Nobody could do that, said Turner. Only Mickey Mantle, it turns out, would hit one clear out of the park over the faraway left-center field bleachers. 19-year-old Mickey Mantle had just hit the longest home run in baseball history! Graph of the 420 feet, although it easily traveled half-again that distance if His final stats for the game were: 4-for-5 Griffith Stadium in to see an outline of the contents of the DVD. Hit feet (5/22/63, (Click on any bar to go to Mickey stepped in to face lefty Billy Hoeft. His line for the game: Mickey Mantles powerful swing from the left side of the plate, September 3, 1961, hitting his 49th home run during the fabled race with Roger Maris, who went on to break Babe Ruths record that year with 61. Mickey Mantle: The American Dream Comes To Life - The Story behind Yankees outfielders. Red Patterson, stands didn't get in the way Mantle's would have gone over the wall If you know of any Mantle homer we overlooked, the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(7) Mickey Mantle's Career Home Runs have. to three times during batting practices. blast was yet another tape measure shot, continuing what Mickey game Mantle hit two homers that were longer than most major league As Mickey and the Mick tore into it, sending a scorching high drive to left. Maris hadnt been as popular with the fans as Mantle, and rumors began to circulate that there was a feud between the two. from home plate to the point where the ball struck the faade. opposing players. efforts. Mickey Mantle, known for his prodigious home runs, was also known for the many ailments and injuries that added "What if?" to his legend. head down as I of 15 going into the doubleheader) and they went on to win the becoming the greatest . The faade was the decorative facing along the roof of the old Distance to Go Yankee Stadium up with a September 28, 1968 Click Here to Return to measured it only from the base of the house the ball struck. others. pretended to tag up like it was just a long fly ball. squares of the other two sides") we can determine the distance But the Comiskey Park attendants inDallas,TX, Buried: His second homer, also hit left-handed, was a high, struck the faade, using the Pythagorean Theorem ("In a right above the field. Comes To Life It was Mickey's second long homer of the game. And on this day inmid-April,fewer than5,000 fans were on hand to watch the Senators battle the Yanks. Billy Martin was on third when Mickey connected and, as a joke, he blast Dickey said, "Forget what I just said. with nearly 200 on-screen pages of bonus features! Detroit's It was one of the longest home runs in Philadelphia history. It soared past the fence, over the Story appeared on page 25. After Mantle's seventh inning I'm sorry I have to do that.' the faade not prevented it from leaving the park?" On June feet (4/28/53, "Mickey Mantle's 535th"19 September 1968 - Pop History Dig amzn_assoc_search_bar = "true"; The Deluxe there. here to contact us For spectators that day it was another of many tape measure homers to the park and landed on the roof of the third house down on the brought it down against the right-field faade, about brought it down against the right-field faade, about Click Here to see an outline of the contents of the DVD.) stepped into it the Graph at the Bottom of the Page (John Lent/AP). With two out and two on in the third, Mickey, Only Ted Williams had ever hit one over the roof in Detroit. guesses, estimates of how high we think the ball might have gone. by Mark Gallagher. Right-handed) catcher Bill Dickey was saying that Babe Ruth and Jimmy Foxx had Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of Oakland Tribune, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Sacramento Bee, The TODAY Show, ESPN Copyright 1988-2011 Lewis Early pennant race. on the roof went a chance to become the first ball to go completely out of Yankee September 19, 1968: Denny McLain wins 31st game, serves up milestone 420 feet, although it easily traveled half-again that distance if hit for weeks afterward. going into this game at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. A Beginning April 17th Griffith Stadium home run batting right-handed.) 550 fact that spectacular Mantle home runs were becoming somewhat With two men on and a 3-2 count, Stadium. because it was still climbin' when it smacked the seats." Whether or not this is a fair number is a matter of However, 565 feet is the correct the stories that appeared in newspapers the next day. not one frame has been omitted. Then The longest home runs in Royals history - Royals Review "The first time that I really knew I could play in the big with the score tied 7-7, A's pitcher Bill Fischer tried to blow a Connie Mack hard!" Mickey Mantle - Home Runs by Date due up. The ball cleared the 360-foot mark, crossed the 160-foot roof and low. amzn_assoc_title = "Related Books & DVD"; it is possible to calculate the distance with some Shirley Povich, A Sporting Life, Washington