SONS OF MICKEY MANTLE & BILLY MARTIN TO MEET FANS AT THE RESTAURANT ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20th
Danny Mantle, David Mantle and Billy Joe Martin, the sons of Yankee
legends Mickey Mantle and Billy Martin will be in town for the final weekend of the current Yankee Stadium.
The three men will meet fans, sign autographs, and reminisce about their famous dads
and memories of the great ballpark. They will sign any objects fans bring
related to their dads or to Yankee history.
There will be a fee of $10 per autograph.
Saturday, September 20, 2008, Noon- 2 p.m.
HALL OF FAMER WADE BOGGS AT MICKEY MANTLE’S TO SIGN YANKEE STADIUM BOOKS ON SEPTEMBER 23rd
Hall of Famer Wade Boggs, the 5-time A.L. batting champion, will be signing copies of Yankee Stadium: The Official Retrospective, by Mark Vancil and Alfred Santasiere III the authorized illustrated history of the stadium. And yes, Wade’s ride on the police horse following the 1996 World Series is featured on
page 27. Alfred Santasiere III, one of the authors, will also be present.
Boggs was a Yankee from 1993-1997 and a member of the first world championship club of
the Joe Torre era in 1996, and the only 3,000 Hit Club Member whose 3,000th hit was a home run
There is no additional charge for Wade’s autograph with the purchase of the
book. He will not be able to sign items other than the book at this
appearance.
Tuesday, September 23, 12:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Gotta Have It! is accepting pre-orders of the Boggs-signed books. Call 212 688-1060 for information.
The event is hosted by Gotta Have It! the New York-based memorabilia dealer
who provides sports and pop culture artifacts for the restaurant’s walls and
showcases on a rotating basis.
2008 MARKS 20TH ANNIVERSARY FOR MICKEY MANTLE’S RESTAURANT
When New York Yankee great Mickey Mantle agreed to lend his name to a restaurant twenty years ago, neither he nor its investors would have envisioned that it would still be flourishing two decades later in the same Central Park South location.
After all, New York is a tough town for the restaurant trade, and a look at the roster of sports themed restaurants over this span would see many coming and going.
But with a great location, great food, state of the art audio/video, and a frequent chance of catching sports celebrities, the restaurant, now a New York landmark, will celebrate 20 great years during 2008.
Indeed, Mickey Mantle’s has become a New York institution, a destination for the sports industry of New York, a must-see venue for visitors, a stopping off point for visiting athletes and celebrities, and “home base” for area sports fans who love to watch their teams in the company of other fans.
Over the years, the restaurant has hosted some of the biggest press conferences in sports, including Phil Rizzuto’s “farewell” appearance before the media, as well as served as the venue for live radio broadcasts for such outlets as WFAN and Sporting News Radio. And when there is a breaking sports story, you can usually find half a dozen television crews at Mantle’s getting “fan reaction.”
The popular menu of American fare, (including a children’s menu) makes the decision to “meet at Mickey’s” an easy one for families or friends, and the convivial bar, which includes a popular celebrity wine list, has taken on a life of its own as a great after-work destination. With the restaurant just steps away from some of the world’s finest hotels, it continues to draw an international clientele, many of whom are happily accommodated with a wide variety of sports on the more than 30 screens.
Enhancing the experience has been the addition of rotating sports collectibles provided by Gotta Have It!, the popular memorabilia dealer headquartered in New York. Gotta Have It! turns the restaurants walls, showcases and display cabinets into a veritable sports art gallery. And there are plenty of restaurant souvenirs, some geared to the anniversary, available at the gift area as well.
“A lot of people questioned whether this restaurant could continue to flourish after Mickey Mantle’s passing in 1995,” said owner Chris Villano. The truth is, it not only survived, but 2007 was one of the biggest years we ever had.”
The year was also marked by the restaurant being rated the #1 sports bar in the US in a story appearing on ESPN.com.
ESPN.com Ranks Mickey's the #1 Baseball Restaurant in America
#1. Mickey Mantle's Restaurant
The theme of the lavishly decorated walls at Mickey Mantle's harks back to baseball's golden era. More than 300 pieces of memorabilia are on display, including the original plaque that hung at Yankee Stadium's Monument Park to honor "The Mick" from 1969 to 1996 (at which time a full-sized monument replaced it).
