Alright, so listen up, y’all. We gonna talk about this fella, Mickey Mantle, and some woman named Greer Johnson. Don’t know much about fancy baseball or nothin’, but I heard some things, ya know? Like whispers in the wind, kinda.
Mickey Mantle, the baseball star
So, this Mickey fella, he was a big deal in baseball, like real big. Hit the ball far, I guess. People cheered for him, newspapers wrote about him. But, lemme tell ya, even big shots got their own troubles. This fella, he had problems with his legs, somethin’ called osteo-somethin’. Doctors said he wasn’t fit for fightin’ in the war, that Korean War they talked about on the radio. He got turned down three times, can ya believe it? A big strong fella like him, and his legs ain’t workin’ right.
Folks say he was a good man, though, even if he was a superstar. Didn’t act all high and mighty, like some of them city folks do. Treated everyone the same, even the young fellas just startin’ out. They all liked him, looked up to him, they say. But, seems like he had his secrets too. Everyone does, don’t they?
- He hit the ball real far.
- His legs were always givin’ him trouble.
- Folks liked him, even the other players.
Greer Johnson, the woman in his life
Now, here’s where it gets interestin’. This Greer Johnson, she wasn’t his wife, no sir. She was his… well, some folks call her his agent, some call her his lover, some call her worse. She stuck with him, see? Through the thick and thin, through the leg pain and whatever else he was goin’ through. She was there, in the front row, watchin’ him, takin’ care of him.
They lived together, this Greer and Mickey, in his last years. Imagine that! A famous fella like him, livin’ with a woman who ain’t his wife. Small towns like mine, we gossip about stuff like that, ya know? But hey, it ain’t my business. What happens behind closed doors stays behind closed doors, that’s what I always say.
The fight over Mickey’s stuff
So, Mickey, he passes away. Sad, right? But the story don’t end there. Nope. See, this Greer, she had all his things, his personal stuff. Letters, pictures, maybe even his old baseball gloves, I don’t know. And she wanted to sell ’em. Auction ’em off, like they do in the city.
But Mickey’s family, his wife and his sons, they weren’t havin’ it. They said, “No way, Greer, you can’t sell that stuff! You’re just tryin’ to make money off of him!” They called her names, said she was exploitin’ him, even after he was gone. Lawyers got involved, big city lawyers in fancy suits, arguin’ and fightin’ over who got what. It was a whole mess, lemme tell ya.
What to make of it all?
So, there you have it. Mickey Mantle, the baseball star with bad legs. Greer Johnson, the woman who stayed with him ’til the end. And a big ol’ fight over his things after he was gone. It just goes to show ya, money and fame don’t buy you happiness or peace. And sometimes, the people you think are closest to you are the ones who cause you the most trouble in the end.
Now, I don’t know if Mickey was a good man or a bad man. I don’t know if Greer was a saint or a sinner. But I do know this: life’s complicated. And sometimes, even when a person’s gone, the stories about them keep on livin’. And that’s all I gotta say about that.
More about Mickey, you know…
He had other women too, they say. One named Holly Brooke, from his New York days. Seems like Mickey had a way with the ladies, even with a bad leg and all. He wasn’t always quiet about it neither. Even brought this Greer woman to his retirement thingy, with his wife right there! Can you imagine? The nerve of some people! But hey, like I said, it ain’t my business. Just tellin’ you what I heard.
Some folks say he changed, though, towards the end. Got softer, they say. Maybe it was this Greer woman, maybe it was somethin’ else. Who knows? People change, ya know? Life does that to ya. Makes you different than you used to be. And that’s just the way it is.
Tags: Greer Johnson, Mickey Mantle, Baseball, New York Yankees, Estate, Memorabilia, Auction, Mistress, Agent, Family
