60 years today since I first saw Mickey Mantle play in person.

September 3, 1958. It was my first Yankee game but not my first major league game. I had attended two Brooklyn Dodger games at Ebbets Field. I was very young and don't know the years but the second could not have been after 1957, the Dodgers last in Brooklyn before moving to Los Angeles. My father took me to my first Dodger game with some men in the office of his day job. My mother's sister Mary took me to the second, I'm pretty sure at least a year later. For that game I remember colors: a team in red, probably the Phillies, and some black players, probably Dodgers, as the Phillies had few black players even by 1957.

1958 was the first season that I followed the Yankees and my favorite player, Mickey Mantle. He was already a huge star. Both Mickey (38) and Yogi Berra (21) had homered the day before.

Wednesday, September 3, 1958

Attendance: 13,627

Venue: Yankee Stadium I

Game Duration: 2:28

Day Game, on grass

Yankees 8, Red Sox 5

Both Mantle and Berra homered again, which seemed unlikely at the beginning of the day. No, the Red Sox were not a big rival. In fact after 1951 Mantle didn't play any meaningful games against the Red Sox.

Ted Williams did not play. It didn't matter. I didn't know who Ted Williams was. I knew Jackie Jensen, who was American League MVP in 1958 and had been involved in the 1958 home run race before tailing off and leaving the field to Bob Cerv, then with the Kansas City As, the surging Rocky Colavito of the Cleveland Indians and Mickey Mantle.

1958 AL Home Run race. Who "led the league in hitting" ... home runs? Thursday, March 31, 2016

1958 AL Home Run King: Rocky Colavito or Mickey Mantle? Monday, April 4, 2016

Yanks trailed 5-3 entering the bottom of the 8th inning.

Mantle led off with a home run off starting pitcher Frank Sullivan, Mantle's 39th.

Berra and Bill Skowron singled and Murray Wall replaced Sullivan. Berra was picked off second base. I remember that. Norm Siebern hit into a force play for the second out but Gil McDougald and Tony Kubek singled to tie the game 5-5. Fireballing relief ace Ryne Duran struck out. Duren was a big deal in 1958 and I knew about him.

Duren struck out all three Red Sox in the 9th. Bottom 9: Jerry Lumpe flied out but Enos Slaughter and Mantle singled. Lefty Leo Kiely replaced Wall and Berra redeemed himself for being picked off by hitting a game winning home run. This was many years before they were called walk offs. Kiely gave up only three homers in 81 innings in 1958, although two were to lefty batters: Slaughter May 31 and Berra.

It couldn't have been much better. Yankees won in dramatic fashion, Duren electrified with his strike outs in a non strike out era and Mickey Mantle homered.

I watched Mickey Mantle play from 1958 through 1968. In 1961 I saw him in person hit three home runs against the Minnesota Twins in a Sunday doubleheader, taking his last significant lead over teammate Roger Maris in the famous home run race: 43-41.

50 years today since I last saw Mickey Mantle play in person. Thursday, August 23, 2018