This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 5/11/2001.
This incredible ball just may be like finding the bones of the Stegasaurus. Even veteran Mickey Mantle-philes will swallow hard to know that this is one of only two known balls among the Mick's 536 lifetime homers that carries his signature! The story of the ball dates back to 1967 when the Magnificent Yankee was a 35-year-old shell of his former majestic self but still capable of crushing a ball. Late in the season, Mantle, who'd smacked career No. 500 earlier that year, spanked this ball for his 22nd homer. There would be only 18 more homers left in his bat the next season, giving him 536, good for ninth on the all-time list. Very few of those cherished 536 balls exist today, much less any of them that Mantle actually signed. However, after No. 518 was retrieved, Mantle autographed it in black ballpoint pen, writing, "Home Run #518, Last of 1967 Season, Best Wishes, Mickey Mantle." Brought into a Bridgeport, Connecticut pawn shop by its owner around 13 years ago, the ball was immediately bought by the clerk. The OAL Cronin ball has become weathered and the inscription is vague in spots, the famous Mantle signature on the side panel is like a beacon, telling all of its immense historical and sentimental. This extraordinarily rare ball comes with a PSA letter of authenticity and a letter from the clerk.