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They say you can learn a lot about a man by the kind of car he drives, so here’s a look back at the hot wheels and smooth rides that have revved the hearts of 500 Home Run Club® members over the years.
Editor’s Note: Be sure to
check out "600 HRC Members In The Fast Lane” and “700 HRC
Members In The Fast Lane”
 “Mick-7”
Mickey Mantle’s favorite car was a “Special Deluxe” Plymouth
Convertible built in 1949, the year he graduated high school and was
awarded a contract to play with the New York Yankees farm club. The
Plymouth was the top production car during his teens years, so perhaps
dreams of driving this car to the drive-in movie and necking with the
girls in the hometown of his youth is what later motivated Mickey to
find this great example. While Mickey owned this baby blue car, it
sported the vanity plate "Mick-7." The car was sold
in 1995 at a “Make A Wish Foundation” auction by Mantle.
Sheffield Digs Cars When DUB magazine features your love of cars, you know it’s serious.
That’s precisely what happened to Gary Sheffield a few years ago. At
the time, he was driving around in a slinky black BMW 645Ci. When
asked what he likes best about his commute, he said: “Being on the
freeway, I can open it up a bit and see what I got under there. I like
living at least 15 to 20 minutes away from the park. It gives you time
to think about what you gotta do when you get there, and kind of a wind
down situation after.”
When asked which was his favorite auto, he had a hard time
narrowing it down. “I have a speed car, a convertible, a middle car, a
big car, and a truck,” he explains. “I used to always look at the
magazines and wish I had money to be able to afford to buy them.”
Gary’s father was a huge racing fan and car enthusiast. “That’s where I
got my love of cars, because he used to always be under the hood,
fixing cars and making sure they were running right.” The “Iron Sheff”
learned to drive in a Jeep with his dad at his side. “He said I needed
to know what I was doing before I could get behind the wheel of my
mom’s Nissan 300ZX, which was my goal at the time.”
 A-Rod Rolls In Style
Ever wonder what it’s like to roll with Alex Rodriguez? The answer is
definitely swanky. Among the reported 20+ vehicles that A-Rod uses
depending on his mood are: a Range Rover, a GMC Denali, a Porsche 911
Cabriolet, a BMW 330CI, and a couple of Mercedes, considering he owns a
dealership in Houston, TX. www.arodmercedesbenz.com
Buying, Selling, Donating, Driving…It’s Just Manny Being Manny While Manny Ramirez is not officially a car dealer, he certainly has
made a lot of news for buying, selling AND DONATING cars over the
years. A few years ago, while playing for the Red Sox, he donated his
gorgeous custom 1967 Lincoln Continental to be auctioned off with
proceeds ($70,000+) going to Boston’s Franciscan Children’s Hospital.
What a guy!
The immaculate blue convertible had less than 72 miles post
rebuild, was equipped with suicide doors, a spotless 500-cubic-inch
Ford Racing powerplant, modernized interior, air suspension and some
serious DUBs.
Not long after, Manny eBayed his tricked-out 2006 Chrysler
300M, SRT8 with a 6.1 liter hemi, 22-inch wheels, tons of chrome and a
custom grill…a fun car,” said West Roxbury Motors Jerry Nasif, who
handled the sale of the car. “It was Manny’s personal drive.”
 Big Mac’s Corvette Is Close To His Heart
Mark McGwire has a soft sport for his 1962 little red Corvette awarded
to him by the MLB Hall of Fame on September 8, 1998 after he hit his
62nd long ball of the season to break Roger Maris’ single season home
run record. The car was displayed at Busch Stadium for several years
before joining a private collection.
Ted Williams' 1951 Nash-Healey Was One Of Kind – Like Him
In the summer of 1951 Ted Williams was signed to appear in a national
advertising campaign by S.C. Johnson (Wax) company for a promotion
featuring the new 1951 Nash-Healey roadster. At the end of the
advertising campaign, “The Splendid Splinter received the one of a kind
vehicle as part of his compensation.
 The thing that made the car so unique is that only 104 were
ever built. To make the car even more appealing, the company
commissioned a hand-built, one-of-a-kind roadster body for this special
car costing about $25,000 (the equivalent of $215,000 in 2010 dollars).
This car was widely shown and generated considerable
publicity, but in the end it was not a commercial success and only 104
were built.
So what ever happened to the car? According to Williams, “All
I remember is that I sold [it] to someone in Detroit. I wasn't
interested in the car. In fact, I never drove it.”
Fortunately, there were many people more interested in the
Nash-Healey than Ted Williams because he made a pretty penny on the
deal. |
