"there were two games a year from 1959 to 1962" "all players who were named to the AL or NL roster were credited one appearance per season." Mays collected three hits in the game to finish with a career-high .347, but Philadelphia Phillies' Richie Ashburn won the title with a .350 batting average. Later that year, he was also elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. More about data coverage, Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Wednesday, July 20, 2:35AM. 1948 Mays played in over 150 games for 13 consecutive years (a major-league record) from 1954 to 1966. Joe [DiMaggio] was 'Joltin' Joe'. Mays also voiced himself in the 1972 animated film Willie Mays and the Say-Hey Kid. This player does not have game logs available for some years. Este texto disponibilizado nos termos da licena. "[74], Years before he became the "Say Hey Kid", when he began his professional career with the Black Barons, Mays was called "Buck" by teammates and fans. Mays was mentioned numerous times in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. from the SABR BioProject, More Willie Mays Pages at Baseball Reference. View Willie Mays's Page at the Baseball Hall of Fame (plaque, photos, videos). [8] His parents never married before or after Mays' birth. "[69], In addition to appearances in baseball documentaries and on talk shows, Mays has appeared in several sitcoms over the years, always as himself. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, only his first year of eligibility. vs. MON 2 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB. Career statistics and player information from, Negro league baseball statistics and player information from. He had 15 home runs at the All-Star break but faded down the stretch and finished with 18. Mays spent much of his time in the Army playing baseball at Fort Eustis, Virginia. The next time was 56 years later when the San Francisco Giants won the World Series in 2010. In 1956, Mays persuaded many of Major League Baseball's biggest black stars to go on a tour around the country after the season had ended to play exhibition games. His lifetime total of 7,095 outfield putouts remains the major league record. Corrections? AT&T Park, the Giants stadium, is located at 24 Willie Mays Plaza. Mays was born in 1931 in Westfield, Alabama. The Giants won the game in the 10th inning on a three-run home run by Dusty Rhodes, with Mays scoring the winning run. May 25, 1951 (National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum), Ernie Banks (left), Don Newcombe (center) and Willie Mays pose following an exhibition game in Asheville, N.C. during their 1955 barnstorming tour. Mays became known first for his spectacular leaping and diving catches before he established himself as a hitter. He also was selected as an All-Star for the first of 19 consecutive seasons (20 total)[24][25] and replaced Jackie Robinson in left field during the 4th inning of the All-Star Game. It was his last World Series appearance as a member of the Giants. (Age 20-019d) It's also available for football, basketball and hockey. On June 10, 2007, Mays received an honorary doctorate from Dartmouth College. In 1956, he hit 36 homers and stole 40 bases, being only the second player, and first National League player, to join the "3030 club". Mays later said, "growing old is just a helpless hurt." Mays has been mentioned or referenced in many popular songs. Retrieved July 18, 2013. Nesta Wikipdia, os atalhos de idioma esto na, parte superior da pgina, em frente ao ttulo do artigo, Perfil de Willie Mays no Baseball-Reference.com, EquipeOlmpicadeHqueinoGelodosEstadosUnidos, https://pt.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Willie_Mays&oldid=61485709, Membros do National Baseball Hall of Fame, Atribuio-CompartilhaIgual 3.0 No Adaptada (CC BY-SA 3.0) da Creative Commons. (2000). Do you have a sports website? He also serves on the advisory board of the Baseball Assistance Team, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping former Major League, Minor League, and Negro league players through financial and medical difficulties. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. Larry Doby, who had to turn back and tag up at second base, was forced to stop at third. Mays made his 20th and last All-Star appearance (20 seasons)[24] and 24th All-Star Game appearance[2] on July 24, 1973 when he was used as a pinch hitter. [46], On January 23, 1979, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Willie-Mays, Academy of Achievement - Biography of Willie Mays, Encyclopedia of Alabama - Biography of Willie Mays, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum - Biography of Willie Mays, Society for American Baseball Research - Biography of Willie Mays, African American Registry - Biography of Willie Mays, Willie Mays - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Willie Mays - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). On July 2, 1963, Mays played in a game when future Hall of Fame members Warren Spahn and Juan Marichal each threw 15 scoreless innings. Just as he had during his playing days, Mays continued to appear on various TV shows, in films and in other forms of non-sports-related media. [61], On March 19, 2010, he was inducted into the African-American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame.[62]. [18] Mays was in the on-deck circle when Bobby Thomson hit the Shot Heard 'Round the World against Ralph Branca and the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the three-game playoff 2-1 after the teams were tied at the end of the regular season.

