Billy Crystal co-wrote his eulogy.
Admitted he would have put up better numbers during his playing career had he taken care of himself.
Arguably the greatest all-around centerfielder of the 1950s.
Came closer to hitting a fair ball completely out of Yankee Stadium than any other major league baseball player - twice.
Father of Mickey Mantle Jr.
Had osteomylitis in his left leg and four operations on his right knee.
He hit 536 home runs
He holds World Series records for home runs (18), RBI (40), runs (42), walks (43), extra-base hits (26), and total bases (123).
He was considered the fastest man in baseball during the 1950s.
He was diagnosed with cirrhosis, hepatitis, and cancer of the liver. Although he underwent a liver transplant in June of 1995, the cancer had spread to most of his internal organs and Mantle died on August 13, 1995.
Hit a home run completely out of Griffith Stadium in Washington. DC in 1953 that was measured by tape at 565 feet. Hit a home run completely out of Detroit's Tiger Stadium in 1960 that landed in a lumberyard across the street whose distance was calculated at 643 feet using the Pythagorean theorem. Also hit four home runs into the left centerfield bleachers (Death Valley) at Yankee Stadium over the course of his career and several to straightaway center.
Hit his 536 home runs in 18 years mostly injured and sometimes half-drunk.
Hit only .237 during his final season in 1968 which dropped his lifetime batting average to .298.
Holds both single season and career home run records (54 & 536, respectively) for switch-hitters.
Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, 1974. Played for the American League's New York Yankees, 1951-1968.
Initially wore #6 with the Yankees, then was issued #7 when he returned after a brief stint with AAA affiliate Kansas City.
Mantle, Jimmie Foxx, Hack Wilson and Babe Ruth are the only players to hit .350 and 50 home runs in the same season (1956 for Mantle; 1930 for Wilson; 1932 for Foxx; 1920, 1921, and 1927 for Ruth).
Merlyn and Mickey were separated for 15 years, but neither filed for divorce. Mantle lived with his agent, Greer Johnson, until his death. Johnson was taken to federal court in November 1997 by the Mantle family to stop her from auctioning many of Mantle's personal items, including a lock of hair, a neck brace and expired credit cards.