way he carried himself and walked and swung and ran and threw, he just seemed magical to me. Mickey was my first sports hero...and though I am now a rather old laconic U.S. Marine vet. and a retired multi degreed Engineer it does not embarrass me to say I loved Mickey and still do!