Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview
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Damn Yankees
Page 358
In 1988, Mantle opened Mickey Mantle's Restaurant and Sports Bar in New York City, which proved to be a success. His original Yankee Stadium Monument Park plaque is displayed at the front entrance. While he made frequent appearances, Mantle let others run the business.
On December 23, 1951, Mantle married Merlyn Johnson (1932–2009) in Picher, Oklahoma. In 1980, Mantle separated from his wife, and while the two lived apart for the rest of Mantle's life, they never filed for divorce. During his final days, the two would make peace and Merlyn was at his bedside when he died.
The couple had four sons together: Mickey Jr. (1953–2000), David (born 1955), Billy (1957–1994), named for Billy Martin, Mantle's best friend among his Yankee teammates, and Danny (born 1960).
In later life, he frequently used a line popularized by football
legend Bobby Layne, a Dallas neighbor and friend who died in part from alcohol abuse; "If I'd known I was gonna live this long, I'd have taken a lot better care of myself."
Early in 1995, doctors discovered that Mantle's liver had been severely damaged by both alcohol induced cirrhosis and hepatitis C, and that he had an inoperable liver cancer known as undifferentiated hepatocellular carcinoma, necessitating a liver