Tuesday, January 31, 2023

EXCERPTS FROM THE LEGEND OF THE MICK (Part II) Mantle Encounters Death Threats

 

As promised, here's another anecdote taken from my soon-to-be released Mickey Mantle biography.


THE PRICE OF FAME


    Anyone who has lived in the public spotlight for an extended length of time would agree that there is a dark side to being famous. For Mantle, it was darker than most. In early September of 1953, the Yankees received an anonymous threat in a letter postmarked from Boston. It stated that if Mantle played at Fenway Park over Labor Day weekend, he would be shot. 

    Taking no chances, the Yankees contacted the authorities and the FBI became involved. With agents keeping a close watch over him, Mantle appeared in both games of the scheduled holiday doubleheader against the BoSox. In the opener, he blasted a two-run homer off of Mel Parnell. He later joked that he had never rounded the bases so quickly after a home run. 

    The 1953 incident was not the only one of its kind. In July of 1960, Mantle was opening mail in the visitor’s locker room at Cleveland Stadium when he stumbled upon an envelope postmarked from Tonawanda, New York, which is located just north of Buffalo. It contained a handwritten letter that read precisely as follows: “I had a son that was drafted with a bad leg and bad eyes he got killed but a rotten draft dodger that could run like you gets turned down. I have a gun with micrscopic [sic] lenses and I’m going to get you thru both your knees and its [sic] going to happen soon.” Again, the FBI became involved and nothing came of the ominous note. 

    Mantle dealt with other unpleasantries over the course of his career. A female stalker once threatened to kidnap his wife and one of his sons if he didn’t buy her a diamond ring. And in 1958, he was attacked twice. One of his assailants was a 13-year-old girl who slapped him in the face and pulled his hair as he was exiting a cab at the players’ entrance to Yankee Stadium. Earlier that season, he was poked in the eye and punched in the jaw by an unruly group of fans, one of whom stole the cap right off his head.


If you enjoyed this brief excerpt, you should consider picking up a copy of The Legend of the Mick: Stories and Reflections on Mickey Mantle, which is due to be released on March 1st, 2023 through The Lyons Press. 

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