Why The Yankees Didn't Sign Both Mantle and Mays

[bijanc]

Still won pennants:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/sports/baseball/13mays.html

[gm]

I loved seeing Willie Mays play, even in the autumn of his career.

[cullman]

The Yanks signed Mickey Mantle as an afterthought...they're lucky to have had him.

cman

[Marlow]

Wille 'Say Hey' Mays and Ernie 'Let's play two' Banks in Yankee pin-stripes? The mind boggles. :shock:

[Halfmiler2]

The Yanks were the next-to last team to integrate only ahead of the Red Sox. Some blamed GM George Weiss (who the press never liked anyway), but I'd guess the ownership was responsible - possibly afraid of how the fan base would react and not wanting to change the organization as the Yankees kept winning championships, but those were poor excuses. Perhaps if the Dodgers or Giants had beaten the Yankees earlier in the 1950's in the World Series, the Yankees would have reacted more quickly.

By the way, George Weiss later became President of the Mets before their first season in 1962, and to his credit, the Mets took a strong stand when their Spring Training hotel in Florida tried to keep the African-American players from eating in the hotel restaurant in those days of southern segregation. The hotel relented and all the players ate in a team dining room at the hotel.

[bijanc]

MLB Integration

There were clubs later than the Yanks (who balked on flashy, outspoken Vic Power). Tigers inked Ozzie Virgil pretty late, and the Phils and Senators weren't exactly groundbreaking.

[gh]

3 teams later than the Yanks, sez Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fi ... m_and_date