Lee Lowenfish book mistakes: "Baseball's Endangered Species: inside the craft of scouting by those who lived it." 2023

A friend was giving away his copy of this book and I took it to read about Tom Greenwade whose photo is on the cover. Greenwade was the Yankee scout who signed Mickey Mantle.

I read part of the beginning but looked up Greenwade in the index and skipped to page 73. There wasn't much on him especially considering his photo is on the book cover.

Pages 74-75:

"... serious ailment. Mantle suffered polio as a youngster"

Mantle suffered from osteomyelitis:

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Mickey-Mantle/

Mickey also loved to play football, but an injury early in his freshman year of high school prematurely ended his budding pigskin career – and almost his life. During a football practice he was kicked in the lower leg by a teammate. Within hours his ankle had swollen to three times its normal size, and he developed a 104-degree fever. His parents took the 14-year-old to the local hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with osteomyelitis, a potentially fatal bone disease that had been aggravated by the injury. Doctors told the Mantles that they had to amputate the leg to save the child’s life.

Mickey’s parents sought a second opinion at the Crippled Children’s Hospital in Oklahoma City. Doctors there agreed that he had osteomyelitis, but they had a much less drastic treatment plan: eight shots a day of a new wonder drug called penicillin. Within a week the swelling in Mickey’s ankle dissipated, and he was soon back in sports. His football career was over, but his baseball life was just beginning.

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This book by Lowenfish is the only place I've seen where polio is mentioned as afflicting Mickey Mantle.

Did Mickey Mantle have polio? Link:

AI Overview

No, Mickey Mantle did not have polio. He was famously troubled by severe leg and bone issues in his youth and throughout his career, but the condition was osteomyelitis, not polio.

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My own 2015 post here where I used the same photo as that on the book by Lowenfish:

Mickey Mantle: what if he'd played for the Dodgers? They might still be in Brooklyn.  Monday, August 17, 2015

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Note 1: I do not know why Greenwade is credited with signing Pee Wee Reese since the Greenwade SABR bio clearly states that Greenwade joined the Dodgers in 1940.  SABR bio on Reese by Rob Edelman:

... midway through the 1939 campaign, the Red Sox sold Reese to the Brooklyn Dodgers ...

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Lowenfish makes that mistake too:

Page 74:

Greenwade "was involved in the signing of ... and Pee Wee Reese, who was playing for Louisville in the Red Sox organization."

***   The End   ***

Lou Gehrig passed in career Yankee Home Runs by Mickey Mantle in 1966. Aaron Judge?

Lou Gehrig

Position: First Baseman

Bats: Left  •  Throws: Left

6-0, 200lb (183cm, 90kg)

Born: June 19, 1903 in New York, NY us

Died: June 2, 1941 (Aged 37-348d) in Bronx, NY

Buried: Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, NY

Yankees career Home Runs: Judge joins top five 1957-2024.  Tuesday, September 2, 2025

The New York Yankees top five in career Home Runs (HR) has been the same players 1957-2024 with only the order changing and even that has been the same since 1966 when Mantle hit 23 HR to pass Gehrig by 3...

Mantle hit 34 HR in 1957 to pass Dickey to have the fifth highest HR total.

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Lou Gehrig played in 8 games in his final season in 1939. He had 33 Plate Appearances (PA) and 28 At Bats (AB) but only four hits, all singles.

The Yankees swept the Chicago Cubs in the 1938 World Series, Gehrig's last. He had four hits in 14 AB, all singles.

Gehrig led the American League (AL) with the yet unknown OPS+ 176 in 1937. He had 37 Home Runs, third in the AL:

Home Runs

1.	DiMaggio • NYY	46
2.	Greenberg • DET	40
3.	Gehrig • NYY	37
4.	Foxx • BOS	36
5.	York • DET	35
6.	Trosky • CLE	32
7.	Dickey • NYY	29
	Clift • SLB	29
9.	Johnson • PHA	25
	Moses • PHA	25

In 1938 Gehrig's HR dropped from 37 to 29.

https://stathead.com/tiny/lDCUR

For single seasons, in 1938, Playing in the AL, in the regular season, requiring Home Runs >= 25 and Adjusted OPS+ >= 0, sorted by descending Home Runs.

Rk	Player	HR	OPS+	Season	Age	Team	Lg	G	PA	AB
1	Hank Greenberg	58	169	1938	27	DET	AL	155	681	556
2	Jimmie Foxx	50	183	1938	30	BOS	AL	149	685	565
3	Harlond Clift	34	144	1938	25	SLB	AL	149	658	534
4	Rudy York	33	140	1938	24	DET	AL	135	557	463
5	Joe DiMaggio	32	139	1938	23	NYY	AL	145	660	599
6	Bob Johnson	30	142	1938	32	PHA	AL	152	652	563
7	Lou Gehrig	29	132	1938	35	NYY	AL	157	689	576
8	Bill Dickey	27	143	1938	31	NYY	AL	132	533	454
9	Ken Keltner	26	103	1938	21	CLE	AL	149	619	576
10	Joe Gordon	25	109	1938	23	NYY	AL	127	520	458

Provided by Stathead.com: Found with Stathead. See Full Results.
Generated 9/3/2025.

