PSA 7 1975 Topps #195 Mickey Mantle Hank Aaron MVP
The cards in this 72-card set measure approximately 2 1/8" by 3 1/2". The 1965 Topps Embossed set contains gold foil cameo player portraits. Each league had 36 representatives set on blue backgrounds for the AL and red backgrounds for the NL. The Topps embossed set was distributed as inserts in packages of the regular 1965 baseball series.
Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Mick" and "the Commerce Comet", was an American professional baseball player. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York Yankees, primarily as a center fielder. Mantle is regarded by many as being one of the best players and sluggers of all time. He was an American League (AL) Most Valuable Player three times and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.
Born in Spavinaw, Oklahoma, Mantle was raised by his father to become a baseball player and was trained early on to become a switch hitter. Despite a career plagued with injuries, beginning with his knee injury in the 1951 World Series, he became one of the greatest offensive threats in baseball history, and was able to hit for both average and power. He is the only player to hit 150 home runs from both sides of the plate. Mantle hit 536 career home runs while batting .300 or more ten times. Mantle is 16th all-time in home runs per at-bat and 17th in on-base percentage.
Mantle won the Triple Crown in 1956, when he led the major leagues in batting average (.353), home runs (52), and runs batted in (RBI) (130). He was an All-Star for 16 seasons, playing in 16 of the 20 All-Star Games that he was selected for. He also had an excellent .984 fielding percentage when playing center field, winning a Gold Glove in that position. Mantle appeared in 12 World Series, winning seven championships, and holds World Series records for the most home runs (18), RBIs (40), extra-base hits (26), runs (42), walks (43), and total bases (123), and he has the highest World Series on-base and slugging percentages.
After retirement, Mantle briefly worked as sports commentator for NBC and later as a part-time coach in the Yankees farm system. Despite being one of the best paid athletes of his era, he was a poor businessman and suffered financial setbacks from business failures. His private life was plagued by tumult and tragedy. His marriage fell apart due to his alcoholism and infidelity, and three of his sons became alcoholics, two of them dying from it. Towards the end of his life, Mantle came to regret his hard lifestyle and the damage he had inflicted on his family. In his final year, Mantle was treated for alcoholism, later warning others of the dangers of hard drinking and telling fans: "Don't be like me." He died from liver cancer brought on by years of alcohol abuse in Dallas, Texas, aged 63.
Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder and designated hitter who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. Considered one of the greatest baseball players in history, he spent 21 seasons with the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves in the National League (NL) and two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League (AL). At the time of his retirement, Aaron held most of the game's key career power-hitting records. He broke the long-standing MLB record for home runs held by Babe Ruth and remained the career leader for 33 years. He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973 and is one of only two players to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least fifteen times.
Aaron holds the MLB records for the most career runs batted in (RBIs) (2,297), extra base hits (1,477), and total bases (6,856). Aaron is also third all-time for career hits (3,771) and fifth in runs scored (2,174). He is one of only four players to have at least 17 seasons with 150 or more hits. Aaron's ability as a hitter can be illustrated by his still having over 3,000 hits even without counting any of his home runs. He was an NL All-Star for 20 seasons and an AL All-Star for one season, and he holds the record for the most All-Star selections (25), while sharing the record for most All-Star Games played (24) with Willie Mays and Stan Musial. He was a three-time Gold Glove winner, and in 1957, he won the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award when the Milwaukee Braves won the World Series.
Aaron was born and raised in and around Mobile, Alabama, one of seven children. He appeared briefly in the Negro American League and in minor league baseball before starting his major league career. By his final MLB season, Aaron was the last former Negro league baseball player on a major league roster. During his time in Major League Baseball, and especially during his run for the home run record, Aaron and his family endured extensive racist threats. His experiences fueled his activism during the civil rights movement.
Aaron was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1982 and Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988. In 1999, MLB introduced the Hank Aaron Award to recognize the top offensive players in each league. That same year, he was one of 30 baseball players elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002. After his retirement, Aaron held front office roles with the Atlanta Braves, including the senior vice president, and resided near Atlanta until his death in 2021.