TITLE
7 The Legend
Author's name: Randall Paul Swearingen

Author contact email: randall.swearingen@gmail.com
Author's phone number: 713-725-0679
Author's webpage URL: www.7thelegend.com

"7 The Legend" is a biographical drama chronicling the life of baseball icon Mickey Mantle, from his meteoric rise as a New York Yankees prodigy to his final days battling personal demons and illness. Framed by his 1995 hospitalization and reflections on mortality, the story weaves through Mantle’s triumphs and struggles, blending factual baseball milestones with intimate, humanizing moments.

In 1951, 19-year-old Mickey bursts onto the scene as a switch-hitting phenom, mentored by his demanding father, Mutt, and Yankees manager Casey Stengel. His raw talent dazzles, but the pressures of fame, New York’s nightlife, and a secret affair with showgirl Holly Brooke threaten his engagement to Merlyn, his steadfast hometown sweetheart. A devastating demotion to the minors tests his resolve, but Mutt’s tough love reignites his fire, propelling him back to the majors with jersey #7.

As Mantle’s star soars—marked by iconic moments like his 565-foot home run, a World Series-saving catch in 1956, and a dramatic 1963 pinch-hit homer while hungover—his personal life frays. Injuries pile up, his knees grind bone-on-bone, and alcoholism deepens, straining his marriage to Merlyn and his bond with his sons. A childhood trauma, revealed late in life, adds layers to his struggles, while the specter of a family “curse” of early death looms large, claiming Mutt and uncles to Hodgkin’s disease before age 40.

The narrative crescendos in the 1960s with Mantle’s home run chase alongside Roger Maris, a World Series walk-off homer, and the infamous Copacabana brawl, capturing his charisma and flaws. By 1968, battered but beloved, he retires with 536 home runs and a Hall of Fame legacy. In 1994, Mantle confronts his alcoholism at the Betty Ford Clinic, emerging sober to reconnect with fans and family. His 1995 liver transplant offers hope, but cancer’s return cuts his time short. At his funeral, eulogized by Bob Costas and mourned by thousands, Mantle’s legacy as a flawed yet transcendent hero endures, symbolized by Merlyn’s unwritten letter of forgiveness.

Through vivid baseball action, raw emotional confrontations, and nostalgic 1950s-60s Americana, "7 The Legend" portrays Mantle as a man who swung for greatness, fell to his weaknesses, and found redemption in humility, leaving an indelible mark on America’s pastime.

Awards

Finalist - Cannes Script Festival 2025
Finalist - Cambridge Script Festival 2025
Platinum Award - WRPN.tv Screenplay Competition 2025
Semi Finalist - Big Apple Film Festival and Screenplay Competition 2025
Quarter Finalist - Inroads Screenwriting Fellowship 2025
Quarter Finalist - New York Metropolitan Screenwriting Competition & Film Awards 2025
Quarter Finalist - Page Turner Screenplays 2025
Official Selection - Northeast Film Festival 2025
Official Selection - Marina del Rey Film Festival 2025
Nomination for Best Screenplay for Feature Film - Digital Griffix Film Awards 2025
Nomination for Best Screenplay of the Year 2025 by Digital Griffix Film Awards 2025