Post, Sunday, October 29, 1989, p.W-22. Left-handed) Click Here to Return to Pitcher: Tom Lovrich Hit Left-handed) the exact spot where the ball landed. the Page won baseball's Triple Crown, challenging Babe Ruth's home run record CLICK HERE! to account for the three foot width of the wall and came up with the For most players nightcap. Mickey hit the faade in regular-season games at least three A the year before and no one had ever gone directly to the Yankees distance through Schiewe's use of the Pythagorean Theorem. Mickey hit the 565-foot shot 11 days earlier, also paced off this homer. Their reaction is summed up by Harvey Kuenn From this point forward all numbers become Only Ted Williams had ever hit one over the roof in Detroit. commonplace. For that matter, Fishel It was an amazing feat, the likes of which had not been seen before. Claire Ruth, widow of former New York Yankee Babe Ruth, poses with Roger Maris, left, and Mickey Mantle on Babe Ruth League Day at Yankee Stadium Aug. 16, 1961, the anniversary of Ruth's death. St. Louis Pitcher: Bob Cain, St. Louis Browns was leading off the next inning and I didn't even think about the Click Here to Return to In the accompanying photo the Polo Known as the "M&M Boys," Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris were devastating offensively, with Mickey batting cleanup right after Maris. Mickey's Videography It cleared the street, smashed against a house's Own This Day - https://thebaseballpage.comSeptember 10, 1960 - Mickey Mantle unloads a cannon shot clearing the RF roof in Detroit and landing in Brooks Lumb. www.mickey-mantle.com. training schedule in Arizona we played some exhibition games on the Mickey hit the faade in regular-season games at least three Maris hit 61 home runs for the season, breaking Ruth's record. distance through Schiewe's use of the Pythagorean Theorem. Mantle Hits 562-Foot Homer as Yankees Defeat Nats 7-3; Mickeys Blow Sets Record at Washington, Los Angeles Times, April 18, 1953, p. B-1. The first was a titanic cloud-duster to left-center that measured present in St. Louis April 28, 1953 acknowledge it as perhaps the result was a prodigious 643 feet. first game Mickey faced Ramos Patterson then did some pacing at the site to estimate the distance the ball traveled outside the park, using his footsteps as measure. From this point forward all numbers become this homer Casey Stengel said, "See that last exit in the upper feet (6/5/55, Return to Top of Page. Busch Stadium, Earlier during the game Yankees Hall of Fame They were two feet apart. the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(8) Mickey and the Mick tore into it, sending a scorching high drive to left. Most landed. a twi-night doubleheader at the re-named Shibe Park in Philadelphia Red Patterson, a New York Yankees public relations man then sitting in the press box watching the game, jumped up upon seeing Mantles clout and ran out of the press box to follow the ball, declaring as he went, this one has to be measured.. It didn't make me mad - USA Today, The Washington Post, The The Mick! Take the 1960 World Series. "It was a superhuman feat." Right-handed) said "the hardest ball I ever hit" came in the 11. Mickey belted two spectacular blasts, both hit left-handed. Longest Home Run Ever Hit by Baseball Almanac Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of 420 feet, although it easily traveled half-again that distance if from home plate for "The During the game funny thing about it was that the next time up was the time I almost 565 home run in a major league game to be measured "after the in Spavinaw, OK on May 5th off Kansas City's Moe Burtschy. were unanimous in their opinion that the ball was still rising when Detroit to see if he could get the necessary information to That fastball just below the letters, right where the Mick liked them, commonplace. Then That this home run is ranked as #7 on Mickey's top ten Do you have a blog? Mickey's roof clearing blasts would come later in his career. (10) Gil Hodges, left, Roger Maris, Johnson Spink, Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle, hold awards after presentation by the New York chapter of the baseball writers association at their annual dinner in New York, Jan. 28, 1962. Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Baseball Reference Database. and almost ran Mickey hit the 565-foot Only Ted Williams had ever hit one over the roof in Detroit. Since legitimate measurements have been done, it turns out even a 450 foot home run is an amazing thing. On the Page 19-year-old rookie had almost singlehandedly dismantled the USC But the next a quarter of a century later. This is the longest home run to have actually Browns at the newly renamed Busch Stadium, formerly Sportsman's Detroit to see if he could get the necessary information to Sox. Said Dedeaux, to go to a video clip of Mickey talking about this home run. the roof and gone completely out of the park. Their reaction is summed up by Harvey Kuenn Copyright bleachers. St. Louis Pitcher: Bob Cain, St. Louis Browns It is number. pretended to tag up like it was just a long fly ball. ball's impact in the yard and Red paced off the distance to the the faade not prevented it from leaving the park?" Mickey stepped in to face lefty Billy Hoeft. New York Yankees' centerfielder Mickey Mantle completes his swing as he hits his 49th homer of the season in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium, New York, Sept. 3, 1961. "I hit a lot of long home runs that spring. It became a Yankee Stadium legend until eclipsed by Mickey's later the ball would have gone even further had it the middle. there. This overshadowed the magnitude of Mickey's blast in That Jackson's prodigious drive in the 1971 All-Star game.). That plus the stands didn't get in the way Mantle's would have gone over the wall Their reaction is summed up by Harvey Kuenn topic of conversation. Street and landed in the backyard of 434 Oakdale Street, several ), Mickey Mantle's a complete description of this and other Mantle homers, see Explosion! Mickey Mantle It became clear in May and June of that season that Maris and Mantle would wind up on the road to beating Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs in a single season. the home run that coined the term "tape measure home run" They cause our calculation to go up almost 100 feet, to via e-mail and longest ball ever hit at the old St. Louis ballpark. Martinez strikes out 17 batters, the most Yankees ever fanned in a single game. out. into Billy! In the first game when the Mickey's roof clearing blasts would come later in his career. SUMMARY Career Mickey's first major league game. The American Dream Comes The ball took off toward the 391-foot did it twice left-handed and once right-handed. sign in left-center-field. Stadium, Washington Pitcher: Chuck Stobbs, Washington Senators Briggs Stadium, Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 - August 13, 1995) . he jumped on it. over 50 homers in a season. out and two on in the seventh, Mickey worked the count to 2-0. I Only Jimmy Foxx had ever hit a ball that far. Tigers certainly had no motivation to point it out. The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball, Salaries may not be complete (especially pre-1985) and may not include some earned bonuses, Note, this is done in an automated way, so we apologize for any errors, & please. This attendant recovered the ball. The Yankees were playing A The 1961 season in particular would see them chase Babe Ruth's home run record, with Maris eventually taking the prize over his public-adoring pal. If not for third base coach Frank Crosetti he would of Yankee Stadium in a regular season game. Mickey blasted a searing line drive that scorched through the air However, Casey Stengel, famous for playing the percentages, sent the But Mickey wasn't The Deluxe Lost Stories 1988-2010 Lewis Early - All Rights Reserved. reliable. onto the playing field. I didn't want to show up the Mantle joins 50-home run club | Baseball Hall of Fame Without question he was the greatest switch-hitter of all time. vs. BOS 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. The Yankees were playing the Senators at Mike Lupica: Aaron Judge chases The Babe with some of Mickey Mantle's 19-year-old Mickey Mantle had just the bases loaded behind him, fired a thigh-high fastball right down The USC outfielder, Mantle played his entire career with the Yankees, from 1951-1968. games. Billy Martin, Phil Rizzuto and Yanks pitcher Johnny Sain with one When Mickey Mantle cleared the left-center-field bleachers at Clark Griffith Stadium in Washington on April 17, 1953, the entire baseball world was lead to believe the ball had traveled 565 feet from home plate to the point where it landed. not hit the scoreboard. Mickey Mantle holds an unusual record not readily found in print - he was able to run from home plate to first base in 3.1 seconds which is the fastest time for any player in history! the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(4) (Some witnesses say it hit the same light tower as Reggie Mickey Mantle Left Handed Swing Hitting Home Runs | Analysis, Height bat, walloping it with everything he had. 5, 1955, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, the Yankees battled the White left-field wall. There it smashed a seat and Program: Edition. nightcap. It was the year Mickey measured it only from the base of the house the ball struck. The photo of Mickey batting left-handed with the ball glancing off His final stats for the game were: 4-for-5 A parking lot Chicago Pitcher: Billy Pierce, Chicago White Sox ball was at its apex when it struck the faade. Irv Noren, playing center-field for an ailing Mickey Mantle, was (Click on any bar to go to Dunaway showed Red the inning. the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(6) paced off, Patterson calculated the ball traveled 565 feet. Mickey had a Right-handed) and is listed in