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Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani tonight hosted a reception at Gracie Mansion in honor of the Mickey Mantle Donor Awareness Foundation. Established in 1995 by Yankee legend Mickey Mantle, the Foundation promotes organ and tissue donations for the 50,000-plus Americans throughout the nation currently waiting for transplants.

The Mayor was joined by Foundation Executive and the son of Mr. Mantle, David Mantle; Street & Smith Publisher Sal Schiliro; Dr. Dale Anthony Distant, Head of the Liver Transplant Program, SUNY Health Science Center, Brooklyn; and Deputy Mayor of Operations Joseph Lhota.

"Tonight we honor the memory of Mickey Mantle," Mayor Giuliani said. "Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974, 'The Mick' played in 12 World Series during his 18-year career and was named the American League's Most Valuable Player three times: 1956, 1957 and 1962. He is a hero to virtually every New Yorker who has lived in the past half-century, but the most important legacy he left us was his tireless advocacy for organ and tissue donation.

"Each year more than 50,000 Americans are awaiting organ donations. Tragically, many of them will die before an organ is available. Raising public awareness about the importance of organ donation can only lead to more lives saved, and the Mickey Mantle Donor Awareness Foundation is leading the way," the Mayor concluded.

Mickey Mantle began his baseball career in 1951 with the New York Yankees, and remained with the team until he retired in 1968. He hit home runs further than any of his contemporaries, and his statistics were among the best in Baseball's history, despite the fact that he was plagued by injuries and often played with intense pain in his legs.

After developing a serious liver problem, Mr. Mantle received a liver transplant on June 8th, 1995 at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. He died only two-and-a-half months later, due to complications caused by cancer, but not before he was able to establish the Mickey Mantle Donor Awareness Foundation.

Sal Schiliro, Publisher of Street & Smith's and a sponsor of tonight's reception, said, "We will continue to inform people about the importance of organ donation because it saves lives. I'm proud to say I'm a registered organ donor, and I encourage others to do the same. We hope this event will continue to raise awareness of the importance of organ and tissue donation."

The Mickey Mantle Donor Awareness Foundation's mission is the complete elimination of the loss of life or the loss of quality of life due to the lack of organs and tissue available for transplantation. The Foundation works with professionals in the donation and transplantation communities to accomplish this mission. In addition, it continually provides information relevant to organ and tissue donation, and distributes millions of organ donor cards to the public.

The sponsor for tonight's event was Street & Smith's Sports Group. Food, beverages, and decorations were generously donated by Angels, Arezzo, Avenue, CBK Cookies, Da Nico's, Lundy Bros., Mickey Mantle Restaurant, Park Avenue Country Club, Parmalat USA, Pathmark, Ristorante Brunelli, Tom Cat Bakery, Union Square Ballroom, Ada Maison de L'inde, Bacardi, Barton Beer, Brooklyn Brewery, Gallo Winery, Kobrick Coffee, Manhattan Beer Distributors, Nantucket Nectars, Peconika Vodka, Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co. of New York, Sara Lee Coffee & Tea, Big League Chew, Club Macanudo, Topps Baseball Cards, A.L. Bazzinin Co., and Ariston Florist.

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