Mickey Mantle Museum

COMMERCE, Okla. - The board of Trustees of the newly formed Mickey Mantle Memorial Trust have announced plans to build a museum here in tribute to their favorite son, baseball legend Mickey Mantle.

What is the Mickey Mantle Memorial Trust?

The Mickey Mantle Memorial Trust (MMMT) is a non-profit organization formed in January 2002 in Commerce, Oklahoma, the boyhood home of the famed New York Yankees baseball player (1951-1968).  MMMT, directed by seven trustees, is composed of family, friends and boyhood classmates from the Commerce area.

An advisory board assists the trustees.  The board consists of national, state of Oklahoma, four-state area and local sports and media personalities; business and creative professionals; teammates, family and friends of Mickey Mantle.

Why was the MMMT formed?

The MMMT is formed to:

• Develop and Construct - A Mickey Mantle Museum in Commerce, OK. as a tourism center for baseball and sports fans, historians and collectors.
   

• Collect and Preserve - The life and times of Mickey Mantle through donated collections of books, other writings, photographs, graphic art and sculpture, films and videos, artifacts and memorabilia from Mickey Mantle's early days, baseball career and later years.
   

• Exhibit and Entertain - The display and presentation of selected collections and items employing traditional and contemporary museum practices; inclusion of audio-visual and interactive centers for the family.
   

• Inform and Archive - Establishment of an archives of all donated and collected items for public information and scholarly study.
   

• Organize Events - Conduct annual "events" to assist in the continuing development and permanent maintenance of the museum facility; to support Commerce community activities; to integrate with state and national historical preservation interests.

Where is the Mickey Mantle Museum?

Mickey Mantle's boyhood hometown of Commerce, Oklahoma is MMMT headquarters and the planned site for the Mickey Mantle Museum.  In a former lead and zinc mining area, Commerce (population 3,700) is located in the extreme northeast corner of Oklahoma's "Green Country" on US Hwy. 69.  Easily accessible to tourists, the city is just five miles north of I-44's Miami exit.  There is a population of over 300,000 within a 50-mile radius of Commerce.  Tulsa is an hour and half drive to the southwest; Joplin, MO is a 30-minute drive to the northeast.  Both cities are served by I-44.  Nearby Grand Lake o' the Cherokees is a sportsman and vacationers' paradise.

When will activities begin?

They already have begun!  The trustees' $250,000 grant application with the Oklahoma state legislature for initial funding for the Mickey Mantle Museum project has been approved.  The process of site selection and acquisition, museum floor planning and architectural development is underway.  A variety of unique Mantle exhibit items have been pledged including the Commerce house that was home for the Mantle family for nearly twenty years.

In addition, several personalities have already agreed to serve on the MMMT advisory board including: a Heisman Trophy winner, a television sports show host, a prominent sports writer, a nationally renowned sports artist, a renowned sculptor, an attorney representing the Mantle family's interests and Merlyn Mantle.  Other notables have been issued invitations to join the board including: New York City personalities, Yankee team representatives, former Mantle teammates and other friends of Mantle and the game of baseball.

How will the Mickey Mantle Museum and MMMT be funded?

• Grants-State & National

• Charitable Contributions

• Gifts and Bequests

• Corporate Sponsorships

• Membership and Dues

• Museum Admission Fees

• Gift Shop Sales

• Events and Fund Raisers