It's been long theorized that Mickey Mantle's longest-recorded home run was in 1953 at Washington's Griffith Stadium. For decades, Yankees fans knew this to be true. But, The Guinness Book of World Records might have something to say about that.

Turns out, Mantle may have bested his Top Mark in Detroit's Briggs Stadium seven years later.

107.7 WRKR-FM logo
Get our free mobile app

His 1953 home run was huge. It was two years to the day of his Major League debut, April 17. Mantle hit a bomb, 565 feet, off lefty Chuck Stobbs. That home run specifically coined the phrase "Tape measure Home Run."

But seven years later, it's believed that Mantle bested that record-setting home run with one in Detroit's Briggs Stadium, later re-named Tiger Stadium.

DISCLAIMER: This is the point where I mention that OF COURSE Mickey Mantle hit longer home runs than these. His 1963 moonshot in Yankees Stadium is believed to have gone 734 feet, and even Mantle himself says it was the hardest ball he's ever hit.

But, in fact, The Guinness Book of World Records now recognizes Mantle's bomb on September 10th, 1960, as the official Record for longest home run during a Major League Baseball Game.

Guinness Book of World Records
Guinness Book of World Records
loading...

Mantle stepped up to the plate against Righty Paul Foytack, and lined up in the left-handed box. On a 2-0 count, Foytack put a fastball right over home plate that Mantle destroyed, effortlessly clearing the right field roof, and landed in the warehouse of Brook's Lumber, across the street.

The unfortunate thing is, the home run was overshadowed by the outright Yankees win, which put them past the Orioles into first place in a tight race for the pennant. Nobody thought to officially measure where the ball landed.

But 25 years later, Dr. Paul Susman, who was a massive fan of Mantle, was determined to figure out just how far the ball went, and found the exact distance the ball traveled - 643 feet. An employee at Brook's Lumber remembered exactly where the ball landed, and Susman was able to turn the measurement into the Guinness Book of World Records.

The official title of the record is "Longest Home Run in a Major League Game to be Measured... after the fact." But, it's still the longest home run ever hit in an MLB game where it was possible to get the exact measurements.

Wikipedia
Wikipedia
loading...

It's also worth noting, the previous record holder was another famous New York Yankee, Mr. George Herman "Babe" Ruth, who ALSO got his record-setting home run (575 feet) in Detroit at Navin Field on July 18, 1921.

Mantle stands today as one of the best home run hitters in the history of the Major League. How good was he?

The longest home run hit in Detroit since Comerica Park was built, was from J.D. Martinez in 2015, at 467 feet. Comerica Park (as it stood at that time) was 424 feet to right-center. Every single one of Mantle's Top 10 Home Runs would have cleared the fence at Comerica Park by 100-200 feet, or more.

10 Notable Baseball Stadiums in Michigan

Here are 10 baseball stadiums in Michigan for you to check out if you love the game of baseball or just want to have a good time.

Top 10 Foods You Can Eat At A Baseball Game

More From 107.7 WRKR-FM