Beyond the Byline: Remembering No. 7 and his greatness

So I was doing some grocery shopping the other day and as I approached the checkout counter, I see this magazine with Mickey Mantle’s picture on the cover.

Immediately my attention was on this magazine.

I mean, it was Mickey Mantle, my forever hero.

I picked up the magazine and started leafing through it and without hesitation, I placed it in my cart — I was purchasing this publication — whatever the price.

As I waited to be checked out, my mind was filling with memories of “The Mick,” and I knew I was going to enjoy reading this magazine and looking at all the photos.

Back in 1996, I had an extremely emotional visit to Oklahoma City. I was visiting my friend, Leeland, and his wife in Tulsa and we decided to head to Commerce, located in the state’s northeast corner.

Leeland and I were on a mission — we wanted to visit Commerce, Mickey Mantle’s hometown. To say the mission was a success would be a gross understatement.

First we found “Mutt Mantle Field,” the Commerce Little League field named after Mickey’s dad and where Mickey played and practiced.

Then we visited Mickey’s childhood home on Quincy Street. At the time, a family was living in the modest home. A young boy was on the front porch, and I asked him if this was the home where legendary New York Yankee Mickey Mantle grew up.

“Yes sir,” said the boy. “Would like to come inside?”

We asked if the boy’s parents were at home and he said his daddy was, so he went and got his father and we were invited in to see the house.

This was an amazing moment for me — I had the chills as I walked through the door. We actually stood in Mickey’s bedroom and I decided to say a prayer — Mickey had died the year before.

“It’s my room now,” the boy said. Life does go on.

We thanked the man for allowing us inside and we left.

It sure was a day filled with emotion — and a day I will never forget.

And then I thought about those good old days when my pals would gather on my front porch and we would play all sorts of games.

One game that was extremely popular was Strat-O-Matic Baseball. It involved dice and lineup cards that had three rows of options that, depending on the throw of the dice, a player would get a hit, ground out, fly out, strike out, hit a homer or walk. The options were calculated somehow and all data was based on the players individual statistics from the previous baseball season.

All in all, it was pretty darn accurate.

We would each take our favorite team’s cards, formulate a lineup and “Play Ball!” Or “Throw the Dice.”

It was great fun. We kept detailed stats and standings, and we played a specific schedule. We would also compile our lineups based on which pitchers we were facing — righties versus lefties.

My team was the Yankees, even though my pal George, also a Yankees fan, wanted them. Hey, it was my porch and my game. Actually, sometimes I would take the San Francisco Giants with Willie Mays and Willie McCovey, or the Minnesota Twins with Harmon Killebrew, or the Braves with Hank Aaron and Eddie Matthews.

We played other games too. One was flipping our baseball cards with winner taking all. And these were baseball cards of the early 1960s — big stars like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax, Stan Musial, Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Ernie Banks, Frank Robinson, Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Al Kaline, Richie Allen, Bob Gibson, Willie McCovey, Lou Brock, Eddie Matthews and many more.

It was a game. It was fun. If we lost a Mantle or Mays, we would go to Jack’s Market or some other store and buy some more packs of Topps Baseball Cards.

When I tell you that I had multiple Mickey Mantle cards for every year of his career, I am not lying. They were my most treasured possessions. I kept them in a separate shoe box in my closet. I used to love to read the backs and marvel at Mickey’s stats. I also got a kick out of the facts listed and the cartoon.

My mom and dad and I traveled to New York often to attend weekend Yankees’ series. My Aunt Betty, dad’s sister, was an even bigger Yankee fan than me and she loved Mickey Mantle.

One time we arrived for a Friday night game versus the Red Sox. We were staying for all four games — Friday night, Saturday night and a doubleheader on Sunday. So when the Yanks were trailing by two runs in that Friday night game, dad asked me if I wanted to leave in the 8th inning. I looked at my scorecard and saw that Mantle was due up sixth in the bottom of the 8th.

So we left, much to Aunt Betty’s chagrin.

When we got back to the Yankee Motor Lodge, we heard Aunt Betty screaming from the adjoining room. Mickey Mantle had hit a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 9th to win the game. I thought I might not make it ‘til morning.

Several years after Mickey retired, I met him at a news conference in the Poconos. A group had brought Mickey in to speak at a dinner and they had a press briefing.

I got to meet Mickey, shake his hand and I told him that story. Mickey gave me two autographs — one for me and one for Aunt Betty.

It was a thrill of a lifetime. That’s why when I visited Commerce, Oklahoma, I felt I just had to visit Mickey’s childhood home.

And now I think about those days on my front porch flipping those baseball cards and playing Strat-O-Matic Baseball.

The replica cards I have are great — but the memories will always be real.

I’m going to really enjoy that magazine I bought at the checkout counter.