Randy Gumpert (D. 2008) signed the top panel. He threw the pitch that “The Mick” hit for his first career home run. In his rookie year Mickey Mantle hit his first home run against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park on May 1, 1951, in the sixth inning batting left-handed. The ball sailed over the centerfield wall.
Jim Lonberg signed the bottom panel. He added the inscription “9/20/68 # 536” which was Mickey’s final home run of his major league career. Played at Yankee Stadium, the NY Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox 4-3. Mickey hit his 536th and final home run marking the end of his hall of fame career.
Mickey Charles Mantle played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees from 1951 to 1968. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. 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. His uniform # 7 in enshrined in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park. The ball comes with a JSA LOA XX89077.