Visitors also will find uniforms worn by Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Jackie Robinson, along with stadium chairs from the original Yankee Stadium, a life-size cutout of Babe Ruth autographed by more than 150 big leaguers and a circa-1961 replica of old Yankee Stadium that covers 49 square feet and features working light towers, scoreboard and 64,000 molded-pewter seats.
"Because we're in New York we don't just have sports personalities as guests, but also celebrities who are sports fans," said Bart Alexander, director of special events at Mantle's.
"Some recent visitors include Yankees GM Brian Cashman, Mickey's old teammates Moose Skowron and Joe Pepitone, Don Mattingly, Bob Costas, Jerry Springer, Chris Matthews of "Hardball," Harry Smith of CBS News and football guys Dan Marino, Mike Ditka and Jimmy Johnson."
Remebering Phil Rizzuto
Marty Appel On Phil Rizzuto
Mickey Mantle was Phil Rizzuto’s teammate for only six seasons, and Phil was of the previous generation and as such, didn’t run around with Mick as did Whitey Ford and Billy Martin. But there was a deep, deep respect between the two men, and best exemplified when Mick passed away on August 13, 1995.
Phil, in his 39th season as a Yankee broadcaster, received mixed signals from WPIX, his employer, about attending the funeral. There is no doubt that he would have been excused and permitted to attend, but when he called the station, he didn’t come right out and ask to go, he left himself open to hearing them say, “well, Bobby Murcer is a pallbearer, we’ll be down two guys if you go……” and he took that to mean they weren’t happy about him going.
It was an error on both sides. WPIX should have practically insisted he attend, and Phil should have just said, “I have to be there.”
Instead, he broadcast the game that night with a heavy heart, knowing his Yankee brethren were in Dallas for this important gathering, and that he was not there with them.
So troubled was he, that he quit! He retired in his 39th season feeling just horrible over his decision.
The Yankees (and in part WPIX), persuaded him to come back for a series of home games in 1996, which was good, because it brought a more proper closure to his career, and allowed him to touch the first year of Joe Torre and the beginning of this era, with Derek Jeter winning Rookie of the Year, and Bernie Williams, and Mariano Rivera emerging as all-time Yankee greats. So the man who started playing in 1941 as a teammate of Lefty Gomez, Joe DiMaggio, Bill Dickey, Red Ruffing and Frank Crosetti was able to touch the careers of players we still see in action today.
Phil basically disappeared from the public scene after his retirement, and saved his final public appearance for February 2, 2006 at Mickey Mantle’s Restaurant, where, at the age of 88, he appeared at a press conference to announce the auction of a portion of his memorabilia.
It was a wonderful day! His daughters had suggested that he not speak, but the media in the room – most of whom grew up with his broadcasts – practically applauded him to the microphone, where he delivered a few “holy cows,” cited a few old friends as huckleberrys, and had the time of his life. It was a great day by all measures – his final day with the New York media. And it was a great day in the history of Mickey Mantle’s.
Eighteen months later, he passed away at 89. And he died on August 13 – the 12th anniversary of Mickey’s death.
500 Home Run Club
Mantle and the 500 Home Run Club
By Marty Appel
Jim Thome is on the way to 500 home runs.
Rafael Palmeiro is there. Eddie Murray too.
The 500 Home Run Club really isn’t what it used to be. In this era of big power numbers and huge RBI totals, the “Mickey Mantle Era” of Major League Baseball seems to have developed its own set of standards.
The funny thing is, when Mays and Mantle and Maris and Mathews and Banks and Aaron and Colavito and Killebrew were slugging away, we thought that THEY were representative of long ball out of control. Back then, in the ‘60s, people talked about a rabbit in the ball, and how the “old” sluggers like Ruth and Gehrig and Hornsby and Ott and Foxx were being shortchanged.
Well, it’s déjŕ vu all over again.
When Mickey Mantle has four seasons of 100 RBIs – and we knew he was lethal with men on base – and when Gary Sheffield already has eight – you know the stats have changed.
You only have to look at the pitcher’s ERAs to know that for sure.
With taking anything away from the current breed of 500 home run sluggers, who include Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Thomas, Sammy Sosa (600!) and soon Alex Rodriguez, we must place Mickey’s totals in a proper perspective.
When he retired after the 1968 season (the same year by the way as Maris and Mathews and Colavito), his 536 homers were third on the all-time list, behind only Babe Ruth and Willie Mays. He had passed Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams and Mel Ott en route to number three, when the 500 club was really exclusive. What he should best be remembered for, to my thinking, could be summed up like this:
Most popular player of his era
Most powerful switch hitter of all time
Third all-time in home runs when he retired
A great teammate
And that’s a pretty good legacy for baseball player, yes?
