Mickey Mantle 1973 - His Last Home Run in Yankee Stadium, OTD, 8/11/1973

[moboutmen]

Check out the roar of the crowd at 1:17. Like the walls themselves were screaming. Slow pitching meant the Mick had to supply the Power.

[maniabeatle01]

Great video

[meterman432110]

this is priceless!!! ty

[nutballgazette]

I saw Joe D hit a Home Run at the 1965 Old Timers day (My first ever game)

[amerhalabey]

fuck the boton bitche

[tellthetruthg]

I don't care if he got served a grove pitch to hit out. Did you see how far he hit it? Still the best of all time is the Say Hey Kid Willie Mays.2cnd is Barry Bonds. Mantle is 5th, Hammer 3rd, Ruth 4th., Joltin Joe 6th

[cervezero11]

fuck the yuckees!

[surferlaments]

good pitch whitey.... good pitch.

[pguidry17]

Mickey Mantle is my favorite baseball player

[mayombe2127]

20 mph??

[cards1985]

That was great to see

[darrono]

That gave me chills!...thanks you for whoever put that on, you made my month.

[cbarrett34]

god, mickey was a VERY old 41 there

[clablabclablab]

Randy Gumpert's son is my current teacher! (Randy allowed Mickey's first home run!) p.s. im 10

[detoth67]

Thats exciting to watch even nearly 40 years later.

I met Whitey and Mickey at a baseball card show in 89. As larger than life he seemed on the field, he was more-so in person. He's one hero that I've met that didn't let me down. Ted Williams on the other hand is another story.

[tmacart]

I grew up in Massachusetts, I'm a Red Sox fan. I'm so glad the Sox won it all while I was alive. But when I got older i became a baseball fan...this is great watching Mickey hit one off Whitey Ford. I'm not one of those the yankees suck guys, that's silly. I love the game of Baseball...America's game.

[536mick]

pitchers can't throw hard/fast anymore. you don't see homeruns too!! I remember this as if it were yesterday. God bless you Mick & thanks for all the great memories.

YOUR #1 FAN - GWD

[GeorgeVreelandHill]

I remember Mickey Mantle and those old Yankees.

Wow.

The memories I have of them as a kid.

Go Yankees.

(Yes, I'm still a Yankees fan)

George Vreeland Hill

[detoth67]

@GeorgeVreelandHill LOL! I remember seeing you on the old Yahoo message boards. You're a nut!

[WatchVenusSpa]

Had there been a DH rule in the AL around 1968ish, (the year Mick retired,) he'd have probably played as long as Willie Mayes did.

[clintonearlwalker]

@WatchVenusSpa I don't think so. "Mickey Mantle's career was plagued with injuries. Beginning in high school, he accumulated both acute and chronic injuries to bones and cartilage in his legs. Applying thick wraps to both of his knees became a pre-game ritual, and by the end of his career, simply swinging a bat caused him to fall to one knee in pain".--Wikipedia

[WatchVenusSpa]

@clintonearlwalker The reason I figure this is because he wouldn't have had to run in the field and put more pressure on his legs than he needed to on the basepads.

[clintonearlwalker]

@WatchVenusSpa That's a possibility, I can vaguely remember when Mantle retired, I would have been 7 in 1968. I'm a Baltimore fan and I remember the Orioles losing to the Met's in the '69 series. Newscasters back then talked about Mantles injuries pretty often. When he retired he was in pretty bad shape and in pain. He might have been able to play a bit more with the DH, I don't know.

[liz326522]

Most beautiful swing ever, "straighten out Mick..."

luv it.

[larrymotts]

Can't believe they tore that beautiful stadium down. All that history for all that greed.

[11PumaCat]

that pitcher was throwing gas

[MsKeith1969]

as much as i LOVE mickey mantle (#7) and the NEW YORK YANKEES, i feel like i MUST say that if the mick had taken better care of himself and not partied and caroused as much as he did, he COULD have STILL been playing full time for the YANKEES in 1973 instead of at the old timers games. NEVERTHELESS - A GREAT GREAT YANKEE INDEED, AS IS WHITEY FORD (#16)!!! I LOVE MY YANKEES!!!! ( I HAVE BEEN A YANKEES FAN SINCE 1986)

[harajukugirlloveandG]

@MsKeith1969 How do think he would have still been playing in 1973,that would have put him playing at 24yrs there is very few who play that long he had alot of injuries??

