Type I photograph of young switch-hitting center fielder, Mickey Charles Mantle on the cusp of superstardom. Mantle rests with a bat on his shoulder, kneeling outside his dugout at Yankee Stadium in 1956. Mantle, only 24 at the time, was in the midst of what would become one of the most legendary seasons of the modern era; achieving baseball's Triple Crown by leading the major leagues in batting average (.353), home runs (52), and RBI's (130), before blasting three home runs in the World Series and earning AL MVP honors. Photo remains bright-white throughout with just a hint of corner wear typical of news service photos. Some obvious graininess is present to this image due to being captured with a telephoto lens from a distance and subsequently enlarged to current dimensions of 7" x 9". Verso includes large paper caption declaring in part:

 "Babe Ruth's mantle of greatness will fall to Mickey Mantle if the slugging Yankee center fielder continues rapping out round trippers on the diamond this year. In 61 games Mantle has hit 27 homers and is well on his way toward the Babe's record of 60 in a season..."

Paper caption has been dated to 6/23/1956 and attributes the image to Associated Press staff photographer Arthur Rickerby. Credit stamping from the Associated Press has also been applied towards the bottom. Authenticated as a Type I photo by PSA/DNA and includes their full LOA.