Marty Appel did PR for the Yankees from 1968-77, and later produced their telecasts for WPIX. He does PR for Mickey Mantle’s restaurant through his own PR company, and is the author of 16 books, including “Now Pitching for the Yankees,” which is on sale at the restaurant.
Hideki Matsui at Mickey Mantle’s
Hideki Matsui comes to Mickey Mantle’s to introduce the new book about him by the Japanese author, Shizuka Ijuin, on Friday, April 6th. The book is titled “Hideki Matsui – Sportsmanship, Modesty and the Art of The Home Run,” and is a must read for fans to understand just how big of a living legend he is in Japan.
Quick fact: Matsui is the only Yankee to hit a Grand Slam Home Run in his first game.
Opening Day and The Mick by Marty Appel
Mickey Mantle was such a natural on the baseball field that you couldn’t always tell if he was caught up in the little rituals that marked a baseball season.
He loved Opening Day. Most players do. But if you were Mickey Mantle, the home opener generally meant a sold out crowd loaded with VIPs, a little chill in the air so you wore your long sleeve sweatshirts just like in the World Series, the uniforms were brand new, you went to center field for the pennant raising, you were presented with your World Series ring, someone special threw out the first pitch, and you were (when it applied), standing there as a world champion.
Technically, you were world champions all season. But the glow could be lifted within a few days, as you found yourself in a new pennant race, and what mattered was today’s starting pitcher, not how you did in the World Series.
Since Mick played in 12 World Series in his first 14 years (winning 7 of them), those opening day rituals were pretty common to him. And he loved them. He loved to hear Bob Sheppard say his name when the starting lineup was introduced (something that STILL gives fans goose bumps when replayed in the mind…..”the center fielder…..number seven…. Mickey Mantle….number seven)”.
But what was Mickey’s favorite home opener?
The answer is 1978.
Yes, 1978, a decade after he had retired.
The Yankees had won their first world championship in 15 years the previous fall, beating the Dodgers behind the prodigious home runs of Reggie Jackson. Now, for the raising of the world championship flag on opening day of 1978, team owner George Steinbrenner called on Mickey to walk to center field to perform the honors.
With Roger Maris.
Yes, Mickey’s old pal and roommate, Roger Maris, with whom he had captivated the nation in 1961 by hitting 115 home runs together, was returning to Yankee Stadium for the very first time since being traded after the 1966 season.
He had left a bitter man, angered by learning that the front office had failed to reveal the true results of x-rays, forcing him to play injured and underperform. He spent two satisfying, pennant winning season with the Cardinals, and never returned to the Bronx, never accepted an Old Timers Day invitation, or in fact, an invitation to anything.
He wasn’t impolite about it, but he felt the fans had been set up to boo him when he returned, and he didn’t need that.
But a call from George Steinbrenner persuaded him that he would not be booed, because he would be with Mickey, and they would be introduced in such a way that any boos would immediately turn to cheers.
And so on opening day of 1978, Mickey and Roger were introduced, and an outpouring of love from 56,000 voices could be heard all the way to Throggs Neck. As great as winning the ’77 World Series had been, it was made even greater by the “all is forgiven” tone of opening day, the return of Roger, and one more chance for the fans to give it all they had for the M&M Boys.
AROD CAN TAKE SOLACE FROM MANTLE EXPERIENCE by Marty Appel
The rough going that Alex Rodriguez had in his own ballpark this past summer – Yankee fans really getting on him during his struggles in the field and at the plate – was reminiscent of another talented Yankee player from a half century before.
When Mickey Mantle retired after the 1968 season, he was the most popular player in all of baseball – cheered by adoring crowds wherever he played.
But it wasn’t always that way for The Mick. In fact, older fans may remember that he was the target of an awful going over by his hometown fans, booed after strikeouts, chastised in the press for falling short of expectations.
The early years of Mickey’s career could be rough – they didn’t call it the “Bronx Cheer” for nothing. He was only 19 years old with a straw suitcase and a high school education out of Commerce, Oklahoma, and all they asked him to do was play on the world’s biggest sports stage – and succeed Joe DiMaggio.
Despite incredible natural talent – it was said that nobody ever brought the combination of power and speed to the game that Mickey Mantle did – it didn’t kick in right away. Struggling at the plate, and still learning the outfield (he had been converted from shortstop), Mick was sent down to the minor league Kansas City Blues in mid-season for, well, seasoning.
