October Legends
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/2/2013
While his first four seasons in New York were nothing short of prodigious, 1955 was the year Mickey Mantle came into his own. Always regarded as one of the greatest young stars in the game, Mantle was often accused of not living up to his potential. In 1955 he surpassed even the highest expectations. Banging out 37 homers and leading the league in triples, slugging and on base percentage, 1955 was the season Mickey Mantle became MICKEY MANTLE. And as great as 1955 was, the next year was even better. In what he always called his “favorite summer”, Mickey simply exploded, winning the coveted Triple Crown with a .353 average, 52 home runs and 130 RBI. The voting for the 1956 American League MVP Award was just a formality, as no player had so completely dominated the game since the great Babe Ruth. And The Mick continued to get better. In 1957 it seemed like opposing pitchers could not keep number 7 off the bases. In a remarkable statistic, Mantle reach base more times (319) than he made outs (312) courtesy of his career-high
.365 average, league-leading 146 walks and grounding into just five double plays all season. A second consecutive MVP Award capped off the year. Now, any bat that can be attributed to Mickey Mantle is special, but this bat can be accurately dated to those three unbelievable seasons. 1955 to 1957 are the years that made Mantle a superstar. This is one of the bats that made it happen.
The Mick’s M110 can be definitively narrowed down to the years 1955 to
1957 by a small defect on the H&B center brand that only appears on bats made during that period. Additionally, Louisville Slugger archives show that Mantle placed orders for this specific bat model in 1955, 1956 and 1957. The bat has a barely visible crack in the handle. The back barrel shows some slight checking from contact and ball and stitch impressions can be seen on the left, right and front barrel. The knob has model number “M110” stamped into the end and Mantle’s famous number “7” has been hand-written in black marker. Time has lent this remarkable piece of wood a warm, golden hue.
The factory stamping is crisp and clear, contrasting nicely with the rich coloring. Letter of Authenticity from PSA/DNA who have given this piece of baseball history a grade of GU 8. Their sticker number 1B05056 has been affixed to the barrel end. A Letter of Authenticity from Dave Bushing is included as well.