About Willie Mays
The Say Hey Kid, also known as Willie Howard Mays Jr., is a former center fielder in professional baseball who was born in the United States on May 6, 1931. His estimated net worth is $4 million. Westfield, Alabama, is the birthplace of Willie Howard Mays. His parents never got married, thus he was raised by a single mother.
He then became a standout in a number of high school sports before beginning his professional baseball career. He played for the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League in 1947 before making it to the Major Leagues. The New York Giants outbid the Boston Braves and Brooklyn Dodgers for his services before being scouted and signing him.
First of Many for Mays
In the minor leagues, Willie Mays had an early impact, batting.477 in 35 games with the Minneapolis Millers in 1951. On May 24, 1951, he was selected to play for the New York Giants. It took Mays 13 at-bats to record his first hit, but it was a noteworthy one: a home run off of Warren Spahn, who would go on to become a future Hall of Famer.
Young Player of the Year
Mays won the 1951 NL Rookie of the Year award thanks to his 20 home runs, 61 RBIs, and.274 average during his rookie season. In addition, he assisted in the Giants’ loss to the Yankees in the World Series that year.
The Pinch
One of the iconic baseball moments is Willie Mays’ catch of Vic Wertz’s deep drive in the 1954 World Series. “The Catch.” has been the topic of photographs and other visual media.
Numbers from Willie Mays’ Career
One of only four players in Major League history to hit 20 doubles, triples, and home runs in a same season is Mays, who accomplished this feat in 1957.
Additionally, Mays was a:
- All-Star 24 times
- Gold Glove 12-time winner
- MVP of the National League twice
- All-Star Game MVP twice
- NL Rookie of the Year in 1951
- World Series champion in 1954
Legacy of Mays
On the first ballot and with over 95% of the vote, he was elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979.
Vital Statistics:
- Born: May 6, 1931
- Hometown: Westfield, Ala.
- Height: 5-10
- Weight: 170 pounds
- Teams: Birmingham Black Barons (1948-1950), New York Giants (1951-1957), San Francisco Giants (1958-1972), New York Mets (1972-1973)
- Bats: Right
- Throws: Right
- Family: Married twice, first to Margherite Wendell Chapman in 1956, and after a divorce, he married Mae Louise Allen in 1971. Mays and his first wife adopted a son, Michael, who was born in 1959.
- Primary position: Center field
Prior to the Bigs
was a three-sport prodigy at Fairfax Industrial High School in Birmingham, Alabama, where he played quarterback for the football team, averaged 17 points per game in basketball, and was a standout in baseball.
At the age of 17, while still a high school student, he participated in sports with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro National League.
In 1950, the New York Giants acquired his contract and sent him to Trenton (Interstate League). He played for Triple-A Minneapolis the following season and hit.477 in 35 games there before the Giants brought him up in late May.
Professional Highlights:
The “Say Hey Kid” played in 24 All-Star Games throughout his 22-year big league career (1951–1973), which is a record-tying number with Roberto Clemente.
finished his career with 660 home runs, which put him third at the time of his retirement and fourth as of 2012 in MLB history behind Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and his godson Barry Bonds. four seasons in a row, National League home run leader (1955, 1962, 1964, 1965).
He had a hitless first 12 at-bats to begin his major league career. In June 1951, future Hall of Fame pitcher Warren Spahn allowed the game’s first hit, a home run.
Whilst serving in the Army, he missed the majority of the 1952 and 1953 seasons. Because to his stint in the Army, he missed about 266 games. He played baseball in Fort Eustis, Virginia, for the most of his service in the Army during the Korean War.
returned to baseball in 1954, led the Giants to the World Series by hitting a league-best.345 with 41 home runs and 110 RBI. Mays hit at least 29 home runs for the first time in the first of 13 straight seasons.
Vic Wertz of Cleveland was denied extra bases when Mays made his renowned over-the-shoulder catch in deep center field during game one of the 1954 World Series. When he made the grab, spun around, and tossed the ball back into the infield, he was over 430 feet away from home plate. That stopped the Indians’ comeback attempt and enabled the Giants to win the game and the series.
had a successful year in 1955, dominating the National League in home runs (51), slugging percentage (.659), and triples (13).
stole the most bases in the league for four straight seasons beginning in 1956. He stole 338 bases during his career.
His achievement of 20 or more doubles, triples, home runs, and stolen bases in 1957 cemented his reputation as one of the top all-around offensive players in the league. In MLB history, just one other player (Frank Schulte, 1911) has achieved the feat.
He had eight straight seasons between 1958 and 1966 during which he scored more than 100 runs and drove in more than 100, following the Giants’ relocation to San Francisco.
Mays was a tough player who, from 1954 to 1966, played in more than 150 games in 13 straight seasons (a major league record).
On April 30 of 1961, he hit four home runs against Milwaukee. Additionally, he hit three home runs in each of two games.
Mays joined four other players (Ruth, Jimmy Foxx, Ralph Kiner, and Mickey Mantle) as the only ones to have multiple seasons with 50 or more home runs with 52 in 1965.
With a career total of 7,095 putouts, still a record, Mays was regarded as one of the best center fielders in the game.
From 1957 through 1968, he received 12 consecutive Gold Glove awards. In baseball history, there have only been four other outfielders with 10 or more Gold Gloves.
He spent his final two seasons with the New York Mets after being traded to them in May 1972.
He is the only player to have homered in each of the first through sixteenth innings. He blasted a record 22 home runs in extra innings throughout the course of his career.
Following Retirement:
penned a 10-year deal to serve as the Mets’ goodwill ambassador and part-time coach.
In 1979, his first year of eligibility, he was elected to the Hall of Fame with 95% of the vote.
Soon after, then-Commissioner Bowie Kuhn issued a directive requiring Mays to choose between working for the Mets and working as a hotel casino greeter. Mays made the latter decision, and as a result, he was suspended from baseball in October 1979.
The ban was overturned in 1985 by new commissioner Peter Uberroth, and Mays continued to work for the casino while also serving as a part-time hitting instructor with the Giants.
His number 24 was retired by the Giants.
In 1986, he re-joined the Giants organization and worked as the president’s special assistant.
Every May 24th in San Francisco is designated as Willie Mays Day by the city’s former mayor, Willie Brown.
from Yale, Dartmouth, and San Francisco State, among others, has been awarded honorary degrees.
