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DID YOU KNOW ? The New York Yankees signed Mickey Mantle to a minor-league contract in 1949, the day he graduated high school. He was paid $400 for the remainder of the season and a $1,100 signing bonus. A Yankee for his entire career, among Mantle's many accomplishments are all-time World Series records for home runs (18), runs scored (42), and runs batted in (40). He once hit a ball left-handed that cleared the right-field roof at Tiger Stadium in Detroit estimated to have traveled 643 feet. In 1956, Mantle won the Triple Crown, leading the majors with a .353 batting average, 52 HR and 130 RBI on the way to his first of three MVP awards.

GORDIE “MR. HOCKEY” HOWE DOMINATES HOCKEY FOR 6 DECADES - He was signed by the Detroit Red Wings when he was 16 and was soon teamed up with Ted Lindsay and Sid Abel in what would be called the "Production Line", one of the all-time great NHL combinations. He was an effortless skater with deceptive speed, tremendous strength and a powerful shot. He scored 20 goals a year for 22 consecutive years. He won six Hart Memorial Trophies as the league MVP, and at the age of 41, he scored 44 goals and added 59 assists for a career high 103 points. In 1979 he returned to the NHL with the Hartford Whalers as a 51 year old, appearing in all 80 games.

Jim won the Cy Young Award three times (1973, 1975 and 1976) and was runner up two other seasons. At the age of 18, he signed a $50,000 bonus contract with the Orioles, and in 1966 became the youngest player ever to pitch a World Series shutout. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990. In 1973 he won 22 games and lost 9 with 6 shutouts. In 1975 he won 23 games and lost 11 with 10 shutouts, and 1975 he won 22 games and lost 13 with 6 shutouts.