williemays.com: Willie Mays

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Willie Mays was born in Westfield, Alabama, a small town on the outskirts of Birmingham. His father worked in a steel mill and played semi-pro baseball. His mother had been a high school track and basketball star. Almost from the time he could walk, his family encouraged his athletic abilities. He attended games with his father, sitting in the dugout and serving as batboy for the steel mill team, thus allowing him to absorb baseball strategy at a very early age.

Birmingham Black Barons

Mays started his baseball career as a teenager with the Negro American League champion Birmingham Black Barons in 1948. When manager Piper Davis penciled in his name on his lineup card as the left fielder and seventh-place batter for the Black Barons, the future superstar was a seventeen-year old high school student. During his tenure with the team, Davis became Mays' mentor and was like a second father to the youngster.

Omaha, May 24

--Ticket to the Majors -- Willie Mays, slugging outfielder for the Mineapolis American Association Baseball Club, gets his ticket here tonight before leaving by plane for New York to join the New York Giants. Earlier today, the Giants called up Mays who is hitting .477 and announced he would play against Philadelphia tomorrow night. At the left is United Air Lines Clerk Lloyd Miller.

Mays began his career with no hits in his first twelve at bats. On his thirteenth at bat, he hit a homer over the left field fence of the Polo Grounds off Warren Spahn.

In the Military

Willie Mays' major league career was immediately interrupted in 1952 when he was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served 22 months at Fort Eustis in Newport News, Virginia.

Returning to the Giants

His return to baseball in 1954, his first full season, was extraordinary. He led the league with a batting average of .345, hit 41 home runs, won the Most Valuable Player Award, and led the team to the World Series. In the first game of the series, with the score tied in the eighth inning, Mays made an amazing over-the-head catch of a 462-foot drive that had come to be known simply as "The Catch." As impressive as "The Catch" was, Mays' throw back into the infield was even more so. It prevented the runners from advancing and sparked the underdog Giants to go on to win the game. They then swept the series 4 - 0.

Retiring

After a successful and exciting career in San Francisco, where he played from 1958 to 1972, Willie Mays returned to New York to join the Mets. After two seasons that included his last World Series, he retired in 1973

Hall of fame

During his career, Willie Mays was named Most Valuable Player twice, eleven years apart, first as a New York Giant and then as a San Francisco Giant. He holds the all-time record for putouts by an outfielder with a career total of 7,095. He has 3,283 hits, 12 Gold Gloves and has appeared in 24 All-Star games. In eleven of those All-Star games, he played all nine innings. He was third on the all-time home run list with 660 until 2003 when he was passed by his godson, Barry Bonds. His career batting average was .302. For eight consecutive years, he drove in more than 100 runs a season. Willie Mays was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979; the first year of his eligibility.

Doctor of Humane Letters

Mays joined a distinguished list of SF State honorary degree recipients that includes Bridge School founder Pegi Young, singer Neil Young, South Africa President Nelson Mandela, Bay Area philanthropist Richard N. Goldman, actor Danny Glover, artist and teacher Ruth Asawa, Habitat for Humanity founder Millard Fuller, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown by receiving a Doctor of Humane Letters at the University's 108th Commencement on May 23rd 2009

Book

Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend is the first authorized biography of this baseball immortal. He is perhaps best known for "The Catch" - his breathtaking over-the-shoulder grab in the 1954 World Series. But he straddled different eras, cultures, and communities, carving a legacy of depth and scope that few would rival.