Mickey Mantle – The Real Natural – Podcast

Oklahoma country boy Mickey Mantle was one of the greatest clutch performers ever in any sport, and the greatest in baseball history. He still holds nearly every important World Series individual record. His deeds shine through the years, all the more because of the enormous physical and emotional obstacles he overcame. His life on—and off—the field is the stuff of legends.

iHeartRadio star Gwin Faulconer-Lippert and John explore why Mantle and not others retains so visceral a hold on the hearts of so many who witnessed his mighty deeds. It’s the seventh episode of our weekly OKLAHOMA GOLD! radio program and podcast. Go HERE to listen to them all! Future episodes explore the great heroes, events, and movements of Oklahoma History.

Go HERE to read John’s extended, illustrated blog about Mickey Mantle.

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(Top photo) Mickey Mantle graces a 1956 cover of Sports Illustrated magazine during the season in which he won the Triple Crown for hitting the most home runs, most runs batted in, and highest batting average in the American League. Only nine other players in Major League Baseball have won a Triple Crown in the past century.

“A team is where a boy can prove his courage on his own. A gang is where a coward goes to hide.”– Mickey Mantle

Finding a Mickey Mantle baseball card in your Topps bubble gum pack was one of the great thrills of boyhood in the 1950s or 1960s.

Mickey’s legendary walk-off homer (ending a game immediately in the bottom of the ninth inning or an extra inning with a home run) that beat St. Louis in Game 3 of the epic 1964 World Series.