[MsKeith1969]

@harajukugirlloveandG well, as lamar fike of the memphis mafia would say, it's just like this - ted williams played from 1939 to 1960 and if it had not been for world war II and the korean war, he would have played from 1943 through 1945 and from 1952 through 1953. i will tell you this and i know you would agree - i sure do miss "the mick" (#7) TERRIBLY. HAPPY HOLIDAYS - GOD BLESS! be good!

[peopledick]

An actual STARGATE/PORTAL-THING was caught on film in New Mexico. The footage can be found within the short-film entitled "SUDDEN PORTHOLE", which is parked at the PROJECT CAMELOT YouTube page (it's under the George Noory video).

I'm not selling anything…I'm just trying to spread the word about the unseen-dimensions we find ourselves embedded in.

My BLOG @ samzurick*dot*com contains peripheral data regarding the movie and is where I reply to the "debunkers". THANKS!!

[billny33]

For those saying how come Ford the pitcher doesn't throw the ball hard, anyone who has watched Old Timers Day at Yankee Stadium knows pitchers never throw the ball hard and that a homerun is more common than a strikeout. With that said, the cheers for Mantle on an old timers day homerun blows me away with the support and the sheer loudness of it. Gives me all kinds of chills, shows how much they truly loved him.

[jongreek]

@billny33 Why didn't he just get it over with and throw the pitch underhanded?

[LazlosPlane]

@billny33 You're HALF right. Pitchers do lob the ball in there but very few hit home runs off of it, least of all to deep left field in old Yankee Stadium, 4 years into retirement!!!!

Mick was amazing. If he weren't hurt, GREATEST EVER.

[tbuzby]

i was at that game too. it's nice to say i saw mickey mantle's last homerun.

[WhiteCamry]

Joe DiMaggio hit an identical HR at the '65 Old Timers Game.

[shawn400ft]

I shed a tear. Baseball in it's purest form.

[breadboyplaysguitar]

2 people don't know what baseball is

[432F01]

The Mick.

That's all the needs to be said.

[dgbillybobjoe93]

who the hell would dislike this? i mean, c'mon!!!!

[Nomoremrniceguy100]

@dgbillybobjoe93 Someone who doesn't like or know anything about baseball.

[dgbillybobjoe93]

@Nomoremrniceguy100 you're telling me!! must b someone who is an idiot 2 watch this then

[carlinrulez666]

@dgbillybobjoe93

Only an idiot, mets fan or a red sox fan would. Same thing. Mantle and Ford are legends. I met Whitey last year.

[dgbillybobjoe93]

@carlinrulez666 i disagree... im a mets fan, but i still think this is a great video

[carlinrulez666]

@dgbillybobjoe93

It is a joke.

[dgbillybobjoe93]

@carlinrulez666 nah man die hard mets fan all the way

[carlinrulez666]

@dgbillybobjoe93

I meant that I was joking about the Mets fans giving a thumbs down on the video.

[dgbillybobjoe93]

@carlinrulez666 ah got it nvm sry

[obiwanobiwan13]

@dgbillybobjoe93 I know...I'm a METS FAN, and *I* gave this a Like!

You just have to! There's team loyalty...and me being a Mets fan since I was seven, 3,000 miles away in LA, and having never even BEEN to NY, I KNOW fan loyalty...

There's loyalty to the team--and then loyalty to the GAME.

And ANYONE disliking Mickey Mantle officially dislikes baseball.

Same with Gehrig, Ruth, Mays, Jackie Robinson, Stan Musial...

Same with Fisk's Shot or Piazza's 9/11 HR or Ripken's last game.

CLASSIC! :D

[dgbillybobjoe93]

@obiwanobiwan13 hell yeah!! so hows it in LA ;)

[billny33]

man, what a crowd for an old timer's game. Holy cow, you'd think he just won them a world series game with that homer from the noise the crowd made there.