He didn’t stay long. He hit the ball well, and returned in a few weeks (where he was given number 7 instead of his original number 6). But he wasn’t yet “Mickey Mantle.” He wasn’t the player who would turn out to be the most powerful switch hitter in baseball history.
As the years moved on, he improved, but he never seemed to satisfy the fans. He wasn’t Joe DiMaggio. Whereas Joe had only struckout 369 times in his career, Mickey was striking out over 100 times a season. Today, that’s almost par for the course. But with DiMaggio’s example in place, it was wholly unacceptable in the ‘50s. Yes, Babe Ruth had more strikeouts than anyone in history, but the fans weren’t comparing Mickey to Babe, only to Joe, who retired in 1951.
The more Mickey stuckout, the more the fans booed him. Today, you move a runner from second to third with a ground out, and everyone pats your back, gives you a high five, and says “great job” when you return to the dugout. Back them, a player was more or less left alone, alone to deal with the frustration of his own failings. Mick took it out on the water cooler and on batting helmets. He hated to strikeout, and he hated to let his teammates down. And yes, he hated the booing from the fans.
It wasn’t until 1961 that he won the fans over. That was the year he and Roger Maris staged their epic home run chase of Ruth’s record of 60. Maris, sullen, unfriendly to the press, and not, by upbringing a “true Yankee,” now suffered the occasional going over by the fans. Mickey, suddenly smiling and enjoying the chase, relaxed and let his personality shine. The fans began to cheer – and never changed. He rose to his ultimate hero status that summer.
But in the ‘50s – even when he was winning the Triple Crown 50 years ago this season – the fans could be very tough on Mickey Mantle.
Celebrity Sightings
Studio hosts Terry Bradshaw, Jimmy Johnson & Curt Menefee of Fox were at one table and CBS's Dan Marino and Shannon Sharp at an adjoining table in The Skybox tossed rolls at each other while watching the Cowboys vs. Falcons Game. (Mickey's has the NFL Network Package so our customers can see every game.)
2006: The Renaissance of Mickey Mantle's Restaurant and Sports Bar
THE ‘NEW’ MICKEY MANTLE’S RESTAURANT, COMPLETE WITH
28 NEW HD PLASMA/LCD TELEVISION SCREENS,
The Most Technologically Up-to-Date Sports Restaurant In New York also Offers Free Wi-Fi for Patrons.
Replaced TVs will go to New York Center for Autism Charter School
New York, December 25, 2005 – A dramatically modernized Mickey Mantle’s Restaurant, at 42 Central Park South, is poised to welcome fans for the college bowl season – as well as for Super Bowl – in the most technologically up-to-date sports restaurant in town.
“We have been working with Best Buy to update the facility, and we’re increasing our television screens from 15 to 28, all the latest high definition, plasma/LCD, including two 61” and one 50” screens,” noted Christopher G. Villano, owner of Mickey Mantle’s. “We wanted it all ready by the bowl games, and it will be.”
The replaced televisions are being donated to the New York Center for Autism Charter School.
In addition, the restaurant will be wired for wi-fi capability, which will be offered free to customers.
“With Mickey’s a favorite destination of the sports business industry, it has become increasingly important for them to have free wireless Internet capability,” added Villano.
Regulars at the restaurant will also notice new décor on the walls and showcases, presented by Gotta Have It!, which presents a museum quality setting for patrons. Everything on display is for sale, and in just a few months, many customers have left with beautifully autographed items of memorabilia for their homes or offices.
Additional floor-to-ceiling upgrades includes new flooring, new lighting, and 30 ceiling speakers featuring full directional sound.
A New York institution for nearly 20 years, Mickey Mantle’s is a Mecca for New York sports fans on game days and special occasions. It is also one of New York City’s great tourist attractions for the millions of holiday visitors who come to town. The restaurant features a wide assortment of American food, and is available for parties, catering, and business conferences.
Contact: Marty Appel Public Relations 212 245-1772
Mickey Mantle Postage Stamp Press Conference
On Friday, March 24th The Postmaster General of the United States will hold a Press Conference at the restaurant to announce the new "Sluggers" Series of postage stamps. The series includes Mickey along with three other Hall of Famers: Brooklyn Dodgers Catcher Roy Campenella; Bronx native Hank Greenberg who played with the Detroit Tigers and Mel Ott of the New York Giants.
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