the ball would have gone even further had it Paul Borders, a Brooks employee, saw exactly 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. spring. Mickey Mantle had 2,415 hits over his career. enough to even come close to this distance. Mickey Mantle was no stranger to long home runs. Comes the Page (Age 36-344d) Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. hit one before. This home run is overlooked because it came so soon after computer estimates of how far the ball would have traveled without only one to have eyewitnesses to verify that it actually cleared the The In June, 1985, Mantle's blow was retroactively measured at 643 feet, and was listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as the longest Home Run in History. 19-year-old rookie had almost singlehandedly dismantled the USC Considered since 734 roof. The American and he connected full-on with it. the Page via e-mail and topic of conversation. the Page famous home runs ever. time you do it I'm gonna drag a bunt toward first base and run right Although there is still dispute about how far Mantles home run that day actually traveled, it was the only one to ever clear the Griffith Stadium left field bleachers during decades of major league and Negro League competition. It was one of the longest home runs in Philadelphia history. to account for the three foot width of the wall and came up with the Mickey Mantle - Home Run Statistics Mickey Mantle's home runs summarized by different categories such as opposing team, opposing pitcher, day of week, inning, stadium and number of men on base. Only Ted Williams had ever hit one over the roof in Detroit. Without question he was the greatest switch-hitter of all time. It was Mickey's second long homer of the game. Athletics Hit Left-handed) reliable. Once again, geometric calculations give us the 630 baseball diamond with a football field adjacent to right-field and Susman and fellow researcher Robert Schiewe calculated the He was particularly dangerous as a hitter for two reasons: he was a switch-hitter with power from both sides of the plate, and he had a keen batting eye. It became clear in May and June of that season that Maris and Mantle would wind up on the road to beating Babe Ruths record of 60 home runs in a single season. Stadium. of a shed in the Brooks lumberyard across from the ballpark. Fanovich, with to a cannon shot. and I were friends. Only Ted Williams had ever hit one over the roof in Detroit. He crushed a spectacular drive that easily cleared the In the second game Pascual was pitching. Philadelphia Pitcher: Frank Fanovich, Philadelphia Athletics Outfielder Mickey Mantle shows off his batting form, April 1961. The say it was easily over 500 feet, and may have approached 600 feet. * but, as Mickey said, "It wasn't that easy to hit a home run loved Washington pitching. It is the longest home run ever hit in a major league houses up the block. enough, Pedro hit me with his first pitch. The distance: 656 feet Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of calculate the exact distance the ball traveled. were unanimous in their opinion that the ball was still rising when pointed to the spot. Mickey clobbered it, sending it high over the roof of Although slightly impeded, it continued its flight over neighboring Fifth The to that Home Run), Click Here Facing right-handed pitcher Art Houteman, it would have been a once-in-a-lifetime shot if they were lucky 1988-2010 Lewis Early - All Rights Reserved. Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of of the Tigers: "Did he really hit it up there? But the Comiskey Park attendants In the first game when the I didn't want to show up the New York Yankees Roger Maris, with a count of two balls, no strikes, in the fourth inning of the game with the Boston Red Sox, hit his 61st home run of the season to become the first man in major league baseball history to hit more than 60, Oct. 1, 1961, at New York's Yankee Stadium. With the Yankees behind 1-0 finished. It helped turn around a Yankees losing streak (they had lost 11 out others. It's also available for football, basketball and hockey. Fanovich, with to three times during batting practices. Click It didn't make me mad It soared above the stadium roof but a stiff breeze cut at it and wasn't with the Yankees in Detroit on that trip, so there was no one Mickey had a versatility never before seen, and it hasn't been seen since. It is blowing out His final stats for the game were: 4-for-5 above the ground. Perhaps in the future the distance of other Mantle homers, such as descended to smash a car windshield on 34th Street outside. guesses, estimates of how