Willie Mays, one of the greatest players in major league history and a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, died Tuesday.
Mays was making his MLB debut. San Francisco Giants He made his major league debut in 1951, hitting 20 home runs that season, winning MLB Rookie of the Year and helping the Giants win their first championship in 14 years. Mays was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War and missed the 1953 season for military service, but won his first MVP award in 1954 and was part of the Giants team that won the 1954 World Series.
In Game 1 of the World Series against the Cleveland Indians, Mays made a play known as “The Catch,” catching a ball hit by Vic Wertz over his shoulder in the eighth inning.
The play, considered one of the greatest in baseball history, tied the game at 2-2.
The Giants won in overtime to sweep Cleveland.
More than a decade later, the “Say Hey Kid” batted .317/.398/.645 with the Giants during the 1965 season, hitting a career-high 52 home runs and winning his second MVP award.
Mays played more than 20 seasons in major league baseball, retiring after the 1973 season. In 1979, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first try, at the time becoming just the ninth player in baseball history to be inducted into Cooperstown in his first year of eligibility.
Mays began his baseball career with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues before joining the Giants, and his death came just days before he was to be honored along with other Negro League players at an MLB game between the Giants and the Birmingham Black Barons on Thursday at Rickwood Field. St. Louis CardinalsThe game will be played at historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, former home of the Black Barons.
Earlier this week, Mays released a statement saying he would not be traveling to Birmingham for the game but that his “heart” was with everyone in the crowd.
“I won’t be able to go to Birmingham this year, but I will be coming back to the Bay Area to watch some games,” Mays said. San Francisco Chronicle“My heart is with all of my Black Barons teammates, as we honor the Negro League baseball players who should always be remembered. I want to thank MLB, the Giants and the Cardinals and all the fans that will be out at Rickwood to watch the game. It’s going to be a special day and I hope the kids have fun and are inspired.”
Mays was 93 years old.
And a true legend of the game.
