Check it out:
Mantle’s homer came off of Senators pitcher Chuck Stobbs at Griffith Stadium in Washington D.C. On April 17th of 1953.
It was THE homer that led to the phrase “Tape Measure Home Run”, since former Yankees public relations man Arthur Patterson claims to have measured where the ball landed to the edge of the stadium with an actual tape measure after retrieving the ball from a 10-year old boy.
Over the years many have claimed this story false, and that the ball could not have traveled that far.
Regardless, the monster shot hit the “Natty Boh” sign in straight-away centerfield and glanced off onto the streets behind the stadium, allegedly ina backyard on Oakdale Lane.
Many agree the ball did indeed travel about 500-feet, which is still a whopper of a homer, but it was the historical legacy the shot left behind, frequently showing up in baseball books and magazines for decades to come that made it so memorable, and added to the mythical stature of a guy named Mickey Mantle.