[NatsFan18]

why does it look like the pitcher is throwing batting practice

[vibra64]

@NatsFan18 Its Old Timers Game. They are not playing for real.

[dgbillybobjoe93]

@NatsFan18 cuz hes like 60 years old...

[BrooklynEagle]

1:40--GO, MICK, GO!!! :-) Man, 'ya gotta love that old-school shit. Man...I really do miss that old stadium (that would be 1976-'08 for me). R.I.P to Mick & The Old Stadium...

By the way, does anybody shop with Mitchell & Ness? I do. I've ordered lots of vintage-themed Yankee gear (authentic reproductions based on certain seasons throughout sports history) from them in the last two years since #27. If you are a big fan of The Mick, you really need to pay their Yankee section a visit.

[seattlehawkins]

@BrooklynEagle Best quality hats around.

[jonpaulmoen]

ouch, ouch, ouch, my knees!!!!!!

[hippyscollectables]

How about that?

[TOMMYTOMA5]

The Mick...What a player!!

[alanruns42]

The degree of greatness on this video is amazing. Mel Allen: one of the greatest announcers of all time, mentor to Vin Scully. Mantle: the best hitter of his time (Williams was earlier), and Ford could hang with Koufax. Mantle's legs were destroyed by disease as a kid, knee blown out in 1951 Series. The most inspirational player of all time, playing through more pain and tape than anyone else, with blood dripping in the 1961 Series! I saw him in his prime. Wish you could have seen him also.

[compute101]

A few years ago I went to a spring training game at legends field. Hank steinbruner was signing autographs to all the kids and I got one.

[cheguevara778]

Happy birthday mick.....he would've been 80 years today. Go yanks!!!

[rjdigs]

I was at this game and saw Micky Mantle hit this home run. I was 10 years old. I will remember it forever. I only wished I was old enough to see Mickey play during his career in the 1960s.

[TheBatugan77]

@rjdigs i was there too. i was 15. i think they played oakland and vida blue pitched but i'm ot sure. sat 1b side. they sold souvenir programs from 1923 cause it was 50 years and they were closing YS for renovations. Everybody around me went nuts. it was a long, loud ovation, and our hands, voices and eyes were all raw, red, and puffy.Great, great day.

[redmustang03]

Look at Mantle he already been retired 5 years but still he looked awful. I mean he barely could run the bases and it looked painful for him to even use his lower body to hit those balls. The only way he could hit the last few years in his careers was pure strength. I know its a what if, but if he took care himself he probably still be alive and 78 years old. Still, what he accomplished even when hurt is still amazing.

[TheBatugan77]

@redmustang03 he was pretty bad 5 years before he retired too. Saw him a lot (live, a lot, at YS...$1-2 general admission!)hit quite a few 300 ft singles. Didnt see him when he could fly, was amazed when i saw film when he could. Yeah he boozed it up. But he also had bad legs, bone disease, and guts.

[redmustang03]

@TheBatugan77, my friend who lived in Brooklyn went to Yankees games in the 80's. Across the street the Yankee players and coaches would park their cars.One day after a game Billy Martin still boozed up was trying to get to his car and my friend asked him for his autograph.Security tried to shoo my friend away, but Billy still drunk as ever said no and gave an autograph ball to him. Its sad that with Billy it wasn't the alcohol that didn't kill his liver, it was the car accident due to alcohol.

[Rockhound6165]

LOL @ Whitey Ford throwing him meatball after meatball but it was great to see The Mick hit another one.

[TheBatugan77]

@Rockhound6165 Whitey WAS trying to groove it. If you look, both teams are all Yankees. Like i said to the other guy, i was there. The video dont show it but just before the bomb, Mick held his hand out over the plate, meaning 'put it right there, pal' Whitey did, and the Mick parked it. They went into the HOF together too. Whitey missed it his first try, which was BS, but I think everybody just wanted the two to go in together. And yep, I was in Cooperstown that day too.

[JakemanTube]

The pitcher doesn't look like he is throwing it very fast.

[RisingSon011]

@JakemanTube maybe thats why thie pitcher was playing in an old timers game !

