The official Mickey Mantle Pickup Thread. All Mick, all the time!

[CW]

Nice card, Tom! Iconic.

looking back on this page, I guess the same could be said for Jerry's sweet PSA 2 and Johnny's PSA 7. Something about that '53 Topps.

[swarmee]

Grabbed these on COMC during the Black Friday sale in November:
Had to reload some cash onto COMC when I saw this pop up (cost $260); paid $2 for them to give it a condition review and they consider it Near Mint. RECEIVED PSA 4 VG-EX; ARGH!

1964 Hasbro Challenge the Yankees - [Base] #MIMA - Mickey Mantle [Near*Mint]
Courtesy of COMC.com
Exhibits batting - should be an upgrade RECEIVED PSA 5 EX

EX+ Bronx Bombers - might be an upgrade?

1963 Exhibit with red stats on back RECEIVED GOOD 2

1952 Exhibits Yankees Team card RECEIVED PSA 4 VG-EX?

[robsbessette]

Don’t know a ton about this other than my father owned it in the 60s. He never hung it up, and it remained rolled until we unearthed it from his childhood home. There is some staining, but it’s a really awesome piece. It measures 44 inches tall and 30 inches wide. If anyone has more info, I’d love to hear anything about it.

[Bestdj777]

Originally Posted by robsbessette

Don’t know a ton about this other than my father owned it in the 60s. He never hung it up, and it remained rolled until we unearthed it from his childhood home. There is some staining, but it’s a really awesome piece. It measures 44 inches tall and 30 inches wide. If anyone has more info, I’d love to hear anything about it.

That’s a fantastic piece. I have the same poster as does another member of the board. You know the photographer, obviously, but other than that I’ve never learned much in the way of details on it. I may have heard at some point that they were sold at Manny’s, but can’t recall for certain whether that was about this one and, even if so, don’t know if there is any truth to it.

[brian1961]

I just thought a few of you Mickey Mantle connoisseurs might enjoy seeing this.

1) The original Sports Collectors Digest ad from the January 15, 1988 issue, when Mr. Mint announced the purchase of the Barbara Grossman collection of New York Yankee cards and all sorts of other items devoted to her beloved Bronx Bombers. Mr. Mint devoted two photo arrangements of some of the marquee items, among which was a mint 1962 JELL-O unfolded box of Mickey Mantle.

2) I devoted chapter 1 of my book on immediate post-war regional / food issues, Never Cheaper By the Dozen, to this intriguing set, the few, BUT STRONG, childhood memories I have of them, and the occasion when I purchased this very same box from Mr. Rosen at the fall 1988 Philly Show. Back in the spring of 2016, Sports Collectors Daily editor Rich Mueller kindly ran the chapter in his fine net hobby magazine. Here is the link.

3) I present to you the image of the '62 JELL-O Mantle box from my book. In preparing for the photo-shoot, I will always remember when my dear wife beautifully recreated how the apple JELL-O would have looked. Doesn't it make your stomach ah... turn for the worse?

Anyway, Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for the many things you all have shown and taught me. Happy new year. ---- Brian Powell



https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.co...ey-mantle-box/

[jfkheat]

I picked up these two in the last couple weeks.

[Bestdj777]

That’s awesome Brian. Always knew you had that beauty but awesome to know a bit more of the history of it. The photo is a bit difficult to see but looks like a 1960 Post and a 1959 Home Run Derby. Can anyone make out the others?

Ps. I’ve enjoyed hearing your collecting stories, both buy phone and through your terrific book. Your knowledge is an asset to the hobby. And, I would have loved to see your collection back in the day.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by brian1961

1) The original Sports Collectors Digest ad from early 1988 when Mr. Mint announced the purchase of the Barbara Grossman collection of New York Yankee cards and all sorts of other items devoted to her beloved bombers. Mr. Mint devoted two photo arrangements with some of the marquee items, among which was a 1962 JELL-O mint unfolded box of Mickey Mantle.

Thanks for posting, Brian. That's an incredible Jello box.

No disrespect, but how cheesy is the bottom of that ad where Mr. Mint does himself up a la Mantle's '53 Topps card? I've never seen that before. He was an um...interesting guy.

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by jchcollins

Thanks for posting, Brian. That's an incredible Jello box.

No disrespect, but how cheesy is the bottom of that ad where Mr. Mint does himself up a la Mantle's '53 Topps card? I've never seen that before. He was an um...interesting guy.

John, you are quite right about the cheesy caricature of Alan Rosen appearing as Mickey Mantle's '53 Topps. However, this was really an attractive self-indulgence, and at this time, Mickey Mantle mania had exploded in the hobby. Alan knew a thing or two about timing.

Also John, prior to the "'53 Topps Alan Rosen", The Mint Man used a rather hideous caricature of himself in his bi-weekly SCD ads(when the hobby's premier periodical was bi-weekly). It was a side profile drawing of his head, with Alan sporting an over-the-top gargantuan nose. I chuckle and wince at the same time. During this era of the hobby, nobody, and I mean NOBODY, did as much grandiose self-promoting as Mr. Rosen. Just as I wrote in the '62 JELL-O chapter I linked, those flashy expensive ads desiring to buy your cards, showed up in nearly every issue SCD, and they most assuredly got every collector's attention. Anybody wanting to cash in their cards would inevitably think of contacting "the Marquis de Wad", "the crowned head of lettuce", to see how many $100 bills they would soon be holding!

Yeah, John, an interesting guy...... But you know, many of the crown jewels in my collection may be traced directly, or indirectly, to Alan "Mr. Mint" Rosen. Again, as I wrote, I try to keep an attitude of gratitude. I have my own Rosen horror stories, and it's better for my health that I dwell on the ups, rather than the downs.

Oh yes, I'm glad you liked the Mantle JELL-O box. Take care, friend. Have a swell day. --- Brian Powell

[AustinMike]

Originally Posted by Bestdj777

That’s a fantastic piece. I have the same poster as does another member of the board. You know the photographer, obviously, but other than that I’ve never learned much in the way of details on it. I may have heard at some point that they were sold at Manny’s, but can’t recall for certain whether that was about this one and, even if so, don’t know if there is any truth to it.

Chris, you may have heard that from me. I remember looking through an old baseball magazine a year or so ago and seeing a Manny's ad with that poster being offered. I've looked through a few old magazines with Mantle on the cover this morning hoping I could find it again, but I haven't found it. As you know, I've moved recently and have stuffed a bunch of items in a closet. I'm hoping that's where my non-Mantle old magazines are at. I did get rid of my Street and Smith magazines (at least the non-Mantle covers) and am hoping it wasn't in one of them. I'll keep looking.