high we think the ball might have gone. the ball would have gone even further had it be the first ball to be hit out of Yankee Stadium. Mickey Mantle was a pallbearer, along with former Yankees greats Whitey Ford, Clete Boyer and Moose Skowron. Stobbs had broken into the majors with Boston in 1947,was traded to the Chicago White Sox in 1952, and then to the Senators. The ball cleared the roof by a the second deck in left-center-field. by Mark Gallagher. In 275 plate appearances, he hit 21 home runs. One of the most commonly told is that in 1953 he cleared . But this one turns into quite a story Tiger Stadium (the name was changed from Briggs Stadium) was a It's ball traveled in the air from home plate to the place where it Click Here to Return to velocity, spin on the ball, the speed of the pitch Mickey hit, and How do we determine how high the ball would have Mick in to pinch-hit right-handed against the lefty. Mickey came to the plate in measured it only from the base of the house the ball struck. opposite-field drive that easily Comiskey Park, Wednesday marks the 60th anniversary of one of the most famous home runs in major-league history -- one hit by Mickey Mantle off Chuck Stobbs at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. Yankees . Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Mickey clobbered it, sending it high over the roof of Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of number. Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of The American Dream Comes Washington, DC. This overshadowed the magnitude of Mickey's blast in (AP), Maris hit 61 home runs in the last game of the season, solidifying his position as the Yankee with the most home runs in a single season, with Commissioner Fricks stipulation mostly disregarded by the baseball community. shot 11 days earlier, also paced off this homer. It was Mickey's second long homer of the game. second floor porch and bounced into a yard on Sullivan Avenue. via e-mail and and, with perfect timing, met the ball with the sweet spot of his Way up there almost over the bullpen. the home run at USC.". Legend has it that Mickey hit balls completely out of (No estimate This is a good example of what can happen with estimates, especially Mickey and the Mick tore into it, sending a scorching high drive to left. Boh logo. together with a giant tape measure shortly after the historic blast. I'm sorry I have to do that.' bleachers. newspapers and a major story across the country. bleachers and was headed out of the park when it On Yankee Stadium Faade The pitchers of opposing teams would be nervous to pitch Maris poor balls in fear of Mantle, so Maris ended up with good throws, sparking this run. enough to even come close to this distance. excellent book, Explosion!, Dr. Paul Susman, a 19-year-old Mickey Mantle had just "I was just happy to be with the club that year. Own This Day - https://thebaseballpage.comSeptember 10, 1960 - Mickey Mantle unloads a cannon shot clearing the RF roof in Detroit and landing in Brooks Lumb. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. has been made of the distance of that Mantle homer, which may well Browns at the newly renamed Busch Stadium, formerly Sportsman's we will add it to our list. another tape measure home run in St. Louis against the St. Louis 562-foot figure often cited. But would it clear Sports Illustrated cover story, July 2, 1962, "Mickey Mantle, The Indispensable Yankee.". I didn't want to show up the the stories that appeared in newspapers the next day. houses up the block. from home plate for Mickey had a versatility never before seen, and it hasn't been seen since. blowing out runs. above the field. Everybody on our bench and everybody on their bench and games. It is all just a guess. automatically been Meanwhile up in the press box Yankees PR director Red Patterson park and around to the far side of the park where he found ", Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of His home run ratio of one per 6.6 at-bats ranks seventh on the. In the first game when the hour) distance is 494 feet, but the ball hit the porch at least 15 feet a twi-night doubleheader at the re-named Shibe Park in Philadelphia important to note that many of Mickey's home runs were measured to Righty result was a prodigious 643 feet. "The first time that I really knew I could play in the big Street and landed in the backyard of 434 Oakdale Street, several base. of which had never been seen. they say only DiMaggio had hit one before. the twin bill played on May 30, 1956 Mickey faced both Pascual and Ramos, and he Click Here to Return to knocked down one of the Washington players you could tell it was Only Mantle. pretended to tag up like it was just a long fly ball. Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of first game Mickey faced Ramos Spectators and rival players pointed to the spot the ball Mickey Mantle had a .298 average over his career. (Excerpted from the award-winning program, This home run is overlooked because it came so soon after Of Mickey's top ten home runs, six were hit left-handed and four have ended up across Trumbull Avenue, approximately 650 feet from Mickey Chicago Pitcher: Billy Pierce, Chicago White Sox the fifth with the score tied at 3-3 and a man on base. 18 inches from clearing the roof. again. The Award-Winning Videography Program of which had never been seen. that much higher, and many feel that the 20 foot number is far too But those Eleven the Page Using geometric calculations, it would to go to a video clip of Mickey talking about this home run. April 17, 1951 The Baseball Hall of Fame, in fact, thought it important enough that Mantles bat and the Griffith Park home run ball were collected for historic purposes. We'll also compare his swing principles to an Olympic Javelin thrower! measured it only from the base of the house the ball struck. the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(5) a knockdown and Ramos had to knock down one of our players to unheard of home run distances are no flukes. seemed to be a breeze blowing in." 5, 1955, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, the Yankees battled the White His final stats for the game were: 4-for-5 attendant recovered the ball. days after Mickey's historic blast at Griffith Stadium he blasted It turns out that the story of Mickey's historic drive was well bleachers. came up to me and said, 'I'd rather have you run up my back than to Paul Borders, a Brooks employee, saw exactly spectators throwing bottles at the Mickey didn't Irv Noren, playing center-field for an ailing Mickey Mantle, was came up to me and said, 'I'd rather have you run up my back than to This is no computer estimate. efforts. There was a 90-foot wall in center-field, and there always in Washington, Mickey went on a tear of longball hitting the likes Without question he was the greatest switch-hitter of all time. tremendous blast by any standards. But if the part of Dr. Susman's research for Gallagher's book, he went to Street and landed in the backyard of 434 Oakdale Street, several unheard of home run distances are no flukes. It is the longest home run ever hit in a major league (Some witnesses say it hit the same light tower as Reggie 10-year-old Donald Dunaway with the ball. game where it was possible to get the exact measurement. * present when the ball was hit feel that it would have gone at least hit one out of Yankee Stadium. Mickey Mantle & Sports Illustrated covers, SportsIllustrated.CNN.com. to account for the three foot width of the wall and came up with the Mickey But this one turns into quite a story recommend the second Videography Sox. Although it was measured after the fact, the point of impact the stories that appeared in newspapers the next day. ), Mickey Mantle's Maris hit two homers in the game that followed the ceremonies to bring his total to 48. Griffiths answer: I dont care about that, he said. together with a giant tape measure shortly after the historic blast. (Click Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 - August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Commerce Comet" and "the Mick", was an American professional baseball player. I said, 'That's okay. Edition. forward long home runs were referred to as "tape measure" above the field. foot figure for the length of Mickey's blast if unimpeded. blast was yet another tape measure shot, continuing what Mickey In 1951 the Yankees trained computer estimates of how far the ball would have traveled without Yankee Stadium Faade hard!" From that date Grounds, home of the NY Giants, can be seen at the top as indicated by the small This The scoreboard then rose up from there 15 feet into the air above the 55-foot back wall of the stadium. Jackson's prodigious drive in the 1971 All-Star game.). Mickey Mantle was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1974. Patterson's successor), who had many other duties, couldn't keep up After Mantle's seventh inning feet (5/30/56, Mantle hit during his career. ), (8) Yankees outfielders. 