Students from Oklahoma State University helped design what will be called Mickey Mantle Monument Park and other related projects in the Route 66 town of Commerce, Okla., where Mantle grew up, according to a story in the Tulsa World.
A 9-foot-tall Mickey Mantle statue dedicated last summer stands at Mickey Mantle Field, next to a newer alignment of Route 66 through town. The World reported:
His proposed namesake park will implement the town’s commemorative brick and tile program and will include a picnic area, landscaping, informational murals/kiosks and pathways to the statue. Signage detailing Mantle’s life and baseball career will be anchored by a design that accentuates the player’s famous No. 7 jersey. Also, the house where Mantle was married is scheduled to be moved from Picher to Commerce.
Work on the initial phase is expected to begin in a matter of weeks, and initial funding is expected to come from the brick-and-tile program, said Brian Waybright, chairman of the Commerce Sports Authority.
The proposed routing plan would direct tourists to places such as Mantle’s youth football and baseball fields and include enhanced signage and lighting. City officials also want to build an adjacent sports complex that would include a baseball field and four to five Little League and softball fields.
The design project, which cost just $4,000, is so acclaimed that a city councilor wrote OSU President Burns Hargis to praise the OSU students and their professor.
As a baseball fan, I’d say Commerce’s additional attention to Mantle is overdue. “The Commerce Comet” is one of the 10 best players in baseball history, and is surely the greatest to hail from the Sooner State. Check his statistics if you don’t believe me.