'51 Sporting News yields familiar images

While I was reading microfilm of the 1951 issues of The Sporting News, I espied a couple of familiar images of Mickey Mantle, rendered as black-and-white line drawings by a pair of famous sports artists.


Mickey Mantle was all the rage during spring training in 1951, and there was a lot of ink devoted to him in TSN. One article, in the April 4 issue, featured artwork by Karl Hubenthal that drew heavily on the United Press International photo of Mantle that was the basis of his 1952 Topps card.


An original print of that famous photo, by the way, recently sold for something like $60,000.


Another Mantle image that all serious collectors will recognize was found on Page 1 of the April 25 issue of TSN. The photo of Mantle that was the basis of his 1951 Bowman rookie card was adapted by Willard Mullin (of Brooklyn Bum fame) for yet another feature on the Yankees' can't-miss prospect.


I thought you might enjoy seeing how those iconic baseball card images were used in a contemporary setting.