My Genealogy Hound

Joplin, Missouri, Mickey Mantle Holiday Inn, vintage postcard photo

Text from the back of this vintage postcard: "A personal photograph of Mickey Mantle from Mickey Mantle's Holiday Inn on U.S. Highways 66, 71, and 166, Joplin, Missouri." Mantle had numerous ties to the Joplin area. He was born October 20, 1931 in Spavinaw, Oklahoma. His family moved to nearby Commerce, Oklahoma when Mantle was four years old. After playing sports in high school, Mantle played semi-professional baseball with several teams before playing in 1950 with the Joplin Miners, a Class C baseball team associated with the New York Yankees. He moved to the New Yankees team in 1951 where he continued until his retirement in 1968. In 1957, at the height of his baseball career, he became a part owner with businessman Harold Youngman in operating a new Holiday Inn Hotel in Joplin, Missouri located at 2600 Range Line. The hotel featured Mantle's name on the large Holiday Inn sign as the hotel operator. A prominent feature of the hotel were two large showcases that were constructed to house the numerous trophies and awards that Mantle had won. A gift shop featured a wide assortment of Mantle memorabilia available for purchase. A lounge within the hotel was called the Dugout Lounge and featured Mickey Mantle baseball themed tables and carpeting. Ownership of the hotel shifted to a professional group during the mid 1960's. This Holiday Inn hotel lasted until 1980 when it was demolished and replaced by a Lowe's Home Improvement Store. See additional views below.

Mickey Mantle pictured on a vintage postcard in the Dugout Lounge at the Holiday Inn that he operated in Joplin, Missouri. Note the top of the round tables are designed to look like a baseball with Mantle's autograph. See the additional photo below.

A view of the room and sign of the Holiday Inn operated by Mickey Mantle in Joplin, Missouri. Note Mantle's name on the sign.

Mickey Mantle, born October 20, 1931 at Spavinaw, Oklahoma; died August 13, 1995 at Dallas, Texas, age 63.

Joplin is in Jasper County, Missouri.