The book The Mick (an autobiography published in 1985) is arguably the most popular book ever published about Mickey Mantle. The published book has 248 pages.


Up for auction is the ORIGINAL approximately 375 page manuscript of The Mick that was delivered to Mickey Mantle for his personal review and comments. The manuscript contains more pages than the published book because it is in a double-spaced format for easy reading and editing.

OVER 100 PAGES OF THIS MANUSCRIPT CONTAIN MICKEY’S OWN HANDWRITTEN COMMENTS!


The original manuscript gives you a new insight into Mickey’s life as never seen before. Some interesting facts/stories in the original manuscript NEVER made it to the published book.

One such example is when Mickey describes Harry Craft on page 30 of the published book. This text did not make it into the published book: “They labeled him Creeper Craft. Because he had this knack of sneaking up on you when you least expected it.” Throughout, Mickey is making suggestions to improve the text or making factual alterations. 


Another example is on page 62 of the published book where Mickey is describing an at-bat off Satchel Paige. The story in the published book is:

“One day I decided to bunt on him. We had a runner in scoring position, bottom of the ninth, and I took two straight cuts, missing them both by a wide margin. Paige’s next pitch was a fastball. I bunted and ran to first as fast as I could go. It was a foul ball, the last out of the game. Paige doffed his cap and flashed a big toothy smile. I was still running out the play, halfway up the foul line, as the Browns started back to their dugout.”

That part of the story in the manuscript was as follows:

One day I decided to bunt on him. We had a runner in scoring position, top of the ninth, and I took two straight cuts, missing them both by a wide margin. Paige rubbed up the ball, sensing a kill. Third base coach Frank Crosetti flashed the hit sign again. Automatic. Not a doubt in the world. And I bunted a foul-tip strike off the catcher’s mask. Last out of the game. Paige doffed his cap and flashed a big tooth smile as I threw the bat away. I’ll never forget his quote in the paper next day, “Hell, I would have given him first base in that situation.”

One last example is on page 81 of the published book which reads:

“One good thing. Merlyn had come down with me. It was her first trip to Florida, and she arrived all dressed for winter; corduroy dress, woolen scarf and boots. We stayed at a place on the beach with a fantastic view from the window. Except I didn’t’ look out very much.”

The manuscript was slightly different as follows and contained one of Mickey’s more humorous edits:

“One good thing. I had Merlyn with me. Her first trip to Florida and she arrives all dressed for winter; corduroy dress, woolen scarf and boots, the sweetest little country bumpkin I ever saw. We stayed at a place on the beach. A fantastic view from the window, except I didn’t look out very much. I was happy just seeing her.”

Mickey’s handwritten note about this paragraph was “Phony Bullshit”.”

The manuscript was originally sold in The Mickey Mantle Auction on behalf of Mickey Mantle's family conducted by Guernsey's, held December 8, 2003 live at Madison Square Garden in New York City. A copy of the auction catalog from that event is included in the lot.

This is an online only sale. Items may be viewed upon appointment in New York City.

Notice to bidders: More detailed condition reports and additional photographs are available by request. The absence of a condition report does not imply that the lot is in excellent condition. Please message us through the online bidding platform or call Guernsey's at 212-794-2280 to request a more thorough condition report.