Mickey Mantle was my idle in the 60s. The 50s and 60s were when baseball was king. I loved baseball. I played Little League baseball on the Yankees in the 5th and 6th grade. I played baseball at recess, in the evenings and on weekends. In the 6th grade we watched the World Series on TV during class. We had our priorities in the proper place in 1967.
In the 6th grade there were 4 of us named Mark. Mr. Dew asked if I had a nickname. I said it was “Mickey” after my idle. The entire class called me Mickey.
Through out school many of my friends called me “Mikk.” I liked the nickname. Still, I like the nickname.
Brad Hardman, my oldest friend, always called me “Mikkelson.” Of course, he was always “Hardman.” “Hardman” is better than any nickname we could have come up with.
When I was 10 I rode my bike to Tony’s across from Granite High School. I purchased 25 cents of baseball cards…25 cards, 5 sticks of bubble gum and 2 Mickey Mantle baseball cards. The card right now on e-bay sells for $600 or $1900 depending on the condition. (I should have taken better care of them).
I loved collecting baseball cards but I’ve never really been materialistic. As a result, I’ve lost most of my baseball cards. I’ve lost 3 wedding rings…whoops.