OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The folded two-page letter arrived long ago on now-faded stationery. At the top rested the iconic red, white and blue logo of the legendary New York Yankees Inc. At the bottom sat the loopy signature of a future Hall of Famer.
In the 29 handwritten lines between, the ball player shared tidbits of his day at the stadium as he prepared for a game against the St. Louis Browns. But mostly, he spoke of the loneliness of being separated from the woman who would remain steadfast by his side through the turbulent decades that would follow.
The undated letter ends with the one-word moniker that a generation of baseball fans would come to idolize.
He signed it simply, “All my love, Mick.”
Earlier this month, one of Mickey Mantle’s two surviving sons, Danny, donated the letter, one of his father’s No. 7 jerseys and the tape used to measure Mantle’s longest home run - hit April 17, 1953, at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. - to the Oklahoma History Center.
“He was so loved,” Danny Mantle, 56, of Plano, Texas, said Thursday while visiting the center.
The Oklahoman (https://bit.ly/1tqrXnt ) reports that the new items will be displayed in a gallery that already includes photographs of Mantle that were published in The Daily Oklahoman during his playing career. The exhibit will continue through Sept. 15.
“This is to help people remember Mickey as a loving man and loving father,” said Steve Hawkins, the center’s marketing director.
Danny Mantle still held 31 letters his father wrote to his mother, Merlyn, in their time together. The correspondence began in 1949, shortly after the couple began dating and two years before Mickey’s big league debut at age 19.
“I’ve never heard my dad sound like that,” Danny said. “It’s just great to see how in love they were.”
Mantle is well-known for his 18-year Yankee career. He won the American League Most Valuable Player award three times, clouted 536 home runs and finished with a career batting average of .298. But what his son, Danny, remembers him most for is his character.
Mickey hailed from Commerce and Merlyn grew up in Picher - Oklahoma towns that tangled as high school rivals.
The Mantles were married for 38 years, until Mickey died in 1995. After his death, Merlyn vowed that she wouldn’t date again. After Mickey and two of her sons passed away, Merlyn had her tombstone placed next to theirs in Dallas.
“The presence of Merlyn’s name is testament to the durability of their love, despite an often dysfunctional relationship and Merlyn’s separation from Mickey in his final six years,” New York Times reporter Richard Sandomir wrote in 2001.
“My dad called home every day and checked on my mom,” Danny recalled. “It was a lifetime of love.”
And in return, Merlyn loved her husband unconditionally. They never divorced.
“She would’ve never wanted anyone else,” Danny said.
Though Mickey Mantle carried the public image of a hard drinker, Danny Mantle argues that perception is overblown. Instead, he recalled his father as a man of great character.
“How do you put up the kind of numbers he had year in and year out and drink the way they say he did?” Danny asked.
Danny isn’t the only one who remembers his father in such a positive light.
Jeff Briley, the history center’s deputy director, was in elementary school when the elder Mantle rose to fame. Although he’s not much of a sports fan now, Briley remembers how much he and his classmates adored Mickey, and how genuine he was.
“He was absolutely human from start to finish,” Briley said.
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Information from: The Oklahoman, https://www.newsok.com
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