A Town Nourished by Mickey Mantle’s Legacy, if Not Yet Prosperity

No Yankee fan, I have sought out and passed through Commerce (just up the road from "Miamuh") simply out of curiosity and respect. What I distinctly remember is that it was very hard to figure out exactly when you entered the city limits, and at what point you were out of town at the other end. When I visited the museum was still in play and that seemed to be a long-overdue vehicle for, if not cashing in, at least accommodating pilgrims. Now that it is off the boards, perhaps Mayor Hart might encourage an enterprising member of the Chamber of Commerce to lay in a supply of those Mickey T-shirts. Until then the best monument that I have seen in the area is the terrific AAA Mickey Mantle ballpark in Oklahoma City.

Being a kid of the '50s and '60s in Pennsylvania, I can testify that every single young boy who played baseball, and many who didn't, wanted to wear the number 7 on their shirt. Mantle was every bit as famous and adored as Elvis in his day. It's only more recently that we all learned that the Mick was not nearly as god-like as we had all imagined. Id bet that if Mantle's boyhood home was closer to a large city, that it too, could have been as marketable as Graceland. Commerce is far from anything.

Tough times. It's a long way to go to pay homage to a legend. Can the Commerce town decision makers at least get the right shade of blue on the water tower? Pitiful. You want to know about Mickey? Go to the Bronx.

i recall reading a story, maybe in the 1970s or early 80s, about a poll that said mantle was the #1 hero of active major leaguers.

It's great to be reminded about the all time greatest switch hitter's humble beginnings in this small impovershed town. The Yankees have been blessed with some great players since his playing days, but none have hadquite the magnitude or greatness of this enigma of a man. Here's looking at you, Mick!

how about investing in grade school education

My earliest sports memory was "61 in '61" race to break Babe Ruth's home run record by both Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, flipping baseball cards. No one was a bigger star in New York than the Mick. Congratulations to the author for this fine story. Getting published in The Times is the equivalent of getting up to bat at (the old) Yankee Stadium and knocking one out of the park.

A few years ago my partner, who is a Chinese-American, and I drove Route 66, and decided to go through Commerce to "honor" Mantle (back then I was a huge Yankee fan). We stopped at a convenience store to ask for directions. But when we walked in, two male customers asked the man behind the cash register if he had a "shot gun" because they wanted to take my partner out and shoot him. Well, we left that town in hurry and never looked back. I certainly hope they have since changed their racist way.

Mickey Mantle was an inspiration. As I grew up, he showed great determination through all the pain. I was a junior in high school the in 1961 when he hit 54 home runs and Roger Maris hit 61. That he struggled every day to play amazes me, given that today's baseball players take time off with much less severe problems.

A sweet story not only of baseball lore, but of Americana. I can totally see how grown men might cry to be so near the place where it all began for their hero -- it's so much more intimate than even the stadiums where all his great deeds happened. Makes me want to go right down to the little town in Alabama where Willie Mays, another giant of baseball's past and a favorite of mine, grew up.

Love the story. It's too bad the town is struggling like that, while there's so much money surrounding the Mantke name. I hope they at least get their Monument Park soon, for the loyal fans that come to visit Commerce.

Nice water tower for a town with no hotel.

Interesting article. Nice to see where he came how he started out.

The irony of a pair of sociopaths being more iconic than the Mick should not be lost.

Growing up in the fifties and early sixties, I never wanted to be a bank robber, but I really wanted to hit like Micky Mantle. He was even glorious when he struck out. I'll bet there's still sawdust mixed in the soil at old Yankee Stadium.

My wife and I stayed overnight in Miami while on a long road trip. The visit to Commerce became essential. In the late 50's there was nothing better than a Wednesday getaway game with The Mick, Yogi and Whitey on the mound.

Commerce is sad. Sadder still was the scarcity of engraved bricks near his statue. One stood out - "Respectfully, Carl Erskine, Dodgers". Very classy from a Boy of Summer. Even a diehard Yankee fan can admire that.