(LOT 150)
c.1950's Mickey Mantle's "Mighty Swing" Original Type I Photo – Measures Approx. 8" x 10" – PSA Type I LOA
Little did people realize that in 1951, the ultra-powerful powerful rookie from Oklahoma named Mickey Charles Mantle would be embarking on one of the most iconic careers in our National Pastime's glorious history. Luckily for hobbyists, there are hundreds of Mantle cards to choose from, more than accommodating the collecting community for an opportunity to own a popular baseball card of this Yankee icon. Unfortunately for advanced photo enthusiasts, the prospect of capturing one of his original batting images resides as a fractional opportunity versus the seemingly countless number of available baseball cards that flood the hobby.

Offered here just happens to be one of the most imposing Mantle batting photos extant, a magnificent Circa 1950's original PSA Type 1 image with the "Commerce Comet" completing his mighty left-handed swing. Measuring approximately 8" x 10", "The Mick" is donning his classic pinstripe Yankee uniform, obviously finishing his colossal swing from Yankee Stadium's left-handed batter's box as he watches another one of his mammoth blasts sail towards the furthest confines of the cathedral-like stadium. Presenting itself in outstanding condition, it has stubbornly defied "father-time" by retaining virtually all of its original attributes, starting with the pristine-like black & white left-handed batting pose that exhibits near-perfect contrast, brilliant clarity, bright white borders and a relatively clean surface.

No obtrusive flaws are evident, and the verso only reveals a few negligible scribbled notations. It is common knowledge that Mantle could hit a baseball harder and further than anyone who came before or after this Goliath-like coal miner, with Mickey twice walloping home runs off of Yankee Stadium's right field façade. Still the owner of the furthest official home run in baseball history, Mantle's gigantic 1953 dinger off of Senator's southpaw Chuck Stobbs ricocheted off the Griffith's Stadium scoreboard, eventually landing in a neighboring backyard some 565-feet from home plate! Impossible as it may seem, 500-foot+ round-trippers were virtually common practice for "The Mick", with his supernatural-like bat speed and unparalleled strength literally "coming to life" via this grand photo! - LOA – PSA/DNA Type I

MIN BID $200