in full Mickey Charles Mantle
born Oct. 20, 1931, Spavinaw, Okla., U.S.
died Aug. 13, 1995, Dallas, Texas
U.S. baseball player.
Mantle joined the New York Yankees in 1951 and became a powerful switch-hitting outfielder and first baseman. Between 1954 and 1961 "the Mick" led the American League four times in home runs, six times in runs, and once in RBIs, the latter occurring in the year (1956) that he won the triple crown for home runs, RBI, and batting average (.353). In 1961 he hit 54 home runs, finishing second in the home-run race behind his teammate Roger Maris , who broke Babe Ruth 's season record that same year. Mantle had to play with his legs heavily taped for much of his career because of injuries to his ankles and knees. He retired in 1968 with a lifetime total of 536 home runs.