MICKEY MANTLE AND YOGI BERRA
1954-1964

On April 8, 1954, the Yankees came to Richmond. Led by center fielder Mickey Mantle and catcher Yogi Berra, the team was playing an exhibition game against its newly acquired minor-league organization, the Richmond Virginians, at Parker Field on the Boulevard. The “Vees,” making their home debut, were defeated, after a thunderstorm that the Richmond Times-Dispatch said “turned Parker Field into a huge mudpie.” But things were looking sunny for Richmond. Sixteen thousand spectators cheered on their home team, which was now affiliated with Major League Baseball.

Richmond was changing — and so were the Yankees. As Mantle’s career peaked and declined, Berra transitioned into a managerial role. In 1950, the Yankees had acquired Elston Howard, their first black player, and in 1963, Parker Field was desegregated by a Virginia Supreme Court decision. But as Yankees manager Casey Stengel dined with his friend Virginia Governor James Almond, Almond was fighting against racial integration. And in 1964, the Vees were uprooted and transplanted to Toledo, Ohio. It would not be the last time baseball left Richmond.

Big Two of Champion Yankees: Manager Yogi Berra (left) and Mickey Mantle, 1954, Courtesy of the Richmond Times-Dispatch