Willie Mays was a young phenom out of Alabama who, when stepping onto the field for his MLB debut with the New York Giants, changed the face of the sport forever.
Willie Mays was born May 6, 1931, in Westfield, Alabama, a Black company town near Fairfield. His father, Cat, played baseball for a local Black team, while his mother, Annie, was a standout in basketball and track. Known to family as “Buck,” Mays was raised by his father and two aunts after his parents separated when he was three.
Cat introduced Willie to baseball early, playing catch at age five and letting him join the bench at Birmingham Industrial League games by 10. Mays idolized stars like Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. At Fairfield Industrial High, he excelled in football, basketball and baseball, leading scorers in Jefferson County.
Despite turning 18 in 1949, he graduated in 1950, something biographer Allen Barra called “a minor mystery.”
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
Mays made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut on May 25, 1951, with the New York Giants against the Philadelphia Phillies at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. He was 20 years old at the time. While his debut stat line was far from impressive, Mays broke through just a few games later, hitting his first career home run off Hall of Famer Warren Spahn on May 28, 1951.
May’s career was undeniable: a .301 career average, 660 home runs (sixth all-time), 3,293 hits (12th), 1,909 RBIs (11th), and 2,068 runs scored (seventh). Mays became a two-time MVP, a 24-time All-Star and delivered The Catch. He broke barriers and paved the way for generations, from Barry Bonds (his godson) to Ken Griffey Jr. to today’s stars like Mookie Betts.
He earned the “Say Hey Kid” moniker from his habit of greeting folks with a bright “Say hey!”
Sadly, Mays passed away from heart failure on June 18, 2024. He was 93.
“He did so many remarkable things, it actually became routine,” said former first baseman Willie McCovey, Mays’ San Francisco teammate.
“We were so spoiled. He’d make plays that people would yell and talk about for months. We saw those plays every day, so it was no big deal. Hitting four home runs in one game probably was the least of the spectacular things he did.”
In the clip below, Karen Hunter and Dr. Greg Carr pay homage to Willie Mays and his incredible legacy.
