Presented is Mickey Mantle’s signature on a hardcover collector’s edition of “My Favorite Summer 1956” by Mantle and New York sportswriter Phil Pepe. The Yankee slugger has signed his name in gold ink on the blue front cover. This first edition copy was published by Doubleday in April 1991. Mantle had his breakout season in 1956 after showing progressive improvement each of his first five years with the New York Yankees. Described by him as his "favorite summer", his major league-leading .353 batting average, 52 home runs, and 130 runs batted in brought home both the Triple Crown and first of three Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Awards. He also hit his second All-Star Game home run that season.

During Game 5 of the 1956 World Series (Don Larsen's perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers), Mantle kept the perfect game alive by making a running catch of a deep fly ball off the bat of Gil Hodges, and provided the first of the two runs the Yankees would score with a fourth-inning home run off Brooklyn starter Sal Maglie. Mantle's overall performance in 1956 was so exceptional that he was bestowed the Hickok Belt (unanimously) as the top American professional athlete of the year. He is also the only player to win a league Triple Crown as a switch hitter. This item comes with a LOA from Steve Grad of Beckett Authentication (A56181) and a COA from Guernsey’s, indicating that this book came from the Mantle Family collection. 

Auction Notepad