The Commerce Comet

[Okla-homey]

Okay, Friday, I was up in Miami at the Ottawa County Court House. Opposing counsel was from Commerce. After we took care of our bidness with the court, I asked the guy if Commerce features any Mickey Mantle stuff, you know, other than a sign coming into town stating "Home of Mickey Mantle."

See, your correspondent is a Yankees fan, entirely because of Mickey Mantle, and Mickey, despite his flaws, was a boyhood hero of mine.

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/165/mickeymantle.jpg

Well folks, as it happens, some Mantle fan bought the house MM grew up in and where his pop conducted batting practice most evenings after arriving home from the mines.

The little two-room wide shotgun house is more or less restored, and while not open to the public, you can drive up, get out of your car, and walk around. I drove the four miles from Miami to Commerce to check it out before heading back to Tulsa.

There is a marker on the front porch. See the pic below. Sorry for the quality, I took it with my phone. The cool part is, the garage little Mickey and his Dad used for a backstop was saved too. It's visible in the background of the second pic.

All that said, it was very cool to walk around the property, and to run my hand over the corregated tin siding on the garage and to feel the baseball-sized dents made by MM's dad's pitches that little Mickey missed.

This is the place where one of the greatest hitters of all time learned to hit.

Waaaaaay cool. srsly. Rather like a pilgrimage.

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/3803/mantle1photo.jpg

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/6025/mantlephoto.jpg
View of the house with the garage batting "backstop" in the background

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/683/mantle2.jpg
View from the garage "backstop" at the house MM hit toward

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/2905/mantle3photo.jpg
View thru the window of the front room

[King Crimson]

that's pretty cool.

[Okla-homey]

that's pretty cool.

It was awesome.

You know, FWIW, I bet the owner of the property could make a lot of money if he let folks spend the night in the place. I'd pay a couple hundred bucks for the privilege.

Oh yeah, its also very cool, that Miami has a great sign leading into town hyping a great Sooner. see below.

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/4351/owensphoto.jpg

[King Crimson]

my granddad played semi-pro baseball and got some minor league contract offers and used to tell some good stories about seeing Mantle play and later he coached Perry's legion team (won state) and they beat Binger and Johnny Bench a couple times. but, Bench's first at bat in some tournament he hits one (according to my g-paw) "that never got higher than my head and put a dent in the outfield fence....after that i told our pitchers to either walk him or hit em. but, if you hit em, you are on your own. if his bat touches the ball, you walk home".

[Okla-homey]

my granddad played semi-pro baseball and used to tell some good stories about seeing Mantle play and later he coached Perry's legion team (won state) and they beat Binger and Johnny Bench a couple times. but, Bench's first at bat in some tournament he hits one (according to my g-paw) "that never got higher than my head and put a dent in the outfield fence....after that i told our pitchers to either walk him or hit em. but, if you hit em, you are on your own. if his bat touches the ball, you walk home".

That is a very cool story. IMHO, Johnny is, and will always be, one of the Greatest. "Walk him or hit him" indeed.:D

[tulsaoilerfan]

Okay, Friday, I was up in Miami at the Ottawa County Court House. Opposing counsel was from Commerce. After we took care of our bidness with the court, I asked the guy if Commerce features any Mickey Mantle stuff, you know, other than a sign coming into town stating "Home of the Yankee Clipper."

See, your correspondent is a Yankees fan, entirely because of Mickey Mantle, and Mickey, despite his flaws, was a boyhood hero of mine.

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/165/mickeymantle.jpg

Well folks, as it happens, some Mantle fan bought the house MM grew up in and where his pop conducted batting practice most evenings after arriving home from the mines.

The little two-room wide shotgun house is more or less restored, and while not open to the public, you can drive up, get out of your car, and walk around. I drove the four miles from Miami to Commerce to check it out before heading back to Tulsa.

There is a marker on the front porch. See the pic below. Sorry for the quality, I took it with my phone. The cool part is, the garage little Mickey and his Dad used for a backstop was saved too. It's visible in the background of the second pic.

All that said, it was very cool to walk around the property, and to run my hand over the corregated tin siding on the garage and to feel the baseball-sized dents made by MM's dad's pitches that little Mickey missed.

This is the place where one of the greatest hitters of all time learned to hit.

Waaaaaay cool. srsly. Rather like a pilgrimage.

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/3803/mantle1photo.jpg

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/6025/mantlephoto.jpg
View of the house with the garage batting "backstop" in the background

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/683/mantle2.jpg
View from the garage "backstop" at the house MM hit toward

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/2905/mantle3photo.jpg
View thru the window of the front room

Do they really have a sign that says "Home of the Yankee Clipper"? Someone has their Yankee CF's mixed up if they do:D

[Ike]

Do they really have a sign that says "Home of the Yankee Clipper"? Someone has their Yankee CF's mixed up if they do:D

I was thinking the same thing...

[walkoffsooner]

Thanks for posting

[reevie]

Good stuff Homey

[Okla-homey]

I was thinking the same thing...

sorry...in my exuberance, I confused Joltin' Joe and MM. :eek:

[tulsaoilerfan]

sorry...in my exuberance, I confused Joltin' Joe and MM. :eek:

It's ok, i figured you were the one that screwed up :D

[Okla-homey]

It's ok, i figured you were the one that screwed up :D

and FWIW, it is said Joe DiMaggio never got over losing Marylin Monroe. I don't think Mickey ever settled on one gal like that. ;)

[achiro]

I grew up in Miami, Commerce, and Picher. Played several games of little league baseball in Commerce. Back then, they had a small little glass case in the ballpark that had a hat, glove, couple of autographed balls, and some other MM memorabilia. I thought at the time it was very "exposed" to whoever wanted to take it. I would be completely shocked if it were still there.

[XingTheRubicon]

If you drive through OK on I-44, you can stop in Miami (Heisman winner) then just north to Commerce (best switch hitter ever) then keep heading west to OKC (current Heisman and Naismith winners) then a little further west to Tuttle (another Heisman winner)

all in about 200 miles.

[picasso]

you can leave an offering at his plaque on the back 9 of the blue course at Shangri-La. it's located in the flowers behind the green on the signature hole (can't recall the number, par 5).
I used to play in a 3 day tourney there back in the 90's and I started leaving a golf ball there. we noticed beers, cigs, balls, a golf glove, all left for the Mick.

:)