Howard Burman
During the 1950s, they played centerfield in New York ballparks only a few miles apart. The comparisons were inevitable. From Brooklyn soda fountains to Queens street corners to Manhattan boardrooms, the argument raged: who was the greatest-Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, or Duke Snider?The trajectories of their lives were similar. They were born into the game and taught by their baseball-playing fathers at an early age. All three dreamed of baseball greatness-dreams that came at a cost. When they signed to play professional baseball, they were each hyped to become the greatest players in the game. The pressure to live up to these expectations took a heavy toll on them. The story of Willie, Mickey & the Duke is the story of three superb athletes who became baseball legends--what it did for them and what it did to them.