[andyr1313]

I always appreciated the original Yankee Stadium for the distinctive sight lines and camera angles- behind home plate, ground-level shots- because the park wasn't built with television in mind, as opposed to modern stadiums and arenas...

[bedlam6666]

This WAS the last old timers game in the old Yankee Stadium, the one before they renovated. They spent the next two years at Shea, and then moved back in 1976. Even though it was a "renovated" stadium, they practically tore it down and rebuilt it on the same ground--it was really was a very different place. So this clip is a rare, as it is video from the old stadium prior to renovation. Thanks for the post.

[MrLehnerd]

What a great find and mell allen was not drunk ever whitey ford yankees great pitcher and The Mick are Mickey Mantle are Ny yankees call Mr Yankee forever...

[bhoot11432]

1 person dislikes it. Must be a Sox fan.

[YourBoyFrostyy]

@bhoot11432 lmfaooo bro yea LETS GO Yankees lets go

[SOLIDSNAKEXXX360]

so why does the picther look like he doesnt give a shit about the pitches hes making

[harajukugirlloveandG]

@SOLIDSNAKEXXX360 it is the same thing they do in every old timers day or home run derby,mickey and ford had both been retired for 5 yrs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[LPMC723]

@SOLIDSNAKEXXX360

Because in reality the fans want to see Mickey Mantle hit a home run, more then they want to see a strike out.. It is the game of baseball. People like to see big hits and home runs, not strikeouts.

[joeyfevs]

this is NOT the last old timers day in the old yankee stadium you moron.

[Gossage54]

@joeyfevs 1973 right? 74-75 were in Shea and 76 was the "new" now old and torn down Stadium.

[gamma68]

Who's the drunk who introduces the video?

[plang527]

@gamma68 Mel Allen

[joedoys]

'the pitcher' - um thats Whitey Ford...have some respect. Geez.

amazing piece of footage. thanks.

[ballparkprints]

I was at this game with my wife and dad, this is the first time I've ever seen a replay. What a joy to see it! This is what the fans wanted and he delivered. If you are not of certain age you don't get it.... I LOVE IT!

[DiceyJJ]

Mantle hit bombs

[northeaster99]

the pitcher was lobbing the ball so it seems that Mantle could hit a homerun.rigged

[xSoccerxCorex]

@northeaster99 it was the old timer's game, shut the fuck up

[KartKing4ever]

Why does it look like those pitches are going 60 mph?

[378904]

@KartKing4ever it an old timers game.

[KartKing4ever]

@378904 I kind of got that half way through.

[MrHomeworkeater]

@KartKing4ever

Alot of pitches do that. Makes the batter get distracted.

[Foo3112]

I know Whiteys going easy on the picthing but Mantle makes it look so effortless. Now running around the bases looks more of a challenge to Mick. Great ball player and best switch hitter ever.

[harajukugirlloveandG]

if mick had known getting hits was a big deal he could have done it every year like jeter to bad jeets will never pass the WS records mick holds or get an MVP,Triple crown ECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[yankeejohn58]

GOTTA LOVE IT.........His Knees were Really Shot! Too Many shot glasses in the morning.......not enough ReHab!

[Zelomeisterdude]

Man, I loved Mickey when I was growing up, born and raised in California but I became a life-long Yankee from the first time I saw Mickey at bat on TV in the early 1960s. Can't watch him now without getting tears in my eyes. Thanks for uploading this great clip.

[TheLightningspeed]

Fast Forward to :36

[jklinecarguy]

Wow. I can't believe how old Mick looks. He had just retired a few years prior to this.

[harajukugirlloveandG]

@jklinecarguy i think he looks great!!!! he always had bad legs so if you mean how he is running makes him look older than yea???

[johng756]

I was at this game with my Dad ( I was 8). Left field 10 rows back near the foul pole. The HR was about 7 rows in front of us. Mickey and Joe D got a 10 min standing O when introduced. Mrs Babe Ruth and Mrs Lou Gehrig were there also.When he hit the HR he got another 10 min standing O. The Yankees played the A's that day and Gene Tenace hit a HR 1 row in front of us and Jim Ray Hart on the Yanks hit a Foul ball 1 or 2 sections over same row as us. A day I will never forget. Thank you for sharing

[alonenjersey]

@johng756 To be @ THE Yankee Stadium to see the final OTD game being played there. I'm so jealous of you.

