Reinstatement of Mays & Mantle

On March eighteenth, nineteen eighty five Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle to the greatest baseball players who became icons and legends, became part of a scandal where they were banned from Major League Baseball for years till the new commissioner finally reinstated them, giving baseball back to its greatest players that were sorely missed. Today, we're going to talk about what all happened that caused these two legends to be banned from baseball and what brought them back today on Daily Sports History. Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reese, your guide as you daily learn more about sports history, increasing your sports knowledge. And today's trivia question to listen out for is what magazine were Willy May's and Mickey Mantle featured on after they were reinstated into Major League Baseball. Listen throughout the episode to find the answer, and if you miss it, I will give it to you at the very end. Before we dive into what happened, let's see how did these two players get here. Willie Mays, known as the say Hey Kid, debuted in baseball for the New York Giants in nineteen fifty one and is twenty years old, and after fighting in Korea, he would go on to win an NL MVP, having a three hundred and thirty five batting average in forty one home runs, and would lead the Giants to victory that same year where he would ever in that year, he was immortalized by the catch where he caught the ball in deep center field over his shoulder. His career accomplishments go way beyond that. He was an All Star twenty four times as well as being a two time MVP, had six hundred and sixty home runs during his career in over three thousand hits, having a career batting average over three hundred, and also having twelve cold gloves. A surefire Hall of Famer, he was a Black Superstar, and also in nineteen fifty one, Mickey Manno was signed by the New York Yankees and was handpicked to be Joe DiMaggio's successor in center field. Despite playing consistently through knee pains, Mantle was one of the most feared hitters in his era. In nineteen fifty six, he won the Triple Crown, meaning he led the league in batting average, home runs, in RBIs with a three fifty three batting average, fifty two home runs, and one hundred and thirty RBIs, as well as winning his first Al MVP, which he would go on to win two more. He was a twenty time All Star, hitting over five hundred home runs and has hit the most home runs in World Series history at eighteen, a record that still holds to this day, and won seven World Series title while with the Yankees. These were two icons during the fifties and sixties who really helped propel the game to new heights, but unfortunately they got caught up in a small scandal that got them banned from baseball. And this is due to gambling. Now, we all know the nineteen ninety teen Black Sox scandals. We did an episode previously about that, and the MLB put in a rule Rule twenty four D states any player umpire official found gambling on baseball would be banned for life. Now, Willie Mays and Mantle never bet on baseball, but they had associations with casinos that led to their punishment. In nineteen eighty, William Mays got banned after doing a job at the Bally's casino where he accepted a special assistance in creator's position. His duties were to meet VIP guest, represent the casino in promotions, and attend events much like a brand ambassador. Basically, he was this spokesperson for this casino. He had no involvement in the gambling operations, but the commissioner at the time, Bowie Coon, saw casinos as a threat to the game's integrity, despite no evidence of wrongdoing. On October third, nineteen eighty, he banned Mays from any employment or association with Major League Baseball. These bands were not like Pete Rose's band, where he actually did bet on baseball. These bands were more. He could not go to games, he could not participate in commentary or be really involved in any aspect of the actual baseball itself anymore. But he was already in the Hall of Fame, he already played his career out. This was just the kind of what we see former players do today. And the fallout from this was he was effectively a race from the sport. He could no longer work with the New York Mets, who he has served as a coach and mentor for, and fans were outraised by this decision, calling it excessive and unfair. Then, in nineteen eighty three, even after Mays did this, Mickey Manno suffered a similar fate when he accepted a similar, greater promotional role for the Cowbridge Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. Just like Mays, he had no involvement in gambling at all. He was just a spokesperson for the casino. But Bowie Coon decided on February eighth, nineteen eighty three, that Mantle's employment with the casino violated MLB's policy and banned him from all Major League Baseball activities. Just like Mays, Mantel was shocked. He knew he wasn't doing anything wrong, and despite knowing what happened to Maze, he didn't think there was any issue, and the problem was a double standard in baseball. They had been fighting gambling ties for years, not only the nineteen nineteen Black Sox scandals, but there was stuff popping up here and there, and Bowie Kuhn, the commissioner, was known as a rigid and sometimes have controversial decisions, and many critics pointed out that he overlooked other gambling related associations, came down hard on Mays and Mantle because they were bigger names in baseball now. Mays had spent his entire life with baseball, and now he was forced away from the game he loved. He lost connections with the Giants that he became an ambassador for, and he felt betrayed by the sport that he had given everything too. Anel said he was humiliated and felt isolated by the band. He said that he played his whole career hurt, played through pain every game, and now they don't even want me, and the fans were outraged. Two players weren't gambling on the game like Pete Rose was. They were just taking a job. But in nineteen eighty four, there's hope when Pete Uberoath took over as commissioner in nineteen eighty four, bringing a fresh vision to the league, and he recognized the hypocrisy of these two icons that were banned from the sport, and he focused on growing the corporate sponsorships and promotion with the league. And he announced on March eighteenth, nineteen eighty five, less than a year into his commissionership, that there's no reason these men should be outside looking in. They belong in baseball, and he would go on to reinstate them back into baseball just like before, and this was recognized even on the cover of Sports Illustrated that they were coming back, as it was a huge moment for the game of baseball. Meteos said it just felt like they were on parole and now they were free, and May said he just wanted to be part of the game again. Fellow Hall of Famers in baseball Entutias, celebrated the decision the move was a step forward and correcting the injustice in baseball, and fans rejoiced that their heroes were back to be part of the game again. Both Mays and Mantle were fully able to participate in MLB events again, including Old Teimer's games, Hall of Fame ceremonies, and mentoring and coaching. May's returned to working with the San Francisco Giants, and Mantel became an ambassador for baseball before his passing in nineteen ninety five. Now this may not seem like much, but this is actually kind of the reason why we are how we are with gambling today in sports. Now. I know this was forty years ago, but without being able to have these connections to casinos, casinos wouldn't be getting involved like they are today, and these online gambling apps that are flooding the sport today that we talked about in on previous episode, giving billions of dollars not only to the casinos, but to teams and also us. The tax money that comes from these gambling events goes back to us. So luckily, these two legends were only out of the game, and now sports gambling sponsors Major League Baseball and is in almost every promotion with Major League Baseball since. Interesting how times have changed from what they used to be before. Thank you for listening to today's Daily Sports History. If you enjoy today's podcast, please leave us a like review wherever you're listening. Just tell me your favorite team or your favorite scandal that happened in sports. I'd love to hear it. And if you want to be a part of the show, you can reach out to us on our socials or email us at Daily Sports Hisstory at gmail dot com. Anything you want us to cover and we'll do that for you and come back tomorrow for more Daily Sports History. And did you catch the answer to today's trivic question? What magazine were Willie May's and Making Mantle featured on after they were reinstated into baseball, and the answer was Sports Illustrated featured with the new Commissioner of Major League Baseball who had just reinstated them