On March 11, 1956, the Yankees star, Mickey Mantle, launched a ball over the left-field bleachers at Al Lang Stadium, across a street and into Tampa Bay. The following day, Mantle sent another home run into the bay, this time bouncing once before reaching the water.
Mantle was just 24 years old, but already one of baseball’s biggest stars. The 1956 season would become one of the most memorable of his career, as he won the American League Triple Crown and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.
There is also a special St. Petersburg connection to Mantle and the Museum. In 1956, nine-year-old Dennis Schrader was at spring training when Mantle signed a baseball for him. That single autograph became the beginning of Schrader’s lifelong collection, which eventually grew into the Guinness World Record-holding collection now featured at the St. Petersburg Museum of History.
One home run made baseball history. One autograph helped create a museum exhibit.
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