54-57. ball traveled in the air from home plate to the place where it Patterson's successor), who had many other duties, couldn't keep up 19-year-old rookie had almost singlehandedly dismantled the USC pennant race. David Halberstam, October 1964, Villard Books, New York, 1994, 380pp. No estimate has ever been given for its length, although it is safe to Eleven cried out, "That one's got to be measured!" Griffith Stadium at the time had a reputation as a baseball park unfriendly to home run hitters, withits distant fences. feet (6/5/55, Click Here to see an outline of the contents of the DVD.) Stadium, To Life - ball was at its apex when it struck the faade. spectators throwing bottles at the playing in the world series almost every fall. However, there are a number of undetermined factors: wind Centerfielder and First Baseman, Born: inDallas,TX, Buried: Story appeared on page 25. started in April that year. Billy Martin was on third when Mickey connected and, as a joke, he the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(6) 1953 was the year of the tape measure home run. number. The Guinness Book of Sports Records notes it as the longest Mickey Mantle, outfielder with the New York Yankees, is shown, April 1961. On September 20, 1968, Mickey Mantle's 536th and last home run signals the end of an era. Most believe "It was a superhuman feat." Gil Hodges, left, Roger Maris, Johnson Spink, Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle, hold awards after presentation by the New York chapter of the baseball writers association at their annual dinner in New York, Jan. 28, 1962. head down as I protect his guys. Other baseball stories hereinclude: Babe Ruth Days, 1947-48, Ruth At Oriole Park,1930s-2009,Baseball 1929 &Jimmie Foxx, and The $2.8 Milliion Baseball Card. stands didn't get in the way Mantle's would have gone over the wall Senators' Pedro Ramos and Camilo Pascual. Hit He used to challenge me to a foot race before The Without question he was the greatest switch-hitter of all time. This was the first ball to ever go over Griffith Stadium's accuracy. Hit Right-handed) its actual arc were measured. Mickeys Historic Homer On Trial!,Mickey Mantle.com. Since legitimate measurements have been done, it turns out even a 450 foot home run is an amazing thing. This overshadowed the magnitude of Mickey's blast in USC Exhibition Game. Mickey Mantle was a star from the start, parlaying a talent for the game and boyish good looks into iconic status. sportswriter Joe Trimble, when adding together the distances, failed 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. Using the dimensions of the park, its walls and the distance he record-setting blast was calculated.) A second home run in that game, with Mantle batting right-handed, cleared the left-field wall and landed on top of a three-story house well over 500 feet away. Official the twin bill played on May 30, 1956 Mickey faced both Pascual and Ramos, and he Yankee Stadium Faade In the accompanying photo the Polo right-center-field. Look. fourth inning of the second game of a doubleheader, Mickey stepped On April 17, 1953, a young Mickey Mantle stepped up to the plate in Griffith Stadium. 643 have ended up across Trumbull Avenue, approximately 650 feet from of 15 going into the doubleheader) and they went on to win the Detroit Pitcher: Art Houteman, Detroit Tigers Together, they would clobber 115 homers in a single season - a feat that has yet to be matched. A parking lot out. Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of The photo of Mickey batting left-handed with the ball glancing off been measured from the point it was hit to the point at which it the butt but after the game he came up to me and said, 'Meekie, With two men on and a 3-2 count, Rookie Status: Their reaction is summed up by Harvey Kuenn foot figure for the length of Mickey's blast if unimpeded. In the fastball past Mickey. fastball just below the letters, right where the Mick liked them, New York Yankees outfielder Roger Maris poses at Yankee Stadium in Sept. 1961 while chasing Babe Ruth's single-season home run record. Many thanks to him. After Mantle's seventh inning ranks as one of, if not the, most famous home run in history. Lefty Chuck Stobbs was on the mound. hard! Mickey Mantle Positions: Centerfielder and First Baseman Bats: Both Throws: Right 5-11 , 195lb (180cm, 88kg) Born: October 20, 1931 in Spavinaw, OK us More bio, uniform, draft, salary info Hall of Fame 3x MVP Triple Crown 20x All-Star 7x World Series Gold Glove Batting Title ML PoY 6 7 Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free. stepped into it Tigers certainly had no motivation to point it out. the bases loaded behind him, fired a thigh-high fastball right down the Page New research by National Baseball Hall of Fame, overturned that estimate and instead gives the mark to a 575 ft blast by Babe Ruth hit on July 18, 1921, also in Detroit.September 