Mickey Mantle
Chronology
| 1931 | Born October 20 in Spavinaw, Oklahoma, to Elvin "Mutt" and Lowell Mantle |
| 1935 | Family moves near Commerce Oklahoma |
| 1946 | Develops osteomyelitis, a chronic bone disease, after getting kicked in the shin in high school football practice |
| 1948 | Begins minor league baseball career in Independence, Kansas, with a Class D team |
| 1951 | Joins New York Yankees and becomes part of legendary team that would dominate baseball in the 1950s and 1960s |
| 1951 | Trips on sprinkler head in outfield, tearing ligaments in his knee. Undergoes first of five knee operations |
| 1951 | Marries Merlyn Louise Johnson, his high school sweetheart and a teller in an Oklahoma bank |
| 1952 | Learns that his father, Mutt, has died of Hodgkin's disease at 39. Mantle takes death hard |
| 1953 | Hits fabled 565 foot home run at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. |
| 1956 | Wins triple crown with 52 home runs, 130 runs batted in and a .353 batting average |
| 1963 | Comes to within a few feet of hitting the ball out of Yankee Stadium |
| 1963 | Breaks his ankle while playing in Baltimore. On disabled list for two months |
| 1969 | Announces his retirement at Yankees spring training |
| 1974 | Inducted unanimously into Baseball Hall of Fame |
| 1988 | Mantle and his wife separate |
| 1989 | Mantle's old teammate and drinking buddy Billy Martin dies in drunk driving accident |
| 1994 | Confronts his alcoholism and checks himself into Betty Ford clinic |
| 1994 | Mantle's own son Billy dies of heart failure |
| 1995 | Undergoes liver transplant but would die weeks later, on August 13, at age of 63 |
Additional topics
Famous Sports StarsBaseballMickey Mantle Biography - Growing Up, The Early Years, Chronology, The Powerful Star Is Born, Tragic Hero? - Semi-Pro During High School, SELECTED WRITINGS BY MANTLE: