| Merlyn Mantle | |
| Birth Name: | Merlyn Louise Johnson |
| Birth Date: | 28 January 1932 |
| Birth Place: | Cardin, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Plano, Texas, U.S. |
| Resting Place: | Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery |
| Occupation: | Author |
| Children: | 4 |
| Known For: | Wife of Mickey Mantle |
Merlyn Mantle (née Johnson; January 28, 1932 – August 10, 2009) was an American author and widow of New York Yankees outfielder Mickey Mantle.[1]
Mantle was born in Cardin in Ottawa County in far northeastern Oklahoma.[1] She was the first of two daughters born to Giles and Reba Johnson.[2] She had a sister, Pat, who was three years her junior.[3]
While attending high school, she met Mickey Mantle two years before his debut in Major League Baseball.[1] Mickey was a baseball player at Commerce High School, while Merlyn was a cheerleader at the rivaling Picher High School.[1] Their first date took place at a movie theater along the famed Route 66 in Miami, Oklahoma.
On December 23, 1951, Merlyn married Mantle, following his rookie season with the New York Yankees.[1] The couple had four sons: Mickey, Jr. (12 April 1953 – December 20, 2000), David (born 26 December 1955), Billy (5 December 1957 - March 12, 1994), and Danny (born 19 March 1960).[1] They remained married for 43 years, until Mantle's death in 1995, although they were estranged during his final years.[4] Mantle died of liver cancer on August 13, 1995.[4] Their son, Billy, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, but died of a heart attack in 1994, aged 36.[4] Another son, Mickey Jr., died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2000, aged 47.[4]
Merlyn Mantle was treated for alcoholism at the Betty Ford Clinic, a problem which also afflicted her husband and three of her sons.[4] In an interview with the New York Daily News shortly after her husband's death in 1995, Merlyn Mantle spoke of the negative impact that alcohol had over her family's life: "I was in there partying and doing the same thing as Mick. That was our life and I was part of it; I can't deny that. It ruins families."[5]
In 1996, Merlyn co-wrote a memoir of Mickey Mantle's life entitled Hero All His Life.[4] The book was co-written with her sons, Danny Mantle and David Mantle, and writer Mickey Herskowitz.[5]
Merlyn Mantle and Greer Johnson, Mickey Mantle's agent and former live-in aide, became involved in a legal dispute over the rights to auction off Mickey Mantle's possessions in 1997.[4] The two sides reached a settlement, ensuring the sale of some of Mickey Mantle's belongings for approximately $500,000.[4]
Merlyn Mantle's last public appearance was on August 5, 2008, at a dinner for the memorial service of former Yankees player Bobby Murcer.[5] She was unable to attend Murcer's service the following morning because of health issues.[5]
Merlyn Mantle died of pneumonia at a hospice in Plano, Texas, on August 10, 2009, at the age of 77. She had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease.[1] She was interred next to her husband and two sons at Dallas's Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery.[1] [4]