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Headline, April 18, 2006
Four sluggers in new block of 4
What timing! The
US Postal Services inaugurates the
2006 baseball season with neat new
se-tenant block of four.
Baseball Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle, Roy Campanella, Hank Greenberg
and Mel Ott are on deck to be immortalized on the 39-cent "Baseball
Sluggers" postage stamps. The stamp images were unveiled today at Mickey
Mantle’s restaurant in New York City and are set to be issued on July 15
at Yankee Stadium before the New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox game.
“Baseball has been part of the American heartbeat for more than a
century,” said John E. Potter, Postmaster General and Chief Executive
Officer for the U.S. Postal Service, who unveiled the stamp. “Sometimes
something very special happens, the crack is louder, the crowd roars
harder and the ball defies gravity, these stamps will do this on letters.”
Mickey Mantle was a famous switch-hitter whose powerful home runs were
matched by his impressive speed as a runner and outfielder. Synonymous
with the New York Yankees for nearly two decades, Mantle was enormously
popular with baseball fans and is still considered one of the greatest
players ever to take the field.
Joining Potter at the ceremony was Marty Appel, former Public Relations
Director of the New York Yankees.
"This is a great honor for these four important figures from New York
baseball history - three players who spent their Major League careers
here, and the fourth, Greenberg, who honed his skills at James Monroe High
School in the Bronx,” said Appel. “As magnificent an achievement as the
Baseball Hall of Fame is -- it is a far smaller group of players to have
appeared on a U.S. postage stamp. I think each of these revered players
would have been awed by this accomplishment.”
Roy Campanella who was Major League baseball's first black catcher, played
with the Brooklyn Dodgers. As a talented all-around player, he hit 242
home runs during his ten-year Major League career. A catcher in five World
Series, he was named Most Valuable Player three times.
Hank Greenberg is remembered as baseball's first Jewish superstar and one
of the all-time greatest right-handed batters. Twice named MVP, he had a
career batting average of .313 and 1,276 RBIs and was selected to four
consecutive All-Star teams from 1937 to 1940.
Mel Ott is remembered for his easygoing demeanor and his unusual but
powerful high-leg-kick batting stance. Ott distinguished himself with the
New York Giants for 22 seasons and was the first National League player to
hit 500 home runs. He led the league in home runs six times.
Artist Lonnie Busch of Franklin, North Carolina based his designs on
historic photographs, simplifying and adapting the portraits to resemble
old-fashioned baseball trading cards. He also created the stamp art for
Greetings from America (2002), 2004 Olympic Games * Athens, Greece (2004)
and Wonders of America: Land of Superlatives (2006).
Current U.S. stamps, as well as a free comprehensive catalog, are
available by toll-free phone order at 1-800-STAMP-24. A wide selection of
stamps and other philatelic items is also available at the Postal Store at
www.usps.com/shop. Beautifully framed prints of original stamp art for
delivery straight to the home or office are available at
www.postalartgallery.com. |
