MICKEY MANTLE: NEVER BEFORE SEEN PHOTOS

Ben Cosgrove, the Deputy Editor of Life magazine reached out to Bleeding Yankee Blue this morning to send me the link to some never before seen photographs of Mickey Mantle, who would have been 80 years old today.

Ben writes:
"In 1961, during spring training, LIFE gave 25-year-old Yankee shortstop Tony Kubek a camera and asked him to photograph his teammates: Mantle, Berra, Maris, Ford, and the rest of the players on what would, in time, be seen as one of the greatest teams in baseball history. The resulting photos were never published (see slide 12 in this gallery for a possible reason why). Now, five decades later -- on what would have been Mickey Mantle's 80th birthday -- LIFE.com presents those never-seen pictures, along with Kubek's own insights and memories of the era, the Yankees, and his own stellar nine-year career."


Thank you Life magazine for reaching out and allowing us to link to you today. Click HERE to view these rare photos.

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