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Originally Posted by packs
I actually don't think that's true. How can a guy who seemed to sign at every show that ever got put together for 25 or 30 years be someone people associate with as not gracious to fans?
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True. Mantle without a doubt had some bad moments in 25-ish years of regularly doing the card show circuit, but he was incredibly available - and I would venture to say that most people had a good experience. What's crazy to me is the value of things like authenticated single signed Mantle balls today, given how many of them that were put out during that time. I think on the whole Mantle gets a pass though, due to the same "golden boy" mentality that swirls around everything else related to him and his career. For example, the "grouchy superstar" argument seems to have been leveled at Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Joe D., and Frank Robinson way more than you hear it brought up about Mantle. Yes he was crude at times, but he was generally perceived as a happy drunk in his later years. Forgive and forget, right?