Mickey Mantle from...

[GKreindler]

...well, that is the question.

Obviously, it's from his first year with the club, but I'm trying to narrow down a more exact date. I don't think it's from his first game, since there's no bunting seen in the ballpark, but it's possible that it's still pretty soon after. Probably even from his first stint with the club, before getting sent down to KC.

Anyone have any ideas? I'm doing a GINORMOUS painting of it, so I'd like to get a better idea of what I'm dealing with, date-wise.



Thanks,

Graig

[Jay Wolt]

Graig, that's a fantastic pose of the Mick w/ the facade in the backround
Can't wait to see it when its complete

[BigJJ]

Graig, still brainstorming. But given the long sleeve underjersey, it would likely be April/May or September/October. Has the feel of April/May. Will give more thought. Best J

[BigJJ]

The bat is pristine, lends more support to the picture being from the very beginning of the season. obviouslycould be a new bat Mantle started to play with but I think the picture is from the very beginning of the season.

[perezfan]

WOW... A larger-than-life pose, with the best backdrop imaginable. That will make for one spectacular Kreinder masterpiece... epic image!

(Sorry I can't add any value with regard to the time-frame)

[BigJJ]

Think there's a 6 on the back of that jersey given the date. Graig I looked and looked but cannot find a wire photo of it which would have the date. Fairly certain it is April 1951. Awesome image - cant wait to see the piece when finished - how big will it be? May be a UPI photo which I find difficult to locate.

[Frozen in Time]

Originally Posted by GKreindler

...well, that is the question.

Obviously, it's from his first year with the club, but I'm trying to narrow down a more exact date. I don't think it's from his first game, since there's no bunting seen in the ballpark, but it's possible that it's still pretty soon after. Probably even from his first stint with the club, before getting sent down to KC.

Anyone have any ideas? I'm doing a GINORMOUS painting of it, so I'd like to get a better idea of what I'm dealing with, date-wise.



Thanks,

Graig

Graig,

Not sure about the date, as I mentioned to you earlier. I can tell you that with over 150 Rookie Type 1's of Mickey, this is one that I don't have. It does not appear on the Corbis/Bettman nor Getty sites and I have never seen a published version of the image. If we had a little more of the left-side of Mickey's face, I could make an educated guess as the Mick had a few blemishes in May and April that were not present in September.

My best guess would be April, 1951 as the spill over from his much-hyped pre-season coverage was still at a peak and that is when virtually all of this type of single posed images were taken. As his problems at bat began to mount prior to being sent down to KC this type of image gradually disappeared.

Craig

[GKreindler]

Thank you so much for your replies, everyone!! I really appreciate you all taking the time to even think about this sort of thing (especially with it being so random).

I think I agree with everyone about the image being from April. Jon, I hadn't even thought about the bat issue, so that was a good call. Combining that with the look of the uniform, which still looks pretty stainless and crisp about the shoulders, it has to be fairly fresh. Even the way the light and shadow patterns fall across the grandstand makes me think it's gotta be from that first month too.

Craig, you're totally right about those blemishes!! I remember seeing those in some of the more well-known shots of him from that April. I had wondered what they were many years back, until I realized that it was just acne. Ya know, because he was 19 when he came up. Unreal. He was just a baby!!!

Anywho, as you can probably tell by this photo (especially if you've ever met me in person), the painting is pretty darn big.



Mickey is just about life-sized, so the whole canvas is about 86" x 62", or something along those lines. And man, it's an absolute bitch to work on!!!

Thanks again, everyone!

Graig

[MVSNYC]

Originally Posted by BigJJ

Graig, still brainstorming. But given the long sleeve underjersey, it would likely be April/May or September/October. Has the feel of April/May. Will give more thought. Best J

+1

I thought the same, but i'm leaning towards September as the sky & his shadow feels like fall.

Can't wait to see the final piece!

[Kawika]

Originally Posted by GKreindler

Anywho, as you can probably tell by this photo (especially if you've ever met me in person), the painting is pretty darn big.

I was surprised when I met Graig. He weighs in at about six-eight. I understand he can dunk flatfooted. That Mantle has to be gigantic.

[GKreindler]

6'9", Kawika. 6'9".

[mr2686]

That would definitely have to be a centerpiece on a wall in someone's house. It's massive.

[Big Dave]

What would be your asking price on this?

[GKreindler]

I'm actually not sure, Dave. I don't know whether he was going to go with the whole price per square inch thing, or just come up with a larger round number. If you're interested though, drop me a PM and I'll get more information for you.

Thanks,

Graig