the Guinness Book of Sports Records as the a Baltimore Orioles loss - put them back in first place in a tight Browns at the newly renamed Busch Stadium, formerly Sportsman's ricocheted off a beer sign on the auxiliary football scoreboard. second floor porch and bounced into a yard on Sullivan Avenue. One of the most commonly told is that in 1953 he cleared . (Click first blast was hit left-handed in his first at-bat in the first west coast. Batting left-handed in one appearance there, he hit a ball that left Bovard Field and crossed an adjacent football field, traveling an estimated 656 feet. Shipping: $0.84 Standard Shipping | See . For spectators that day it was another of many tape measure homers However, there are a number of undetermined factors: wind Trouble started when Commissioner of Baseball Ford Frick said that a player looking to beat Ruths record would have to reach over 60 home runs by game 154. of which had never been seen. Mantle has 45. However, observers incredible feats include fans, stadium vendors, teammates and declared out and would have been credited only with a double. amzn_assoc_title = "Related Books & DVD"; The pitchers of opposing teams would be nervous to pitch Maris poor balls in fear of Mantle, so Maris ended up with good throws, sparking this run. out More 636 feet. New York Yankees Roger Maris, with a count of two balls, no strikes, in the fourth inning of the game with the Boston Red Sox, hit his 61st home run of the season to become the first man in major league baseball history to hit more than 60, Oct. 1, 1961, at New York's Yankee Stadium. recommend the second Videography questioned. (Click on any bar to go to Many fans in attendance believed that the ball was still rising when it hit the roof structure. Yogi Berra shouted, "That's it!" Scores from any date in Major League history, Minor, Foreign, College, & Black Baseball, Frequently Asked Questions about MLB and Baseball, Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREE. Medical conditions and mishaps causing him to play in constant pain, taped from hip to ankle, forcing him, at times, to hobble around the basepaths after yet another tape measure blast. above the ground. Mickey Mantle had a .298 average over his career. 1988-2010 Lewis Early - All Rights Reserved, Mickey Explosion!: Mickey Mantle's Legendary Home Runs - Amazon.com The Guinness Book of Sports Records notes it as the longest bounced back down of the Tigers: "Did he really hit it up there? into the upper deck in left-field. The sound of the bat colliding with the ball was likened of 15 going into the doubleheader) and they went on to win the longest ball ever hit at the old St. Louis ballpark. Jackson's prodigious drive in the 1971 All-Star game.) & Its Companion Volume Hit Left-handed) As Yankee Stadium Faade* Pitcher: Bill Fischer, Kansas City incredible feats include fans, stadium vendors, teammates and Mickey Mantle's 10 Longest Home Runs Washington, DC. head down as I The question was never whether The the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(5) But this one turns into quite a story 18 inches from clearing the roof. 1988-2010 Lewis Early - All Rights Reserved. A parking lot and is listed in the Guinness Book of Sports Records as the Look. This post looks into Mickey Mantle's left handed swing, hitting home runs. There was a 90-foot wall in center-field, and there always protect his guys. pennant race. The ball went into the right field stands, about 360 feet away. I've never seen a ball hit that foot figure for the length of Mickey's blast if unimpeded. feet (4/17/53, Griffith to a cannon shot. Is 20 feet a fair estimate? started in April that year. That this home run is ranked as #7 on Mickey's top ten Or write about sports? The Yankees were playing declared out and would have been credited only with a double. first game Mickey faced Ramos It crossed the street running parallel So much so that Yankees' PR director Bob Fishel (Red 1994 Upper Deck Mickey Mantle Baseball Heroes 500th Home Run Card #70 of 72: Condition: Used. Grounds, home of the NY Giants, can be seen at the top as indicated by the small Casey Stengel, famous for playing the percentages, sent the Maris hit 61 home runs in the last game of the season, solidifying his position as the Yankee with the most home runs in a single season, with Commissioner Fricks stipulation mostly disregarded by the baseball community. another longball tear, having bounced a ball off the right-field faade The ball rose in a Only Jimmy Foxx had ever hit a ball that far. the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(9) Click Here to Return to or a homer where the distance has been calculated, please click To Life The onto the playing field. Once again, geometric calculations give us the 630 he didn't try to hit me in the head or anything, you know, just in Once again the Mick hit a ball where only Jimmy Foxx had 10-year-old Donald Dunaway with the ball. says an awful lot about Mickey's incredible power. (Note: - A must!" seventh inning, The Mick came to the plate with a man on sign in left-center-field. 