An incredible story of the New York Yankees of the glory years all in this important Mickey Mantle handwritten letter. Mickey is apologizing that he could not make it to event to speak about the honoree Yankee teammate and best friend Billy Martin who had had apparently just been fired by George Steinbrenner AGAIN. Cleanly signed "Mick" at the bottom it is on Embassy Suites Hotel Deerfield Beach letterhead, as it was written in room 4901 (!) to longtime Baseball Writers Association President Jack Lang: "Jack Lang, Phil Pepe and all the New York Baseball Writers Association: I'm sorry I couldn't be there tonite to honor and pay homage to one of the best friends a man could ever have. But things just didn't work out. I'm not sure I could have gotten up to the mike without chokin' up anyway. I would just like to say to Billy, 'You are the best friend a man could ever have and I think you were the best manager I ever saw. I know how much you loved NYC and the N.Y. Yankees and we'll all miss you'. In closing I'd just like to say 'Thanks for all the good times and great memories, Pard'. We'll all miss you. Mick" Some grammatical and spelling errors (corrected here). Original horizontal fold and minor tears on right edges. Mickey Mantle handwritten letters are really tough to find. Let alone one with content worthy of Mantle, Maris, Ford, Berra, and of course embattled Billy "The Kid" Martin. PSA LOA. Most likely from the Jack Lang collection who sold his things several years ago before his death.