Mickey Mantle, centre, is a Yankees legend ©Getty Images

A contract signed with the New York Yankees by baseball legend Mickey Mantle has sold at auction for $39,237 (£31,300/€34,900).

The centre fielder signed the deal worth $17,500 (£14,000/€15,600) in 1953, with the four-page document now selling through RR Auctions.

It included his signature, his handwritten hometown of Commerce, Oklahoma and the script of Yankees general manager George Weiss.

"As one of Mantle's early Yankees contracts from a World Series season – it's a spectacular, museum-quality piece," said Bobby Livingston, the executive vice-president at RR Auctions, according to Sports Collectors Daily.

Mickey Mantle won seven World Series titles ©Getty Images
Mickey Mantle won seven World Series titles ©Getty Images

Mantle played for the Yankees between 1951 and 1968, and won seven World Series titles.

He moved to centre field in 1952 to replace another legend of baseball, Joe DiMaggio, and was named as an all-star 20 times.

Mantle is also a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

He died in 1995, aged 63.