He was simply “The Mick.”
Before booze and injuries dragged him down, Mickey Mantle was the toast of baseball and, thanks to his late-night party posse, New York City.
“Mantle,” a one-hour HBO Sports documentary that debuted Wednesday night, paints Mantle as fated to destruction. Fact is, most of Mantle’s problems were of his own making, and directly related to alcohol and chasing skirts.
By the time he died of cancer in 1995, Mantle was a shell of the gloriously gifted ballplayer who spent 18 seasons with the New York Yankees, hit over .300 10 times and was on seven World Series winners.
Many of those interviewed for “Mantle” recall his grace and power on the ballfield in the 1950s and ’60s, not the habits that wrecked his health, his marriage and his relationship with his sons. In the words of sportscaster Bob Costas, who delivered the eulogy at Mantle’s funeral, “There was always a sadness about him.”
Once called “the fair-haired kid,” Mantle tried to redeem himself shortly before his death by becoming a spokesman for organ transplants and by warning youngsters not to look on him as a role model.
“Mantle” looks at him as a man, not simply as an incredible ballplayer. It airs on HBO2 at 6 tonight; on HBO at 8 a.m. Saturday, and numerous other times in July and August.
All about Lance
Lance Armstrong’s recovery from cancer to win six straight times at the Tour de France tops TV Guide’s “25 Most Awesome Sports Moments (of the last 15 years).”
Tiger Woods’ 1997 Masters; Michael Jordan’s last-minute shot in the 1998 NBA Finals; Christian Laettner’s overtime basket in the 1992 NCAA Finals; and Cal Ripken Jr.’s 2,131st consecutive game in 1995 round out the top five.
Around the dial
Nielsen Media Research used its new Local People Meters technology in seven major cities in June to report that the NBA Finals reached almost half of African-American adult viewers. … Leapin’ Labradors!: Jumping dogs and log rolling among the events in the Great Outdoor Games from Florida (7 p.m. today and Friday, 12:30 p.m. Saturday and 11:30 a.m. Sunday, ESPN). … Peter Boyles and NHRA top fuel driver Tony Schumacher hang out from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at Truck Stop, 2795 S. Broadway. … FSN Rocky Mountain takes a look at changes in CU football ticketing on “Buffalo Stampede” at 7 and 10 tonight. … Get up early, do some good: Stage 15 of the Tour de France is on the big screen at the Boulder Theatre at 6:30 a.m. Sunday as a benefit for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. … Out of retirement: John Elway takes part in the seniors division of the NFL Quarterback Challenge (3 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday, KCNC-Channel 4). … Quotable: “Mickey was a lost child without baseball.” – Mickey Herskowitz
Dick Kreck’s column appears Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. He may be reached at 303-820-1456 or dkreck@denverpost.com.
