(LOT 1300)
1951 Associated Press 5" x 7" Mickey Mantle Type 3 Rookie Photograph - PSA Encapsulated
Few can deny that Mickey Mantle was one of the greatest baseball players to ever step onto a Major League diamond. His skills and powers on the field are legendary and record-setting. After all, he led the American League four times in home runs, four times in slugging percentage, earned 20 All-Star nominations, captured seven World Series titles and won the elusive Triple Crown in 1956 en route to one of his three AL MVP Awards. But, in 1951, a slump and demotion to the Kansas City Blues nearly derailed, or even ended, his budding career. If not for his father's tough love, which Mickey referred to "as though Mutt had leveled a double-barreled shotgun to my head", Mickey may have vanished to the fields of Oklahoma never to dazzle another baseball fan again. Thank you, Mutt. Offered here is a 1951 Associated Press Type 3 photograph of the young outfielder in his rookie campaign. This beauty shows the prodigy posing with his bat on his shoulder in the on-deck circle. Encapsulated by PSA, this is an absolutely marvelous borderless image of The Mick with virtually no flaws, save for a light smudge at his right knee. Two light lines run horizontally across the image at his shoulders, but do not detract from the striking shot of Mantle ready to strike himself. The edges and corners are razor-sharp. The reverse is only lightly-toned and clean throughout with only the minor dot at center and a tiny piece of tape at the bottom.

MIN BID $200