Cliff Mapes
Who the heck is Cliff Mapes? Well, he is a former Oklahoman who played for one of the greatest franchises in sports history - the New York Yankees - in the early 1950s. Mapes played for two World Series championship squads - in 1949, when the Yankees were victors over the Brooklyn Dodgers, and in 1950, when they triumphed over the Philadelphia Phillies. In all, Mapes played five years and also logged playing time with the St. Louis Browns and Detroit Tigers, hitting .242 in 459 games. The outfielder's best season was '50, when he hit .247 with 12 homers and 61 RBI. He holds the distinction of wearing two numbers that were later retired by the Yankees. He wore No. 3 for a short time until the Yankees retired it in honor of Babe Ruth. He then switched to No. 7, which later was worn (and retired) by another great Okie named Mickey Mantle. Mapes (who was born in 1922 in Sutherland, Neb.) died in 1996 in Pryor, Okla., at age 74.
