Like millions of other kids, he started collecting baseball cards in the 1950s. Bill Wilen really got serious as an adult, focusing on Mickey Mantle. Over the years, he's acquired virtually every Mantle card issued from 1951-2000. Now, they're all up for auction. The retired Chicago area attorney is at the National Sports Collectors Convention, showing … [Read more...]
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Vintage Yankees Memorabilia, Cards at Auction
A 1920 Babe Ruth bat, Lou Gehrig’s 1924 contract and game-worn gear from Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris are slated to go on the auction block next month in an event that has a definite pinstripe feel to it. The items are among dozens of Yankee-related items in the two-day Heritage Auctions Platinum catalog. Nearly 600 lots are on offer in the two-day … [Read more...]
Mickey Mantle’s Illegal Bat Part of FanFest Auction
Mickey Mantle using an illegal bat? Say it ain’t so. But it is…or was…and now that 35” Adirondack stick confiscated by an umpire is on the block at the All-Star FanFest Auction. Hunt Auctions is offering the bat, removed from play by home plate umpire Ed Hurley in 1958. The episode is rarely discussed today and got virtually no media attention when it … [Read more...]
Notes: Bosox-Yanks Rivalry Exhibit; NPR with Kaplan, FanFest, Olbermann
The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is celebrated in a new exhibition that features a wealth of memorabilia. The Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, CT is hosting it through November 15. Waterbury has long been a geographic dividing line between the two fan bases. The exhibition is curated by art dealer and sports fan Neil Scherer of GoingGoingGoneSports. com. The show includes nearly … [Read more...]
Signed 1951, ’52 Mantle Cards Coming to Auction
Long before the crush of autograph seekers made spring training an annual target, the atmosphere around big league camps was much more personal for those who did make the pilgrimage to warmer climates. For one baseball fan, though, spring training of 1968 meant a chance to have Mickey Mantle sign a couple of baseball cards he had pulled from packs when the Yankees’ … [Read more...]
Panini Begins Regular Mantle Releases
Panini America is beginning regular releases of Mickey Mantle cards under its new deal with the family. The company announced the exclusive agreement in early April but until Monday had only produced two cards--one a giveaway and the other through its print-to-order Eternal platform. The first card was handed out to attendees at the Industry … [Read more...]
Huge High-Grade 1950s Find Includes Crazy Haul of HOFers
It's the kind of find that will make a vintage card collector drool. Someone inherits a stash of 1950s baseball cards but doesn’t want them. You can tell they came from the original collection of a kid from the 1950s, because even the superstar cards like Ted Williams have rubber bands bundled around them. Dealers buy 1950s era cards from the public on a regular basis … [Read more...]
Panini in New Deal with Mickey Mantle Estate
Panini America has announced an exclusive agreement with the Mickey Mantle estate on Monday that will bring new Mantle cards into the hobby for the first time in five years. Mantle’s sons, David and Danny, say they worked with Panini on the project after agreeing to license baseball cards featuring their father for the first time since Topps was producing them in … [Read more...]
Mantle Game-Worn Batting Helmet at Auction Could Date to 500th Homer
Batting helmets weren’t universally used by major league players in the 1960s but as his career wound to a close, Mickey Mantle had made one well-worn piece of plastic headgear his companion in the batter’s box. A blue Yankees batting helmet donned by Mantle around the time of one of his most famous milestones is up for bid this weekend in Heritage Auctions Platinum … [Read more...]
Mickey Mantle Collector’s Guide Hits Market
A new book written by an avid collector of Mickey Mantle baseball cards has arrived. “The Mickey Mantle Card Collector’s Guide” is a 256-page paperback volume written by avid collector Bill Wilen. The book features full-color reproductions of both the front and back of every Mantle card issued between 1951 and 1969, all of which are presented in actual size, and … [Read more...]
