1950s Mickey Mantle & Billy Martin Best of Friends - Posing on the Golf Course Original TYPE I Photo

The friendship between Mickey Mantle and Billy Martin was one of the most famous and enduring relationships in baseball history. They met as young Yankees in the early 1950s, became roommates, drinking buddies, hunting partners, and lifelong friends. Many teammates said they were as close as brothers. Mantle even named one of his sons, Billy, after Martin.

Golf became one of the ways they stayed connected after their playing careers. Both men loved to gamble, and their rounds were rarely casual. Friends and participants in celebrity tournaments recalled that Mantle and Martin routinely played for money, side bets, and bragging rights. The stakes were usually less about the amount of money and more about proving who could beat whom that day.

Offered is an original TYPE I photo of the original M&M Boys (before Mantle and Maris) taken in the 1950s.  This gorgeous 6.5” x 8.5” photo was taken by award winning photographer, Bob East (who worked for the Miami Herald for 33 years) of the Gilloon Agency and originated out of the SPORT Magazine archives.

Fantastic shot taken in Miami during spring training.