[Capt777harris]

I remember this game. I think some of it was on the Wide World of Sports.

[davidp899]

mel allen is such an assclown

[bloodyswordisa63]

Wow... thought this one was just a memory... Thanks so much!

[Teduardo123]

Kool. Just got done reading his biography, "The Last Boy." Watching this homer makes for a fitting finale to the fine book written by author Jane Leavy.

[harajukugirlloveandG]

@Teduardo123 if you want to read a book that the person who wrote it acts like she loves mick but makes up stories than read this book, I bet i could find 500 people that don't think to much of ms,Leavy Too!!!!!

[dschwa77]

Mickey was my favorite ball player so I am partial but I am struck by how intense the crowd was at the thought that he night hit one out - one more time. It sounded like the Yanks won the the 7th games of a world series. That's how much Mantle was loved - warts and all.

[dahur]

That was great seeing the Mick. Maybe my favorite player of all time, and I'm from Michigan. Thanks to Whitey too.

[JohnnyJay33]

every single at bat...the mick put everything he had into his swing, even his teeth....he said so himself

[mrjim271]

i REMEMBER THIS OLD TIMERS GAME IN 1973 WITH MY BROTHER JACK AND HIS FRIENDS.

[SmoshFan8123]

that pitcher might have been throwing 60 mph...

[ImSoAlpha]

@SmoshFan8123 this was an exhibition you dumbass, like old timers day. you dont know shit about life.

[jstarks123]

@SmoshFan8123 ..yea, imagine how far it would have gone if it was thrown at 90 mph

[mrwrestlingII]

TY for posting...what a great piece of footage.

[iwantpizza06451]

Cant**



[iwantpizza06451]

And they said you can hit a ball really hard more than once in an at bat! pshh

[flakbac]

mickey was cool without having to pretend hes cool

[joedoys]

amazing piece of footage - thank you.

[JENDALL714]

Wow, has fast Mick aged as well as Whitey, just a mere ten years or so before they were great! Whitey is throwing like he had been out of the game for 20 years!

[swgeorge]

The Greatest follow thru of a swing I have ever seen. Whoever caught that ball was one luck SOB

[abramsmm1]

I was there with my parents, age 12. Cloudy humid August afternoon, and we were sitting about half way down the left field line. Mick was a still a young man, maybe 41 or 42 at the time. I remember he looked stiff, like it was not comfortable for him to walk or run or move around much. The house packed full of Yankee fans was many years overdue for anything to cheer about, and the sound level was incredible when he but the ball in the LF stands. Only in the 70's was the Stadium like that.

[TheCpBoyz]

1 redsox fan saw this

[dcjfbjj1]

one of the greastest just think what he could have done if he didnt injure his knee

[fukOsamazMama]

He was the best. Ruth too. Gehrig too.

[Terrelldr]

that 1 dislike is a cubs fan

[TheeVulture]

@Terrelldr I thought the one dislike was a Boston fan.

[MrYellowlabs]

I feel bad for those who are too young to have ever seen Mickey play.

The most charismatic athlete ever!

[motogpfan46rossi]

Wow. Same comment, same time.

[motogpfan46rossi]

I can't believe someone else just posted the same comment at the same time! That was crazy

[motogpfan46rossi]

Hit took it deep. They say power is the last thing to go.

[waddyprocess]

@motogpfan46rossi nah, first it's your knees, then it's your reflexes, then it's your power. Then it's your friends.

[averagejoe511]

the last thing that goes is power.

[comicteacher]

To the people who said lovely things about Mickey and thanked the person who put this up BRAVO to you! To the rest ,it reminds us people who comment on you tube are the worst humans on the face of the earth! The boozing comment, or Whitey gave him one. People like this look for the worst in every moment in life. Yes Whitey gave him one. That's what made it so great! He understood what Mickey meant to us.

