This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 12/31/2005.
Mickey Mantle made headlines with great play at an "instructional school" the Yankees conducted in 1951 and then in spring training, which included a barnstorming tour along the west coast. Mantle, out of Commerce, Oklahoma, played his first game for the New York Yankees on April 17, 1951. Whitey Ford would throw out the first pitch. At only 19, Mantle started in right field and hit in the leadoff spot. After a struggling start, on July 16th the Yankees sent him to their top farm club in Kansas City. After a little more than a month, he was recalled. Mantle returned to New York and played alongside the soon-to-retire Joe DiMaggio. He ended up with a respectable rookie season, lifting his average to .361 and, in only 166 at-bats, hit 11 homers with 50 RBIs. This "Powerized" Louisville Slugger model L16 is a bat Mantle ordered during his first season. This is the earliest known factory ordered bat extant! It is autographed brilliantly across the front of the barrel in blue sharpie which rates a near perfect 10. Light scuffing and pine tar can be spotted on the front and left barrel. Black bat rack streaks are on the barrel end and front, right and left barrel. Bat features a flared knob with "L16" model number stamped into the knob end. "Mickey Mantle" is stamped on the front of the barrel in script-style lettering. Man: H&B, Model: L16, Order Period: 1951, L: 35 in, W: 35.1, Wood: Ash, Finish: Standard. The bat is accompanied by a LOA from PSA/DNA and the signature by a LOA from James Spence Authentication.