This is a really special team photo of the Baxter Springs “Whiz Kids” baseball team that Mickey Mantle played for before going pro. It was during this 1948 season that Mantle was spotted by Yankees scout Tom Greenwade, who immediately coveted the young Mickey but wouldn’t sign him until his high school graduation day in 1949. Pictured in this panorama print is sixteen year-old Mantle, sitting sixth from the right, smirking at the camera. The print itself is not from a panoramic camera but is in fact a composite of several negatives cut together to capture the whole team. The photo is 100% original and is in EX-MT condition measuring 19.5x8” This is an incredible find, preceding Mantle’s Hall of Fame career with the Yankees. The Baxter Springs team - located in Kansas, just north of Mantle's home state of Oklahoma, was coached by local legend Barney Barnett. During Mantle's Hall of Fame speech, he recalled playing with Baxter Springs and described the experience as the proudest of his career: "I really thought I was somethin' when I got that uniform," The Mick said. "It was the first one my mom hadn't made for me. It was really somethin'."