ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, August 26, 1996 TAG: 9608270041
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: NOTES
SOURCE: From Associated Press and Newsday reports
It was May 30, 1956, and 9-year-old Billy Crystal watched in awe as Mickey Mantle blasted a home run off the right-field facade at Yankee Stadium.
``That day I knew I wanted to play baseball,'' Crystal said. ``I wanted to be Mickey Mantle.''
The actor-comedian's story was just one of thousands shared among fans and friends of Mantle on Sunday as the New York Yankees unveiled a red granite monument to honor the Hall of Fame slugger, who died last year.
On a picture-postcard afternoon, Joe DiMaggio, Whitey Ford, Phil Rizzuto and more than 50,000 fans packed Yankee Stadium to honor Mantle, just as they had on June 8, 1969, for the first Mickey Mantle Day.
The famed ballpark was decked out for the occasion. A white 7, Mantle's jersey number, was spray-painted on the grass along the first- and third-base lines. The video scoreboard in right-center field showed replays of some of Mantle's great moments, and as the ceremony began the center-field scoreboard read simply: At bat: 7.
In addition, a commemorative baseball - adorned with a fascimile of Mantle's uniform and signature - was used during the Yankees' 6-4 loss to the Oakland Athletics. The only other time such a ball was used in a major-league game was when Baltimore's Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive-games streak last year.
Mantle's monument is the fourth to be erected by the Yankees and the first in 47 years. The 5-foot, 4,500-pound monument made of granite mined in Finland sits behind the three other permanent monuments for legendary Yankees manager Miller Huggins and teammates Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth.
Mantle had been enshrined with a plaque along with 15 other members of the Yankees family. Monuments are reserved for Yankees who have died; a place has already been set aside for DiMaggio.
More than 2,500 fans patiently waited out long lines before the pregame ceremony to get a preview of the monument before its official unveiling. After veering left at the three other monuments, fans paused at the stone to take photos and read the inscription: Mickey Mantle ``A Great Teammate'' 1931-1995.
Below a brief rundown of Mantle's many baseball accomplishments, including 536 home runs and three MVP awards, the stone reads: ``A Magnificent Yankee who left a legacy of Unequaled Courage.''
Rizzuto and DiMaggio each received resounding standing ovations, but it was Crystal's talk - and a clip from the movie ``City Slickers'' in which Crystal's character speaks lovingly of Mantle - that provided the day with its emotional texture.
``I am here today as a fan, as a fan of Mickey's, and I'll try to speak for all of you,'' Crystal said. ``I speak for all the fathers that are bringing their sons to their first games today.''
LENGTH: Medium: 57 linesby CNB