1956 Topps Mickey Mantle (Gray Back) #135 PSA Mint 9 -- Only Four Superior! A splash landing off the shore of St. Pet...
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Description
1956 Topps Mickey Mantle (Gray Back) #135 PSA Mint 9 -- Only Four Superior! A splash landing off the shore of St. Petersburg, Florida was the first indication that something special was brewing for Mickey Mantle's 1956 season. The spring training blast off the bat of the Yankees' switch-hitting center fielder at Al Lang Field was the first ever to reach the bay, and outfielder Stan Musial for the victimized St. Louis Cardinals marveled to reporters after the contest, "No home run has ever cleared my head by so much as long as I can remember."Perhaps it was the first, sour taste of Fall Classic failure in 1955 after three seasons of October bliss to launch Mantle's Hall of Fame career that stoked the fire of one of the greatest offensive seasons ever registered. Despite the Mick's admitted lack of self-discipline that many historians believe kept him from rewriting the record books in every major slugging statistic, nobody hated to lose more than Mantle, and he had clearly entered the season anxious to reclaim his team's proper position atop the baseball world.
Though he had shown many flashes of brilliance during the first five seasons of his career, Mantle entered Opening Day of 1956 two points shy of the .300 mark for his career, his best single-season batting average a .311 in 1952. His thirty-seven home runs in 1955 led all American Leaguers for the first time in his career, but that figure was ten higher than any previous campaign. And not only had Mantle never led the Junior Circuit in runs batted in, he had never even led the Yankees in the statistic. His remarkable foot speed was his calling card at this point, and while his slugging power was undeniable, his propensity for strikeouts and injuries had no experts considering him a threat for the sport's greatest offensive achievement.
But that Opening Day at Griffith Stadium, with President Eisenhower in attendance, saw the twenty-four year old center fielder belt two mammoth home runs. Three days later, in the home opener in the Bronx, Mantle homered again and drove in four runs. By the end of April, he was hitting .415 with four home runs and fifteen runs batted in in just eleven games.
The torrid pace continued through May, the Mick batting .414 in thirty-one games with sixteen homers and thirty-five RBI's. He went four-for-four at Comiskey on May 18th, homering from each side of the plate. Six days later he went five-for-five in Detroit with a home run, and then capped off the month back home in New York with his famous blast off the Yankee Stadium façade, narrowly missing authorship of the first home run to leave the House that Ruth Built.
Now Mickey Mantle was the biggest star in the game. Bill Dickey predicted he would break every record except Lou Gehrig's streak. Mel Ott told reporters Mantle could hit seventy-five home runs and shatter Hack Wilson's RBI record. The daily papers maintained a chart showing how far ahead the young Oklahoman was staying of Babe Ruth's home run pace of 1927.
So while the Mick's 1952 Topps rookie today holds sway as the most coveted card of the post-war era, the offered 1956 model was unquestionably far more popular at the time of its original sale. Perhaps that fervent period adoration is the reason why well under one percent of submitted representations have equaled or surpassed the offered example. This is the Mick at his best, in more ways than one.
Guide Value or Estimate: $150,000 - up.
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Auction Info
2025 October 24 - 26 Fall Sports Catalog Auction #50080 (go to Auction Home page)
Bidding Begins Approx.
October
3rd
Friday
Auction Dates
October
24th-26th
Friday-Sunday
Proxy Bidding Begins Approx.
8 Days
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: N/A
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 88
Auction Type
Signature Internet Extended Bid: These Auctions are presented via catalog and online. Bidding is taken through our website or via phone. There are two phases of bidding during this type of auction: 1) Normal bidding: Bids are taken up until 10 PM CT the night the auction closes. 2) 30 Minute Ending: On a lot-by-lot basis, starting at 10:00 PM CT, any person who has bid on the lot previously may continue to bid on that lot until there are no more bids for 30 minutes. For example, if you bid on a lot during Normal Bidding, you could participate during Extended Bidding for that lot, but not on lots you did not bid on previously. If a bid was placed at 10:15, the new end time for that lot would become 10:45. If no other bids were placed before 10:45, the lot would close. If you are the high bidder on a lot, changing your bid will not extend the bidding during the 30 Minute Ending phase (only a bid from another bidder will extend bidding). If you are the only bidder at 10 PM, you will automatically win the lot at 10:30. Important: After normal bidding ends, you must be signed-on to the Heritage site to see the bidding option on lots where you qualify for extended bidding and you must be on an individual lot page to reflect the accurate time remaining for that particular lot.
Signature Internet Extended Bid: These Auctions are presented via catalog and online. Bidding is taken through our website or via phone. There are two phases of bidding during this type of auction: 1) Normal bidding: Bids are taken up until 10 PM CT the night the auction closes. 2) 30 Minute Ending: On a lot-by-lot basis, starting at 10:00 PM CT, any person who has bid on the lot previously may continue to bid on that lot until there are no more bids for 30 minutes. For example, if you bid on a lot during Normal Bidding, you could participate during Extended Bidding for that lot, but not on lots you did not bid on previously. If a bid was placed at 10:15, the new end time for that lot would become 10:45. If no other bids were placed before 10:45, the lot would close. If you are the high bidder on a lot, changing your bid will not extend the bidding during the 30 Minute Ending phase (only a bid from another bidder will extend bidding). If you are the only bidder at 10 PM, you will automatically win the lot at 10:30. Important: After normal bidding ends, you must be signed-on to the Heritage site to see the bidding option on lots where you qualify for extended bidding and you must be on an individual lot page to reflect the accurate time remaining for that particular lot.
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