USPS Mickey Mantle Baseball Hall of Fame

USPS in 1999 issued a series of Baseball Hall of Fame 'Slugger' stamps, among these being New York Yankees great Mickey Mantle. The maxi card shown here depicts M & M (Roger Maris & Micky Mantle) with former U.S. President Harry S. Truman and the commemorative stamp of Mickey Mantle. The Slugger stamps not only recognised the accomplishments of Mickey Mantle, but power hitters Mel Ott, Roy Campanella and Hank Greenberg.

Known as "The Commerce Comet," Mickey Mantle (1931-1995) was a famous switch-hitter whose powerful home runs were matched by his impressive speed as a runner and as an outfielder.  He signed with the Yankees in 1949 and began playing for the team in 1951. In 1956 Mantle enjoyed one of the greatest seasons in baseball history, hitting 52 homers with 130 RBIs and a .353 batting average to win the Triple Crown. That year he also won the first of three Most Valuable Player awards, winning again in 1957 and 1962. During his career with the Yankees, Mantle led the league in home runs during four seasons and in runs during three seasons. The team won 12 pennants and seven World Series titles and Mantle himself established World Series records for runs (42), home runs (18), and RBIs (40). By the time he retired in 1968, he had a .298 batting average, he had hit 536 home runs, and he had been named to 20 American League All-Star teams. In 1974, the first year of his eligibility, Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. 

My first recollection of  M & M and the '60 - '61 Yankees was a game televised on a Saturday afternoon. I watched it with my paternal grandfather and dad, at my grandparents house in Little Rock (AR). I recall other players too -- Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford -- but oddly not the team they played against nor the final score. And can you imagine  this was all back in the days of B&W TV sets? It's one of those feel-good memories, and so quite naturally when I saw this maxi card with stamp for sale I just had to purchase it. 

In 1999, Roger Maris (shown right) would be featured in the USPS series "Celebrate the Century - 1960s."