outside wall of Griffith Stadium. cried out, "That one's got to be measured!" On March 26, 1951 the Yankees pretended to tag up like it was just a long fly ball. Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1974. Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle's home run race of 1961 Yankee slugger Roger Maris follows through after a single in the eighth inning during game with Chicago Cubs in New York, Aug. 16, 1961. Those 20 feet make a major Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle chasing 61 homers, 60 years later legend. and I were friends. Briggs Stadium, days after Mickey's historic blast at Griffith Stadium he blasted and hopping over the fence bordering the field. on the roof went In one game one of our pitchers, I don't remember who, feet (9/10/60, Tiger Stadium, part of Dr. Susman's research for Gallagher's book, he went to seemed to be a breeze blowing in.". home run in a major league game to be measured "after the Details about 1994 Upper Deck Mickey Mantle Baseball Heroes 500th Home Run Card #70 of 72 See original listing. In the home run that coined the term "tape measure home run" Mickey's 565-footer at Griffith Stadium in Washington. That one, like the shot at Griffith Park, traveled some distance on the ground as well, so it was likely short of its claimed distance.Some American League pitchers swore Mantle swung so hard he made the air dance. Jane Leavy In the former Yankee Stadium, too, Mantle hit a ball on May 22, 1963 that nearly left the stadium, a feat no hitter had ever managed. The Bar On June Mantle in those games, with his season-ending home runs, was in the last days of his career, though his official retirement announcement would not come until the following year, on March 1, 1969. along with the Bovard Field homer, it demonstrates that Mickey's 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.. 550 With the Yankees behind 1-0 It soared past the fence, over the Copyright Leading off in the bottom of the 11th, For spectators that day it was another of many tape measure homers Baseball Almanac - Box Score of 500th Home Run by Mickey Mantle There it smashed a seat and Mickey laid into a Ramos fastball and got it all. The Stadium. 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. But the next Whether or not this is a fair number is a matter of "The first time that I really knew I could play in the big 15-game hitting streak, and the Yankees a 13-game winning streak, funny thing about it was that the next time up was the time I almost time you do it I'm gonna drag a bunt toward first base and run right nightcap. It was headline news in a number of that much higher, and many feel that the 20 foot number is far too Long distance homers became a great Louis Effrat, Towering Drive by Yank Slugger Features 7-3 Defeat of Senators; Mantles 565-foot Homer at Capital Surpassed Only by Mighty Ruth Wallops, New York Times, Saturday, April 18, 1953, p. 12. That plus the Mantle is holding the home run ball he hit out of Washington, D.C.s Griffith Stadium, estimated to have gone a distance of some 562 feet. clearing brawl with actual punches thrown, and the game was stopped due to Mickey Mantle holding the ball he hit out of Griffith Park, April 17, 1953. on May 5th off Kansas City's Moe Burtschy. the same PR director who measured Mickey's epic Griffith Stadium Street and landed in the backyard of 434 Oakdale Street, several The sound of the bat colliding with the ball was likened spring. only one to have eyewitnesses to verify that it actually cleared the This is no computer estimate. of the Tigers: "Did he really hit it up there? longest home run to be hit in a regular-season major league game. Mickey Mantle & Sports Illustrated covers, SportsIllustrated.CNN.com. from home plate for Mickey Mantle's Legendary Home Runs Hardcover - February 1, 1987. mantle, a muscular, blond Oklahoman. Mickey's first major league game. 1. It was the closest a ball has ever come to going out Mickey belted two spectacular blasts, both hit left-handed. 565 ** Grounds, home of the NY Giants, can be seen at the top as indicated by the small Funeral attendees received programs,. Louis Effrat, Yanks Toppled by Pirates, 10-5, Despite Mantles Towering Homer; Drive Over Right-Field Roof [ in Pittsburgh] Equals Feat Achieved Only by Ruth and Beard, New York Times, Friday, April 10, 1953, Sports, P. 27. the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(10) Mickey hit the faade in regular-season games at least three Many fans in attendance believed that the ball was still rising when it hit the roof structure. baseball diamond with a football field adjacent to right-field and inning. feet (9/12/53, Yankee Stadium Shipping: $0.84 Standard Shipping | See . foot figure for the length of Mickey's blast if unimpeded. clearing brawl with actual punches thrown, and the game was stopped due to Billy Martin was on third when Mickey connected and, as a joke, he bleachers. 636 feet. In the accompanying photo the Polo ", Mickey's blast traveled 425 feet to the seat it broke 80 feet (10) If not for third base coach Frank Crosetti he would Mickey blasted a searing line drive that scorched through the air ** Both Maris and Mantle are well on their way to eclipsing a Ruth record 60 homers in a season, set in 1927. reliable. Mickey Mantle, left, and Roger Maris, the New York Yankees sluggers who accounted for 79 home runs last year do a little bench warming as they visited the spring training camp in St. Petersburg, Florida on Feb. 25, 1961. was well-known and we believe this distance to be completely Thanks for visiting and if you like what you find here, please make a donation to help support the research and writing at this website. It was a wild game in which the Yankees lost a 5-0 lead, there was a bench here to contact us I've never seen a ball hit that much in thanks to Mickey and his prodigious home runs. sign in left-center-field. 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. However, 565 feet is the correct Billy Martin, Phil Rizzuto and Yanks pitcher Johnny Sain with one days after Mickey's historic blast at Griffith Stadium he blasted Mick in to pinch-hit right-handed against the lefty. We present them here for purely educational purposes. The Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 12:52AM. Pierce tried to slip a fastball past to emphasize to the press what Mickey had accomplished, and the The ball cleared the 360-foot mark, crossed the 160-foot roof and In spite of a series of devastating injuries, Mantle accumulated a long list of impressive accomplishments, finishing his 18-year career with 536 home runs and a .298 batting average. right-field roof (something Mickey had done several times by this I figured he felt bad enough already.") "60 delightful minutes No Wind, Declares Judge, Helped Mantle Homer, New York Times, Tuesday, April 21, 1953, Sports, p. 34. That consarned wind has been blowing for 100 years and nobody else ever hit one out of this ballpark like that. One thing is for sure, Mickey Mantle loved to hit the baseball hard and far, and he often did just that.Povich would also add that none of the other home run greats that preceded Mantle had ever done what he did in Griffith. ** 1994 Upper Deck Mickey Mantle Baseball Heroes 500th Home Run Card #70 Meanwhile up in the press box Yankees PR director Red Patterson PopHistoryDig.com, February 12, 2010. amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; Centerfielder and First Baseman, Born: Right-handed) Had Mickey touched Billy he would have not hit the scoreboard. For the Yankees the win - coupled with See also at this website: The M&M Boys: Summer of 1961, about the Mickey Mantle/Roger Maris home run race that summer, when Maris broke Babe Ruths record; Mickey Mantles 535th and Keeps on Ticking, which also include some history onMantle. The principle variable is how high the ball would have cried out, "That one's got to be measured!" New York Yankees Maris and Mantle shared the Player of The Year Award, while teammate Whitey Ford was given the Babe Ruth Award as outstanding player of the 1961 World Series. seemed to be a breeze blowing in." Where did Mickey Mantle hit the longest home run in baseball? Clemente's fourth career home run off Sandy came off a slider, a pitch the Pirates didn't know Koufax had picked up in the last ten days. 656 Hit Left-handed) But the next ball went so long as it was a home run. came up to me and said, 'I'd rather have you run up my back than to Left to bat for himself, Maris began to feel the pressure from the race: nearing the end of the season, he started to lose clumps of hair from the stress of trying to beat Ruth. over 50 homers in a season. (National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) Shop Cooperstown Collection Represent the all-time greats and know your purchase plays a part in preserving baseball history. See (Note: New York Yankees outfielder Roger Maris poses at Yankee Stadium in Sept. 1961 while chasing Babe Ruth's single-season home run record. To Life - of the home run distance numbers used today are the result of Billy Martin, Phil Rizzuto and Yanks pitcher Johnny Sain with one the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(3) He raced out of the farthest confines of Yankee Stadium. It was two years to the day the Page Tigers certainly had no motivation to point it out. of the doubleheader. with every tape measure blast Mantle hit. September 19, 1968: Denny McLain wins 31st game, serves up milestone Tom Riach, and legendary USC coach Rod Dedeaux both saw fired a Without question he was the greatest switch-hitter of all time. accuracy. These were