 The focus should be it was an amazing shot. It brought back memories for people!

[wats8800]

Whitey was throwing him grapefruits....they we're probably out boozin together before the game

[harajukugirlloveandG]

@wats8800 I guess it's better to be boozin and be able to do what he did than cheat with roids,put that in your left wing pipe

[kevincercie]

Whitey may have grooved the Mick a pitch to hit but it still takes skill & power to hit one out in the stadium, at any age!

[distantreplaydotorg]

I remember the announcers on TV said, "Oh, Mickey can still hit...I wonder if the yanks could talk him into DHing"

[RagingPeacock2]

anyone who knows this story knows that ford just gave him one...

[brennerhandyman]

Whitey still had the pin point control.

[Johnnyboy792]

Holy smoke... I actually saw this game with my Dad at the time.... he yelled out "Upper Deck... Upper Deck !!!". Thanks so much for the post :0)

[tealmarlin]

No wonder they were great hitters, the picthers were usless

[boblackey1]

@tealmarlin That is Yankee great Whitey Ford pitching. He was one of Mickey's long time teamates. This is an old timers game and Whitey was giving Mickey an easy ball to hit.

[harajukugirlloveandG]

@tealmarlin I guess its different at the homerun derbys of today when these guys are pitched too.. it looked like mick still at the age of 44 could still put it in the upperdeck,more than the younger guys today???

[jpwjr1199]

@tealmarlin dude, this is an old timers game

[epm5433]

"The Pitcher" wasn't just a "fan" it was one of his best friends, a guy by the name of Whitey Ford.

[dimaestri]

The pitcher fed him the ball. I know because I read his book. He was grateful for it. Nice one Mick.

[jstarks123]

@dimaestri ...it was an old timers game....of course he fed him the ball..

[METALkid614]

I believe the story went that the pitcher was a big fan of Mantle, and he just let it go right over the plate, purposefully.

[cremeofthereich]

Oh God, this is a glorious moment, saw it then but not since. Thank you thank you thank you!!!

[Endospitfie4]

i'm 60 yrs. old. went to so many games at yankee stadium with mom and dad. mickey was my hero. when i saw this video , i cried. thank you so so much. i'll watch it over and over. ps. nobody ever called a homerun like mel allen. i get chills everytime

[jbrhel]

Thank you so much for this post! I was there with my Dad; I was 14 and the Mick was my hero. When I tell younger baseball fans that Mickey hit his last homer in Yankee Stadium off Whitey you should see the looks I get!

[epm5433]

Wow!!! .... What memories ... I remember this like it was yesterday ... The Mick! ... Thanks for posting!

[BHTurnow]

What a great clip Paul! Amazing stuff. Thanks for sharing so we could all see Mick's last HR at the Old Stadium. - Brad - HistoryOfTheYankees

[UncleMikeNJ]

Landed right where Aaron Boone's homer landed 30 years later.

I was at Mickey's last Old-Timers' Day in 1994. When I ran back the tape, he'd told Bobby Murcer that he's gonna get his knees replaced like Whitey did, as soon as the doctors told him his liver could handle the surgery. I'd seen Mickey, and I'd seen Joe, and many other greats at Hall of Fame inductions, but I thought, "Finally, I can see Mickey Mantle PLAY." Alas, it was not to be.

[Girardifan]

This video brings back great memories for me because this was the first Old Timers Day at Yankee Stadium that my father took me to. What a thrill it was to see Mickey Mantle hit a home run in person! Even my father, who usually didn't care for Old Timers Day, was impressed.

[brennerhandyman]

Great video! 

[sjw2214]

I was there! I was 14 years old at the time, and sitting in the upper deck in right field, along with with my buddy Chris Cooper. The Stadium went nuts when Mantle connected. Just after the video cuts off, Mel Allen over the PA said something like, "That was Mickey Mantle's 537th lifetime home run." Damn, that was a long time ago, but it's still my favorite in-person sports moment ever! And The Mick was, is, and always will be my #1 favorite player!

[ekovac77]

Wonderful stuff. Just sent it to my dad. Do you have that show in it's entirety?