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A week after Mickey Mantle
received a liver transplant on June 8,
1995, he wanted to establish a
foundation to provide awareness of the
need for organ donors. He felt a great
responsibility for having a second
opportunity at life. He said "You know
I've got to give something back. I
thank God had a purpose for letting me
have this extra time. Lets get a team
of people together and see what we can
do." Mickey's Team was born. Mantle's
last wish, a new
"Organ Donor" trading
card was unveiled days after Mantles
passing in August.
Olympic Sprint champion Carl Lewis
wanted to be part of "Mickey's team"
and presented a $25.000 check from the
Wendy Marx foundation, which he
co-founded in 1989 after a close friend
received a liver transplant that save
her life. A donor organ trading card
with Lewis' picture and facsimile
autograph was printed and distributed
by the Mickey Mantle Foundation in
1996. Mickey Mantle or
Carl Lewis donor cards, were made
available by sending a long, self
addressed , stamped envelope to: The
Mickey Mantle Foundation, 8080 N.
Central Expressway, Suite 800, Dallas,
Texas 75206.
The front of the card features a personal Message from Carl Lewis,
followed by his facsimile autograph.
The card below the perforation pictures
Carl Lewis and a short bio and
statistics, with the Mickey Mantle
Foundation, Mickey's Team logo. The
back of the card is slightly different,
with the middle noting appreciation of
support of American Airlines, Nike, the
Georgia Coalition on Donation, the
Carlos and Marguerite Mason Trust.
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