Gehrig was second among four Yankees and none were Babe Ruth.

This was the first season in which two players hit at least 50 HR.

Career HR leaders for any MLB team through 1938:

https://stathead.com/tiny/lVbaG

For combined seasons, up to 1938, Playing in the AL or NL, in the regular season, requiring Adjusted OPS+ >= 0 and Home Runs >= 200, sorted by descending Home Runs.

Rk	Player	HR	OPS+	From	To	Age	G	PA	AB
1	Babe Ruth	714	206	1914	1935	19-40	2503	10628	8399
2	Lou Gehrig	493	179	1923	1938	20-35	2156	9632	7973
3	Jimmie Foxx	429	169	1925	1938	17-30	1710	7294	6116
4	Mel Ott	342	157	1926	1938	17-29	1739	7300	6148
5	Rogers Hornsby	301	175	1915	1937	19-41	2259	9481	8173
6	Al Simmons	298	136	1924	1938	22-36	2023	8882	8164
7	Chuck Klein	280	144	1928	1938	23-33	1447	6286	5701
8	Cy Williams	251	125	1912	1930	24-42	2002	7727	6780
9	Goose Goslin	248	128	1921	1938	20-37	2287	9831	8656
10	Hack Wilson	244	144	1923	1934	23-34	1348	5557	4760
11	Wally Berger	227	140	1930	1938	24-32	1231	5245	4791
12	Earl Averill	225	137	1929	1938	27-36	1486	6651	5854
13	Jim Bottomley	219	125	1922	1937	22-37	1991	8358	7471
14	Gabby Hartnett	218	127	1922	1938	21-37	1792	6711	5912

Provided by Stathead.com: Found with Stathead. See Full Results.
Generated 9/3/2025.

So when Gehrig reached 493 HR, he was still second only to Ruth among all MLB players.

Career HR leaders for any MLB team through 1966:

https://stathead.com/tiny/TCBgf

For combined seasons, up to 1966, Playing in the AL or NL, in the regular season, requiring Adjusted OPS+ >= 0 and Home Runs >= 400, sorted by descending Home Runs.

Rk	Player	HR	OPS+	From	To	Age	G	PA	AB
1	Babe Ruth	714	206	1914	1935	19-40	2503	10628	8399
2	Willie Mays	542	162	1951	1966	20-35	2157	9270	8146
3	Jimmie Foxx	534	163	1925	1945	17-37	2317	9677	8134
4	Ted Williams	521	191	1939	1960	20-41	2292	9792	7706
5	Mel Ott	511	155	1926	1947	17-38	2730	11347	9456
6	Mickey Mantle	496	175	1951	1966	19-34	2113	8810	7227
7	Lou Gehrig	493	179	1923	1939	20-36	2164	9665	8001
8	Eddie Mathews	493	145	1952	1966	20-34	2223	9533	8049
9	Stan Musial	475	159	1941	1963	20-42	3026	12721	10972
10	Henry Aaron	442	156	1954	1966	20-32	1964	8543	7683
11	Ernie Banks	419	127	1953	1966	22-35	1961	8218	7426
12	Duke Snider	407	140	1947	1964	20-37	2143	8237	7161

Provided by Stathead.com: Found with Stathead. See Full Results.
Generated 9/3/2025.

Mathews tied Gehrig. 1966 was a tough year for the Iron Horse.

Mantle passed Gehrig with this HR:

Friday, July 29, 1966

Start Time: 8:03 p.m. Local

Attendance: 30,364

Venue: White Sox Park

Game Duration: 2:41

Night Game, on grass

Yankees 2, White Sox 1

HR: Mickey Mantle (21, off Bruce Howard, 4th inn, 0 on, 1 out to RF).

Bruce Howard threw righty, so the switch hitting Mantle homered batting lefty.

The Yankees were 47-52 (99 games). There were 63 games remaining but Mantle hit only two more Home Runs. Frank Robinson led the AL with 49 HR in 1966 (also BA and RBI for the triple crown). Robinson also homered on that date giving him 31 HR.

Mantle homered in both ends of a doubleheader July 8, 1966 giving him 18 HR.

Friday, July 8, 1966

Start Time: 8:57 p.m. Local

Attendance: 14,863

Venue: Yankee Stadium I

Game Duration: 2:34

Night Game, on grass

Second game of doubleheader

Yankees 7, Senators 5

HR: Mickey Mantle (18, off Jim Hannan, 3rd inn, 0 on, 1 out to CF).

Jim Hannan threw right-handed.

The Yankees were 36-45 (81) games, half of the 162 scheduled games.

Frank Robinson did not homer July 8, 1966. His Orioles were 57-27 (84 games). Robinson had 20 HR.

So:

Robinson 20

Mantle 18

Obviously, Mantle could not sustain it ... at age 34.

Mickey Mantle 1966: lightning back in his bat ... for 11 days.  Thursday, July 7, 2011

I stumbled onto something that I long recalled: the Mick getting his old power back after he had declined.

In 1966 from June 28 through July 8, the Mick hit 11 home runs in 11 days, 14 games, raising his total to 18.

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Aaron Judge has 358 HR: 493-358=135. Judge has a long way to go to reach Gehrig, much less Mantle at 536. Judge will be 34 in April 2026.