Who would have thought, when I was growing up in the 60's, that I would someday have the chance to interview Mickey Mantle. But there I was, in 1980, doing just that, interviewing the great New York Yankee.
Mantle comes to Winsted
Back in the day baseball players or retired baseball players would augment their income by making the rounds, speaking at banquets. Mantle was no exception. And so it was, 12 years after announcing his retirement, Mantle paid a visit to Winsted, CT, where he was the guest speaker at a banquet to raise funds for youth baseball leagues.
Mantle did not disappoint that night, proving to be an entertaining speaker, regaling his audience with one funny story after another. The Mick had the reputation of being moody, but on this night he was in a great mood, from the moment I interviewed him before the banquet, until after the event.
It's fair to say that Mantle's visit to northwest Connecticut some 38 years ago, was a grand slam.
