This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 6/6/2013.
Mickey Charles Mantle was born October 20, 1931 in Spavinaw, Oklahoma. Mickey Mantle was a star from the start, parlaying a talent for the game and boyish good looks into iconic status. Initially Mantle played shortstop but when he came to the majors as a New York Yankee in 1951 he played center field, replacing the great Joe DiMaggio. Mantle was a switch-hitting batter who combined a powerful combination of batting power and speed. In spite of a series of devastating injuries, Mantle accumulated a long list of impressive accomplishments, finishing his 18-year career with 536 home runs and a .298 batting average. The switch-hitting "Commerce Comet" won three MVP awards and a Triple Crown (1956). He contributed to 12 pennants and seven World Series titles in his first 14 seasons while establishing numerous World Series records, including most home runs (18). Mantle announced his retirement at spring training on March 1, 1969. On June 8, 1969 his uniform No. 7 was retired during a Mickey Mantle Day celebration at Yankee Stadium. Mantle received a ten-minute standing ovation. Mickey Mantle was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on January 16, 1974 in his first year eligibility. “American League of Professional Baseball Clubs” contract between “NEW YORK YANKEES” and “MICKEY C. MANTLE” of “5730 Watson Circle, Dallas, Texas” during the year “1963” in the amount of “$100,000.00”. This contract tied Mantle with Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio as the highest paid Yankee ballplayer in history. He joined Ted Williams, Stan Musial and Willie Mays in a select group of diamond greats to reach the 100 thousand mark. Signed on the back page on by Mickey Mantle in bold, blue ink rating a strong 9. Mantle’s address is featured a second time below the signature along with his social security number. The procedure in sealing this agreement entails three seperate, but identical, contracts - one for the player (signed by a franchise executive), another for the team's files (usually penned by the player only), and yet another (signed by both parties) submitted to the President of the American League, who ultimately sanctions the contract. This is presumably the team's copy as it bears Mantle's signature only. The four page bi-fold contract is in NM condition overall, rare and quite historic as the man himself. Accompanied by a LOA from JSA for the signature, backed by a LOA from PSA/DNA. Included with the contract is a February 27, 1963 press release on Yankees stationery announcing that the Yankees and Mantle had come to terms on a new contract.