Mickey Mantle "Retirement" on The Ed Sullivan Show

[@19trebor53]

What a nice tribute from Ed.

[@treatkeyz]

Thank you Mickey Mantle!

[@bobwatson1162]

Willie, Mickey and the Duke..

[@beatlesss9592]

Baseball legend!!!

[@dougmilesmedia]

Good spot with Ed and the Mick!

[@epaddon]

The Yankees had asked Mantle to delay announcing his retirement until Spring Training 1969 so as not to depress advance ticket sales for that year during the off-season.

[@TheBatugan77]

That's funny. I went to Yankees games during those years. 67000 seats capacity. 60000 empty most of the time.

[@jblakebarnett]

My Grandpa Barnett was his first coach in the wiz kids. He was the team manager.

[@RichMansour]

The first Mickey Mantle day was Sept 65 and of course the big one on June 8 69

[@willdrucker4291]

Fun Fact:....the Yankees had placed Mickey on the Expansion Draft list fir 1969 and Royals’ owner Ewing Kaufman was going to draft him and pay him $300,000 for 2 years....the highest salary in baseball at that time...but when The Mick got word of it, he told the press that he’d only play for one team...his beloved Yankees...went to Spring Training that year but as this clip shows, he simply couldn’t do it anymore...long live THE MICK

[@rainbowranddy]

Now, some are signing 300 million dollar contracts.

[@RRaquello]

I read somewhere it was the Seattle Pilots, but either way if we think it’s hard to imagine Mantle In a Pilots or Royals uniform, remember at this same time Joe DiMaggio was wearing the ridiculous gold & green uniform of the Oakland A’s.

[@SeamHead33]

They don't make em like this anymore

[@dougblush2887]

Think the ball he hit out of Griffith Stadium in Washington is still orbiting the planet.

[@aloeverga3939]

When they got to the end, and Ed was talking about how the game was going to miss him and like he might cry.

[@Lava1964]

Billy Crystal called Mickey Mantle "a great big American hero."

[@MyMy-zi7yv]

It sounded to me like Ed said, "Mervyn, not Merlyn" lol.

[@kevinmiller6380]

My My-He did.

[@dudesimparfaits9742]

Beyond baseball he was americana...

[@louisgambetta5277]

Ed was such a class act

[@MrMakemyday3]

mickey was the most humble goat ever

[@tyronejoihnson7046]

Mickey is drunk here. After the show he tore up the green room screaming “I need vodka”

[@rupertlenoir]

mantle was pictured as a family man loyal to his wife in those days the press covered up his real personal life !!

[@llongdong]

Real sad to watch when ye know whut wuz really going on in his life.

[@drbonesshow1]

Just couldn't stop drinking. which reduced his career.

[@sugarjoe50]

Great athlete, not so great person.

[@frankjrtagliareni6307]

What a Magnificent looking athlete!

[@RickB1792]

Ed Sullivan was kind of creepy.