Memories of the Mick

When Mickey Mantle joined the New York Yankees in 1951, he was the golden boy of manager Casey Stengel. Otherwise he was a shy teenager who had never been out of small-town Oklahoma and was awed by the big city and the expectation that he was to succeed god-like Joe DiMaggio in centerfield. At the time, Allen was covering the team for the New York Post and continued to do so throughout Mantle's career in Gotham. Here he delivers a prolonged hymn of praise that smoothes over most of the rough spots in Mantle's life away from the diamond. A prodigious hitter of home runs but often a leader in strikeouts, The Mick proved himself a great athlete yet was not wildly popular until he went head-to-head with Roger Maris in the great home-run derby of 1961--the year they ""passed Gehrig and Ruth in tandem."" From that point on, and even in his retirement, Mantle's aw-shucks demeanor and still boyish good looks made him a beloved figure. Allen could hardly avoid covering his subject's alcoholism in this account, but the womanizing and Mantle's lack of interest in his growing family are barely touched on here. The author appears to be in part a victim of the hype he himself helped to create as a sportswriter. The book offers 100-plus photos taken by official team photographer Bob Olen, not seen by PW. (May)