Never-Before-Published Photos of the Yankees Goofing Off in 1961

Tony Kubek: Through the Looking Glass

In 1961, during spring training, LIFE gave 25-year-old Yankee shortstop Tony Kubek a camera and asked him to photograph his teammates: Mantle, Berra, Maris, Ford, and the rest of what would eventually be considered one of the greatest teams in baseball history. The resulting photos were never published, essentially because Kubek couldn't get the fellows to stand still long enough to finish his assignment. Now, five decades later -- on what would have been Mickey Mantle's 80th birthday -- LIFE.com presents those never-seen pictures, along with Kubek's memories.

Bob Fellows / TIME & LIFE Pictures.
Mickey Mantle Strikes a Playful Pose

Beyond his greatness as a player," Kubek says, "Mickey was a real gentle guy, and we stayed close long after we both stopped playing. One story, I think, shows the kind of fellow he was. Right after my father died, I got a call out of the blue, and it's Mickey. He tells me he feels terrible, he remembers when his own dad died, this and that, and we talk for a half hour or so ... He was a fierce competitor, and he had a real temper -- mainly when he was disappointed or frustrated with himself -- and of course we all know that he and his family struggled with alcohol and addiction. But he really was the sweetest guy, and a dear, dear friend."
Tony Kubek/TIME & LIFE Pictures.
Moose Skowron, Tony Kubek, and Roger Maris
Tony Kubek, the 1957 American league Rookie of the Year, played his entire nine-year career with the Yankees, winning seven American League pennants and three World Series. After he retired, he embarked on a broadcast career, working for NBC for more than 20 years and calling Yankee games for the MSG network for another five. Kubek, now 76 years old, lives in Wisconsin. He doesn't follow pro ball much anymore, he says.
Bob Fellows / TIME & LIFE Pictures.
Yogi, by Yogi

Yogi agreed that he'd pose for Kubek if he could hold his new book up for the camera, Kubek recalls. A perennial All-Star, Berra was also a three-time American League MVP; had his #8 retired by the Yankees; and appeared in fourteen World Series, winning 10 of them -- both of which remain major league records.
Tony Kubek/TIME & LIFE Pictures
Roger Maris: 61 in '61

Roger Maris was coming off of an amazing year, having won the American League MVP award in 1960. But in the spring of 1961, the 26-year-old was on the verge of a year for the ages: On the last day of the season, after months of unimaginable media attention and stress, he hit his 61st home run, breaking Babe Ruth's record that had stood since 1927. And while Maris will always be known as the man who hit 61 in '61, Kubek recalls him as one of the greatest multi-tool ballplayers he ever saw. "The best thing and the worst thing that ever happened to Roger was hitting those 61 home runs in 1961, because it distracted from what a complete baseball player he truly was," Kubek says.
Tony Kubek/TIME & LIFE Pictures.
Bobby Richardson, by the Numbers

Richardson was an eight-time All-Star; played on three Yankee championship teams (1958, 1961, and 1962); won five Gold Gloves at second base; and in 1963 won the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, given annually to a player who shows his character and integrity on and off the diamond.
Tony Kubek for TIME & LIFE Pictures.
Elston Howard: Deserved the Hall of Fame

"Ellie should be in the Hall of Fame," Kubek says, simply and firmly, of his old teammate, catcher Elston Howard, the first African American to play on the Yankees. "Elston not only starred in the Negro Leagues, but he then went on and played in the majors for years. He was an All-Star, won world championships, won Gold Gloves, was a league MVP -- he was Hall of Fame caliber."
Kubek Sets Up His Elston Howard Pic

Howard's No. 32 was retired by the Yankees in 1984. He's also part of a relatively interesting piece of sports trivia, in that three professional athletes who wore No. 32 won MVP awards in 1963: Howard (AL MVP), Jim Brown (NFL MVP), and the Dodgers' Sandy Koufax in the National League.
Bob Fellows / TIME & LIFE Pictures.
The Moose Is Loose

Related: See more never-before published photos of the Yankees at LIFE.com. There you can also find out more about why these images were never published and see other great photos from sports history like Don Larsen's perfect game.

William Joseph "Moose" Skowron played for the Yankees from 1954 through 1962, was an eight-time All-Star, and won five World Series rings: four with New York, and one more in 1963, when he was with the Dodgers and they beat (no surprise) the Yankees. The 1963 Series was notable, too, for Sandy Koufax's overwhelming, MVP-winning performance. He threw two complete-game wins, including a then-record 15 strikeouts in Game 1. "I can see how he won 25 games this year," Yogi Berra reportedly said after facing Koufax. "What I don't understand is how he lost five." In that 1963 Series, when the Dodgers swept the Yanks in four games, Skowron hit .385 with a home run against his old team.
Tony Kubek/TIME & LIFE Pictures.