My brother in law gave me a book about Mickey Mantle, titled Mickey Mantle - The Last Boy. It was written by Jane Leavy who also wrote a book about Sandy Koufax that I read a few years ago.
As for the book about Mickey, I am only on the third chapter but I am still interested in reading on. Usually, if I do not get past the first chapter I know that the book is not going to interest me. In the meantime, I will keep you posted on what I have been reading (so far, I learned that mining is not a safe occupation, at least not 75 years ago, and that Mickey's dad pushed him to excel).
Mickey's team mate Jerry Coleman was interviewed several times in the book. Jerry was probably my favorite non battery position Yankee 53 years ago. I remember having his 1957 Topps card. My friends used to yell "Mickey Mantle" when they leapt over fences or did other pseudo athletic feats of skill. When it was my turn I would yell "Jerry Coleman". After all, Jerry played with the Yankees just like Mickey did. However, most of the psuedo-Yankee-fans did not know who Jerry was. That was their loss. Anyway, after the 1957 season, Jerry went into the announcer's booth and fortunately is still with us.
