Presented are two circa 1961-62 rare, vintage Mickey Mantle-Roger Maris souvenir items: a white, long-sleeved sweatshirt and a white, short-sleeved tee shirt. In '61, Mantle and Maris engaged in a neck-and-neck race to break Babe Ruth's single-season home run record of 60 round-trippers. Late in the season, Mantle missed considerable playing time with a hip abscess, and then, on the final day of the regular season, Maris went on to break the Bambino's record when he homered into the right field stands at Yankee Stadium off the Boston Red Sox pitcher Tracy Stallard. According to many media accounts, Mantle and Maris were bitter rivals during the '61 season, but actually they were friends and roommates sharing an apartment in Queens, New York City. While Mantle went on to the Hall of Fame, Maris had a career significantly shortened by illness, and he finished his playing days with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1968.
This offered sweatshirt and tee shirt are two of the many sweatshirts and tee shirts that were manufactured by Norwich Uni-Wear, and they were sold at the famous Manny's Baseball Land, located behind right field and across the street from Yankee Stadium, at 831 River Road. In 1978, Manny's Baseball Land moved to New Jersey. The shirt has a neck tag reading, "Norwich/100% cotton/[size] 14." At the bottom of the shirt is "(c) UNI-WEAR INC." The shirt could be worn by a very small child. The shirt has silkscreened likenesses of both Mantle and Maris in a batting stance, headshots of both players, and each slugger's facsimile autograph. The shirt has an approx. measurement of 14" across at the bottom and 17" in height, with the distance across from the end of each short sleeve to the end of the other short sleeve is approx. 22". The tee shirt has a few tiny spot stains, but it is in overall EXCELLENT condition.
The sweatshirt has the same design as the tee shirt: The sweatshirt has silkscreened likenesses of both Mantle and Maris in a batting stance, headshots of both players, and each slugger's facsimile autograph. The 100% cotton sweatshirt has a neck tag showing size "16/Large." The sweatshirt has a few stains on the lower left front, a few tiny stains on the left sleeve, and a very light stain near the top front. The sweatshirt has an approx. measurement of 14.5" across at the bottom and 18" in height, with the distance across from the end of each long sleeve to the end of the other long sleeve is approx. 47".
Estimated domestic USA shipping cost only. Does not include handling or insurance: $33.14 Please feel free to contact us for a more accurate shipping cost.