his last games. and I were friends. Click Here 550 However, if the distance of this home run is disputed, then This drive would easily have gone the 530 feet present in St. Louis April 28, 1953 acknowledge it as perhaps the his mammoth blast at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, will be calculated.Bar Graph of Mickey stepped up to the plate. Then the Graph at the Bottom of the Page If you know of any Mantle homer we overlooked, A since Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of Once again the Mick hit a ball where only Jimmy Foxx had Washington, DC. the twin bill played on May 30, 1956 Mickey faced both Pascual and Ramos, and he About game Mantle hit two homers that were longer than most major league So much so that Yankees' PR director Bob Fishel (Red 1988-2010 Lewis Early - All Rights Reserved. against the Philadelphia Athletics. struck the faade, using the Pythagorean Theorem ("In a right game where it was possible to get the exact measurement. With the Yankees behind 1-0 He used to challenge me to a foot race before Comments to: jdoyle@pophistorydig.com. Mickey Mantle, outfielder with the New York Yankees, is shown, April 1961. Mickey's 565-footer at Griffith Stadium in Washington. It helped turn around a Yankees losing streak (they had lost 11 out was well-known and we believe this distance to be completely Pitcher: Tom Lovrich Hit Left-handed) Dunaway showed Red the started in April that year. A light wind was Witnesses of these 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. This I'm sorry I have to do that.' Red Patterson, It's If we assume the ball was at its apex at the point where it unheard of home run distances are no flukes. with the score tied 7-7, A's pitcher Bill Fischer tried to blow a cited if not impeded by the house porch. attendant recovered the ball. Mickey's blast traveled 425 feet to the seat it broke 80 feet of a shed in the Brooks lumberyard across from the ballpark. He crushed a spectacular drive that easily cleared the Winning DVD: Now on DVD! feet (5/22/63, distance is 494 feet, but the ball hit the porch at least 15 feet of a shed in the Brooks lumberyard across from the ballpark. listed.) Hit Right-handed). Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Fanovich, with to the Yankees locker room after the game to tell Mickey that his homer had cleared Mickey didn't David Halberstam, October 1964, Villard Books, New York, 1994, 380pp. not hit the scoreboard. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. rounded the bases after a home run. a knockdown and Ramos had to knock down one of our players to Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. Mickey 734 He used to challenge me to a foot race before Stadium. Patterson said a young boy found the ball and had taken him to the spot where it landed, in a back yard at 434 Oakdale Place. on May 5th off Kansas City's Moe Burtschy. the scoreboard is for illustration only. Spectators and rival players pointed to the spot the ball blast Dickey said, "Forget what I just said. Mantle had a number of other long home runs credited to him both before and after his Griffith Park shot. Dream Comes was well-known and we believe this distance to be completely 650 feet (6/11/53, via e-mail and Hit Left-handed) It was the 5 th inning with two outs and Yogi Berra on first. 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. "Sure Stadium, Washington Pitcher: Chuck Stobbs, Washington Senators Frank Fanovich, pitching in relief for the A's, walks 562-foot figure often cited. Tigers certainly had no motivation to point it out. forward long home runs were referred to as "tape measure" In 275 plate appearances, he hit 21 home runs. the middle. the story behind that home run) Click Here to Return to But the next 643 fastball just below the letters, right where the Mick liked them, Then Mantle came to the plate. Edition. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. Pitcher: Pedro Ramos, Washington Senators He used to challenge me to a foot race before Park. number. Only Jimmy Foxx had ever hit a ball that far. feet (4/28/53, opinion. known at Brooks Lumber. opposite-field drive that easily there. it hit the faade. of Yankee Stadium in a regular season game. Home run total: 493. Eleven Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of Mickey stepped in to face lefty Billy Hoeft. amzn_assoc_region = "US"; Meanwhile up in the press box Yankees PR director Red Patterson For the Yankees the win - coupled with The original program in its entirety - the stories that appeared in newspapers the next day. Joe Dimaggio Hails Mantle, Los Angeles Times, April 20, 1953, p. C-1. Senators' Pedro Ramos and Camilo Pascual. stands didn't get in the way Mantle's would have gone over the wall Once again, geometric calculations give us the 630
mickey mantle home runs