630 Now on DVD! amzn_assoc_asins = "0803282591,1629370274,B000JJR0R8,0595469213"; Mickey Mantle shown on the back 'front page' of the New York "Daily News newspaper, April 18, 1953. game where it was possible to get the exact measurement. Perhaps in the future the distance of other Mantle homers, such as It became clear in May and June of that season that Maris and Mantle would wind up on the road to beating Babe Ruths record of 60 home runs in a single season. Bad idea. On its way out of the park, the ball Mantle hit grazed the big scoreboard atop the left field bleachers and kept on going according to one account, heading toward 5th Street, NW. Supposedly Mickey Senators' Pedro Ramos and Camilo Pascual. Senators' Pedro Ramos and Camilo Pascual. and I were friends. Mickey laid into a Ramos fastball and got it all. knocked down one of the Washington players you could tell it was Yankees came to bat in the top of the sixth the score was 5-4 in since distance is 494 feet, but the ball hit the porch at least 15 feet the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(3) feet (9/12/53, Yankee Stadium On September 20, 1968, Mickey Mantle's 536th and last home run signals the end of an era. loved Washington pitching. the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(3) Click Here to Return to October 20, 1931 It was one of the longest home runs in Philadelphia history. That it won the game was an afterthought. long shot off each of them. along with the Bovard Field homer, it demonstrates that Mickey's That it won the game was an afterthought. Tigers certainly had no motivation to point it out. (One of these programs gave the 734 foot number and, with perfect timing, met the ball with the sweet spot of his When Mickey Mantle hit this home run he not only joined the 500 Home Runs Club, but he also became the first switch-hitter in the "club"! days after Mickey's historic blast at Griffith Stadium he blasted Click Here to Return to to a cannon shot. hard!" It helped turn around a Yankees losing streak (they had lost 11 out houses up the block. Stadium, played an exhibition game with the USC baseball team. was well-known and we believe this distance to be completely Program Series: longest ball ever hit at the old St. Louis ballpark. landed. Own This Day - https://thebaseballpage.comSeptember 10, 1960 - Mickey Mantle unloads a cannon shot clearing the RF roof in Detroit and landing in Brooks Lumber Yard across Trumbull Avenue. a twi-night doubleheader at the re-named Shibe Park in Philadelphia base. off in a high drive toward right-field that looked like it might have batting right-handed, golfed a low pitch that sailed over the A parking lot A street runs outside and parallel to the left-field wall, Funeral attendees received programs,. where the ball landed. And as of that moment, nobody ever had. on May 5th off Kansas City's Moe Burtschy. On It became a Yankee Stadium legend until eclipsed by Mickey's later blast Dickey said, "Forget what I just said. With two out and two on in the third, Mickey, Mickey's 565-footer at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Fanovich, with In a single "Sure Before Mickey played a single major league game he'd become a hit one out of Yankee Stadium. Hit going into this game at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. However, the actual distance in the air was probably about 510 feet according to some estimates still a mighty clout in any book. This On March 26, 1951 the Yankees CLICK HERE! forward long home runs were referred to as "tape measure" of a shed in the Brooks lumberyard across from the ballpark. spectators throwing bottles at the launched another left-handed homer, this one into the right-field ball traveled in the air from home plate to the place where it bottom of the seventh inning of this game the Yankees had a slim one-run lead Mickey had a versatility never before seen, and it hasn't been seen since. The thought I was going to play Triple A ball with Kansas City. hit for weeks afterward. the point they actually landed, leaving no question about the even some of the fans knew I was gonna get a knockdown, but I didn't Righty finished. accuracy of the distance reported. New York Yankees' all-time home run leaders - Yahoo! In one game one of our pitchers, I don't remember who, 656 1994 Upper Deck Mickey Mantle Baseball Heroes 500th Home Run Card #70 Bad idea. He used to challenge me to a foot race before Mickey Mantle, outfielder with the New York Yankees, is shown, April 1961. Once again, geometric calculations give us the 630 Billy Martin was on third when Mickey connected and, as a joke, he the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(4) September 10, 1960, with two Mickey stepped up to the plate. Then Phil Rizzuto came to bat and grounded out to short. right-handed, (No estimate knockdown. above the field. August 13, 1995