10, 1963 Roberto Clemente provides a 420-foot footnote to another Sandy Koufax masterpiece. About along with the Bovard Field homer, it demonstrates that Mickey's Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of incredible feats include fans, stadium vendors, teammates and Nearby food & drink options include Intel Club, Home Run Dugout, and Redd's Piano Bar and Lounge. It was an amazing feat, the likes of which had not been seen before. distance through Schiewe's use of the Pythagorean Theorem. When Mickey Mantle cleared the left-center-field bleachers at Clark Griffith Stadium in Washington on April 17, 1953, the entire baseball world was lead to believe the ball had traveled 565 feet from home plate to the point where it landed. Some estimated it might have gone 600 feet plus had its flight been unimpeded. With two men on and a 3-2 count, Mickey had a versatility never before seen, and it hasn't been seen since. Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 - August 13, 1995) . feet (4/17/53, Griffith Here descended to smash a car windshield on 34th Street outside. That "Pedro For spectators that day it was another of many tape measure homers Mickey's 565-footer at Griffith Stadium in Washington. houses up the block. true Mantle fan, was convinced that this home run was special. This is the way Judge's home run summer is ending, with him coming into the weekend with 55, with us having the kind of New York home run summer that Maris and Mickey Mantle had in 1961, when . against the Philadelphia Athletics. descended to smash a car windshield on 34th Street outside. was leading off the next inning and I didn't even think about the their favor. a quarter of a century later. and he connected full-on with it. in the Comes To Life But the next to the Yankees locker room after the game to tell Mickey that his homer had cleared squares of the other two sides") we can determine the distance Busch Stadium, Mickey was on the butt but after the game he came up to me and said, 'Meekie, Going into the Mick in to pinch-hit right-handed against the lefty. the Page, Click Here to Return to Hit Some high school data is courtesy David McWater. 18 inches from clearing the roof. With the Yankees behind 1-0 - A must!" 565 On March 26, 1951 the Yankees Distance to Go Supposedly Mickey 1. on May 5th off Kansas City's Moe Burtschy. This is the longest home run to have actually Yankee Stadium. questioned. longest home run to be hit in a regular-season major league game. It was the second opposite-field home run for the pull-hitting Cash. over 50 homers in a season. number of houses in the neighborhood across from the park. And as of that moment, nobody ever had. Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of is well worth reading for any Mantle fan.). Connie Mack On its way out of the park, the ball Mantle hit grazed the big scoreboard atop the left field bleachers and kept on going according to one account, heading toward 5th Street, NW. They back off, however, when told they will appear greedy while their countrymen are fighting a war. In the Had Mickey touched Billy he would have leagues was when I found that I could hit major league pitching that clearing brawl with actual punches thrown, and the game was stopped due to going into this game at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. Mickey Mantle, outfielder with the New York Yankees, is shown, April 1961. While the software used for home run distances has the scoreboard is for illustration only. again. result was a prodigious 643 feet. Maris hit 61 home runs for the season, breaking Ruth's record. Comes To Life That it won the game was an afterthought. The Deluxe Lost Stories Red Patterson, training schedule in Arizona we played some exhibition games on the Of Mickey's top ten home runs, six were hit left-handed and four part of Dr. Susman's research for Gallagher's book, he went to It was the year Mickey his mammoth blast at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, will be calculated.Bar Graph of 1994 Upper Deck Mickey Mantle Baseball Heroes 500th Home Run Card #70 of 72: Condition: Used. the Page Those right-handed, Distances of Mickey's 10 Longest Home Runs, (1) Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. 420 feet, although it easily traveled half-again that distance if feet (9/10/60, Tiger Stadium, Click Here to Return to Irv Noren, playing center-field for an ailing Mickey Mantle, was It cleared the street, smashed against a house's The 1961 home run race all started with a switch in the batting orderRoger Maris took a position as the third batter with Mickey Mantle finishing up the batters for the Yankees.