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Willie Mays, arguably the greatest baseball player of all time, died Tuesday at the age of 93. Mays had called Atherton home for the last four decades of his life.
Nicknamed the “Say Hey Kid,” Mays enthralled baseball fans across the country from his first season as a New York Giant in 1951 — when he was named the National League Rookie of the Year — to his retirement after 23 years of often unforgettable baseball. He was named Most Valuable Player twice (in 1954 and again as a San Francisco Giant in 1965.)
“My father has passed away peacefully and among loved ones,” said Michael Mays, the baseball great’s son, in a press release issued by the San Francisco Giants late Tuesday afternoon. “I want to thank you all from the bottom of my broken heart for the unwavering love you have shown him over the years. You have been his life’s blood.”
Born May 6, 1931 in Westfield, Alabama to Ann and Willie Howard Mays Sr., Mays played baseball with his father on an industrial-league team in Birmingham, according to MLB. By 15, he was already playing in the Negro Leagues for the Birmingham Black Barons.
The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees scouted Mays, but were reluctant to sign Black players. They passed on Mays, even though Jackie Robinson already had broken the sport’s color line, according to MLB. However, in 1950, the New York Giants scouts had no reservations and signed Mays, according to various reports.
Mays is regularly talked about among the greatest baseball players of all time. He holds the all-time record for putouts by an outfielder, he won 12 Gold Gloves in center field and he appeared in 24 All-Star games. He was the league-leader in home runs and stolen bases four times each — a remarkable feat of power and speed.
Mays will be remembered for his offensive production, but a single defensive play assured that he would live forever in the minds of baseball fans. Game 1 of the 1954 World Series was tied in the top of the eighth with two runners on when Cleveland Indians’ slugger Vic Wertz hit a long drive that looked at first like a home run to break the tie. Mays, playing shallow as usual, sprinted with his back to the ball, catching it over his shoulder an estimated 460 feet from the plate. In one motion, he whirled and fired the ball back into the infield. Larry Doby, who had to turn back and tag up at second base, was forced to stop at third. The Giants went on to win the game and sweep the World Series that year. Known simply as “The Catch,” the play is considered by acclimation to be one of the greatest defensive plays in the history of the sport.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said the entire baseball community was mourning the loss.
“All of Major League Baseball is in mourning today,” Manfred said in a statement “Willie Mays took his all-around brilliance from the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League to the historic Giants franchise. From coast to coast in New York and San Francisco, Willie inspired generations of players and fans as the game grew and truly earned its place as our National Pastime.”
Mays was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979, in his first year of eligibility, a rarity in the sport.
Mays was a fixture with the Giants even after his retirement. He was often seen at the ballpark and on TV sporting the iconic black cap with SF lettering and he was swarmed by well-wishers wherever he went.
Mays was also a genial presence around Atherton. He was known to give baseballs to trick-or-treaters who walked up the driveway at his Mount Vernon Lane home on Halloween. Atherton’s Homer Field Willie Mays Ballpark in Holbrook-Palmer Park is named in honor of Mays, along with a conference room in the town’s library. He had countless friends on the Peninsula.
A public celebration of Mays’ life will be announced at a later date. Fans who wish to offer their condolences may send letters to the Mays family care of San Francisco Giants, attention Forever 24, 24 Willie Mays Plaza, San Francisco, CA 94107.
Bay City News Service and Almanac Editor Angela Swartz contributed to this report.