(LOT 180)
1952 New York Yankees w/a "Second-Year" Mickey Mantle - PSA Type 1 Encapsulated Associated Press Photo – Measures Approx. 7-1/2" x 9"
This remarkable 1952 Yankees partial team photo includes 10 bona-fide members of that World Championship team including a "second-year" Mickey Mantle (far right). The ten players from left to right include Johnny Mize (HOF); Joe Collins; Gene Woodling; Gil McDougald; Hank Bauer; Phil Rizzuto (HOF); Billy Martin; Irv Noren, Yogi Berra (HOF) and the immortal Mickey Charles Mantle (HOF). Managed by the great Casey Stengel, this dominating Yankee squad would win 95 games to capture the A.L. Pennant and then move on to defeat the Dodgers in the Fall Classic, winning their fourth consecutive World Series title! Of course, the talk of the town was now Mickey Mantle, with this supernatural-like son of an Oklahoma coal-miner embarking on a major league career that would ignite a frenzy of ardent followers.

"The Mick", having replaced the "Yankee Clipper" in centerfield, would enjoy an outstanding first full campaign in 1952, posting a .311 batting average, belting 23 round-trippers and knocking in 87 runs. This was only a small "taste" of things to come with the powerful switch hitter eventually amassing 536 lifetime homers, many of which tested the furthest confines of any ballpark. Indeed, Mantle could hit a baseball harder and farther than anyone who ever graced an MLB batter's box, with Mickey eclipsing the 500-foot mark at least ten times in his illustrious career. His incredible mystique has made him the darling of the post-war memorabilia market, with this amazingly scarce PSA Type 1 photo conjuring up vivid memories for the early stages of Mantle's historic career. Measuring approximately 7-1/2" x 9", the captivating image provides a relatively clean surface emulating stellar contrast and clarity.

Breathtaking to say the least, the central image depicting the ten aforementioned pinstriped Yankees is extremely well-centered between four bright white borders, with an upside-down caption affixed to the verso. Ultimately, this Yankee team would win an unprecedented fifth consecutive world-championship the following year (1953), a record that will arguably stand forever, especially in lieu of the parity created by the current free agent market. Yet, for all of the seemingly infinite number of superlatives this magnificent photo has to offer, its pinnacle focal point obviously points to the man on the far right, Mickey Charles Mantle, who turned the baseball world and accompanying memorabilia market "upside down" via his unparalleled stature!

MIN BID $400
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