Mickey Mantle

Mantle later conceded that his drinking took years off his career. The bottle had deteriorated his health to the point that his body was unable to fight the diseases that afflicted him. Not sure of what to do once he retired, much of his time was spent drinking. He played in celebrity golf tournaments, took a shot at running a restaurant, and, like Willie Mays, did PR for an Atlantic City casino.

Mickey Mantle had married his wife, Merlyn, after the 1952 season, but after more than thirty years of dealing with his now infamous exploits, they separated in 1988. Merlyn, too, had problems with alcohol, but she sought help, something Mantle didn't do until it was too late.

In 1989 his old Yankee drinking buddy, Billy Martin, died in a drunk driving accident, but it would be almost five years before Mantle would seek help for his own problems. In early 1994, suffering from tremors and memory loss, he checked himself into the Betty Ford Clinic. But it was too late. Mantle would soon see his son Billy die of heart failure, in March of that same year. Afflicted by Hodgkin's disease (the same disease that killed Mantle's father when he was only 39, as well as his grandfather), Mantle's son had become addicted to drugs.