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Article: Mickey Mantle's decision to confront drinking problem is reason to cheer. (Originated from Knight-Ridder Newspapers) (Column)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- February 12, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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He would roll up his trousers, exposing the gnarled and lumpy knees ridged with scar tissue, and he would ask, casually:
``You wanna touch 'em? Go ahead.''
And they would.
Reverentially, tentatively, they would reach out.
Cold and hard men, they were, pirates of industry who would gut you financially and leave you bleeding on the floor if it suited them, and here they were, all but genuflecting before him.
Sometimes, their fingers trembled as they touched him.
And, later, they would speak of it as though they had had a religious experience.
And Mickey Mantle, icon, would look at them through bleary eyes and reach for another drink.
On the ...