Mickey Mantle kept rules for his sons on the baseball card show circuit.
David Mantle, however, remembers breaking that rule once. He remembers attending a show where Mantle and Muhammad Ali were the featured guests. David snuck a pair of gloves to the promoter to sign with the intention of returning for them later. When David and Mickey left the show, however, that same promoter called David by name with gloves in hand.
"Dad turned around and I thought he was going to let me have it, but I said, 'Dad, it was Muhammad Ali. I couldn't let it pass," David told Sporting News.
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David and Danny Mantle also couldn't pass up another chance to honor their father's legacy. Panini unveiled a commemorative Mantle Panini Eternal card Monday on Opening Day, and the Mantles were involved in the process.
"All those players from back then are just so iconic," Danny Mantle said. "Mickey Mantle is just the biggest name ... so we're just very honored to be able to do this."
The 1952 Topps Mantle card is one of the most popular cards of all time, and the Mantles tapped into that legacy one more time. Mantle will be featured on six Panini MLBPA trading card products. Cards will be released coinciding with significant dates and achievements through that legendary career.
Mantle compiled 536 home runs from 1951 to 1968 with the New York Yankees as one of the most beloved players of that generation. Mantle died on Aug. 13, 1995, but his sons have continued to promote his memorabilia.
"Dad always thought it was such an honor," David Mantle said. "He couldn't believe what he meant to his fans. It was always a great honor for him. It always left him so dumb-founded that he was so popular
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"Fathers growing up would be fans of dad — I guess they are grandfathers now — and they pass it down to their kids," he said. "Their sons are passing it down to their sons, and we are very blessed to have that."
Danny can back that up. He said the two travel to minor-league stadiums every summer when they have a game to honor Mantle, whose autographed baseball cards have seen an increase in value in the past year.
This is a way of giving another generation a piece of the Mantle legend.
"We have more kids coming through the line, and they seem to know more about dad than us," Danny said. "That's just amazing to me. As long as it keeps going on like that, that's what we're doing this for."
Fans can learn more about the Panini Eternal collection here.
