Dr. Feelgood’s shot ends season for Mantle
Posted: September 25, 2020 Filed under: 1961 Yankees, Baseball, MLB, New York Yankees, Uncategorized | Tags: Dr Feelgood, Dr. Max Jacobson, Jean Leavy, Mickey Mantle, President Kennedy, The Last Boy, Truman Capote 10 CommentsSeptember 25, 1961 – Mickey Mantle was hurting down the September stretch, costing him a chance to catch Babe Ruth.
In addition to a pulled forearm muscle and his omnipresent leg injuries, Mantle had a heavy head cold, a respiratory infection and an eye infection that lingered throughout the month.
When the Yankees returned to New York for the final homestand of the season, Yankee broadcaster told The Mick he had a doctor that could cure Mantle’s ailments.
Allen made an appointment to see Dr. Max Jacobson on Monday, an off day for the Yankees.
According to The Last Boy, Jane Leavy’s acclaimed Mickey Mantle biography, “Jacobson was known as Dr. Feelgood to the jet-setters, celebrities and pols who visited his office day and night for injections of amphetamines laced with vitamins, human placenta and eel cells.”
Jacobson treated President Kennedy, Eddie Fisher, Johnny Mathis, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote and many more.
Mantle received a bad shot. As he said in The Mick: “He stuck the needle up too high. It felt as though he’d stuck a red hot poker into me.”
Mantle started the next game against the Orioles on Tuesday night. He walked in the first inning and was removed for a pinch-runner.
Mantle was sent to Lenox Hill Hospital suffering from a fever and infection.The wound was lanced by cutting a three-inch star over the hip bone and allowing it to drain. It left a hole big enough to put a golf ball in it.
For Mantle, his season was finished. He played a limited role in the World Series, but returned to win the MVP in 1962.
SportsLifer's Weblog 
Mickey Mantle’s story is such a tragedy. Maybe the best all around athlete in baseball during the 1950s and 1960s (Willie Mays might have something to say about that), he should have had better people around him to protect him from the bad influences — and yes Bill Martin I’m looking at you. He would have had a lifetime average well above .300 and had a shot at 700 home runs.
You’re right Ed. Injuries had a huge impact on Mantle’s career as well. Despite the outside influences and the injuries, he still had a great career. Three MVPs, a Triple Crown, 536 HRs plus 18 more in the World Series. He often said his biggest regret was falling below .300 lifetime in 1868, his final season.
The real tragedy of it all was he never properly rehabbed his injuries, especially that knee injury in 1951. And the reason he didn’t, in many cases, was he was out drinking with Billy, Whitey, and Hank Bauer. There wasn’t any one injury that should have crippled his career — even the knee injury — with proper treatment. If you can ever dig up the Sports Century series by ESPN that ran in 1999-2000 where they profiled the 50 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century. There is a heartbreaking one on The Mick where he admits he threw away all of his God given abilities at a press conference while he was still in the hospital. One funny thing — both Mickey and Jerry Garcia, who died within a short time of each other, said as they were dying: If I knew I was going to last so long I would have taken better care of my teeth.
WOW!!! 1868?! I had no idea Mantle was playing back then. AMAZING!!
BTW, Mick was not the best all around athlete in baseball at ANY time. Willie Mays holds that honor, and even Mantle said so.
I read recently he didn’t even have surgery after the 1951 knee injury suffered in the World Series. And when The Mick was dying of liver cancer and alcoholism, he told kids not to to view him as a role model. Funny you mention Jerry Garcia, I recall the died days apart.
This guy Jacobson was a first class quack. His license to practice medicine was eventually revoked. I’m just thankful that his quackery didn’t hurt the president who had many serious health problems.
Jay, I agree. Mel Allen’s worst call ever.
Sounds like ‘Dr. Quack’ was like Elvis’ doctor, Dr. Nick, or Traitor Trump’s ‘bone spurs’ Dr. Quackery.
I like how this story just told me that Mantle took PED’s in 1961
Well not exactly like Bonds or A-Rod…but I get your point.