Opinions Wanted re: Mickey Mantle Program

[Al C.risafulli]

Thanks, guys. To my knowledge, the only thing that changed in most scorecards was the centerfold page, the rest of the books were pre-printed, and I believe the lineups and rosters were actually just crash-printed onto a pre-printed page, so there's not much typesetting that needed to be done. Some clubs didn't even staple them in (I have a 1907 program in our next auction where the centerfold page is just folded and inserted). I figure if the New York Daily News could typeset, print and deliver 2.4 million newspapers a day, baseball teams can typeset and print a single page, particularly if the press is in the stadium itself.

Regarding the exhibition between Brooklyn and the Yankees two days before Opening Day, while Markland played in that game, boxscores would indicate that Phil Rizzuto was the starting shortstop. He had three at bats and five putouts before Markland came into the game. Rizzuto was also projected to be the starting shortstop in an April 16 exhibition against the Senators that was rained out. So it would make sense that if Rizzuto was the starting shortstop in an exhibition two days before opening day, and was the starting shortstop in a rained out exhibition the day before opening day, and if newspapers reported on April 12 that he would be the starting shortstop on opening day, that his name would appear in the scorecard as the starting shortstop for opening day.

Further, Mantle hit third and played right in the exhibition against Brooklyn and it was known the week prior that he'd be playing, so it makes sense that he would be printed in the scorecard for opening day and not left out of the lineup altogether.

I think the wildcard here isn't Markland in the starting lineup, which was unfortunately printed or projected nowhere - it's the presence of Hank Bauer in the starting lineup as the leadoff hitter in the THIRD program that's been sold as the Mantle Opening Day scorecard that I wonder about. Jackie Jensen started that game, but I've seen an example of the scorecard with Bauer's name crossed out (thanks to an astute collector who sent it to me) and Jensen's name penciled in, and then scored as the Opening Day.

So there are two different scorecards out there that have actually been SCORED as if they were Mantle's first game and sold in the hobby - neither of them are the one I have, as both the ones that have been consigned to me were blank (the one I've got now has the pitcher's names written in, but that could've been done at any time).

I don't question whether the scorecards can be printed on game day - thousands of milestone scorecards with the correct lineups printed in them for other games serve as pretty solid indicators, to me, that that was common. What I question is which one was printed on the actual Opening Day, and I'm not sure we're going to be able to unequivocally answer the question, sadly.

-Al