Articles with dead external links from August 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2014, Articles needing clarification from September 2016, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, American army personnel of the Korean War, Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players, Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, Major League Baseball players with retired numbers, Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners, National League Most Valuable Player Award winners, https://web.archive.org/web/20150330031638/http://www.sportsdatallc.com/2012/07/09/midsummer-classics-celebrating-mlbs-all-star-game/, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: The Hall of Famers, "Ten Reasons Willie Mays is the Greatest Ever", http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/10260/ten-reasons-willie-mays-is-greatest-ever, "Willie Mays: The Greatest Ballplayer of All-Time", http://bleacherreport.com/articles/197503-willie-mays-the-greatest-ballplayer-of-all-time, Willie Mays Facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Willie Mays, BIOPROJ.SABR.ORG:: The Baseball Biography Project, Streetwise: Willie Mays Western Neighborhoods Project San Francisco History, April 30, 1961 box score and play-by-play, https://thebaseballpage.com/baseball-history/willie-mays-hits-4-homeruns, September 15, 1960 San Francisco Giants at Philadelphia Phillies Play by Play and Box Score, April 30, 1961 San Francisco Giants at Milwaukee Braves Box Score and Play by Play, July 2, 1963 Milwaukee Braves at San Francisco Giants Box Score and Play by Play, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2004/04/15/SPGKS61N7V12.DTL, "Letting Off Steam confrontations between players, fans and umpires", https://web.archive.org/web/20081014021253/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCI/is_10_59/ai_65131125/pg_6, Q: Are Barry Bonds and Willie Mays Related? In 1955, he led the league with 51 home runs. (Age 42-126d) Mays also stole 38 bases that year, making him the second player in baseball history (after Frank Schulte in 1911) to reach 20 in each of those four categories (doubles, triples, homers, steals) in the same season. In front of the main entrance to the stadium is a larger-than-life statue of Mays. A short time later, Mays left the Choo-Choos and returned to his home state to join the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League. Willie Mays Parkway and Willie Mays Park in Orlando, Florida were named after the 1951 National League Rookie of the Year. Mays went on to perform at a high level each of the last three years the Giants were in New York. Mays won his second MVP award in 1965 behind a career-high 52 home runs. On three occasions in 1959 or 1960, he visited Julius Kahn Playground, five blocks from where he lived, including one time Giant players Jim Davenport and Tom Haller. vs. PHI 5 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB, Last Game: David Pietrusza, Matthew Silverman & Michael Gershman, ed. The Treniers recorded the song "Say Hey (The Willie Mays Song)" in 1955. All rights reserved. On July 14, 2009, he accompanied U.S. President Barack Obama to St. Louis aboard Air Force One for the Major League All-Star Game. [citation needed][Clarification needed], Alvin Dark was hired to manage the Giants before the start of the 1961 season and named Mays team captain. Say hey, man,'" Mays said. [41] In his Mets debut on a rainy Sunday afternoon at Shea Stadium on May 14, 1972, Mays put New York ahead to stay with a fifth-inning home run against Don Carrithers and his former team, the Giants. In 1989, he appeared in My Two Dads, in the episode "You Love Me, Right? [55], Willie Mays Day was proclaimed by former mayor Willie Brown and reaffirmed by mayor Gavin Newsom to be every May 24 in San Francisco, paying tribute not only to his birth in the month (May 6), but also to his name (Mays) and jersey number (24). Considered the iconic image of Mays' playing career and one of baseball's most memorable fielding plays,[26] the catch prevented two Indian runners from scoring, preserving a tie game. Scores from any date in Major League history, Minor, Foreign, College, & Black Baseball, Frequently Asked Questions about MLB and Baseball. Willie Mays' home run in the 1956 All-Star Game paved the way for a National League victory. With Game 1 tied 2-2 in the top of the eighth, runners on first and second, and no outs, Vic Wertz hit a towering drive that would have been a home run in most parks. [19] Mays hit poorly while the Giants lost the series 4-2. May 6, 1931 After being told by Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn that he could not be both a coach and baseball goodwill ambassador while at the same time working for Bally's, Mays chose to terminate his baseball relationships. Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Hidden Game Sports. No matter how many records he sets or how much money he makes, hell still be a kid out there in the field." In 1979 Mays took a public relations job with a company that was involved in gambling concerns, with the result that he was banned from baseball-related activities just three months after being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Terry Cashman's song "Talkin' Baseball" has the refrain "Willie, Mickey and the Duke", which subsequently became the title of an award given by the New York Baseball Writers Association. The Mays-Newcombe All-Stars could be the greatest team you've never heard of. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Go beyond basketball, baseball, and football to see what you know about chukkas, arnis, and batsmen. One story is that in 1951, Barney Kremenko, a writer for the New York Journal, proceeded to refer to Mays as the 'Say Hey Kid' after he overheard Mays say, "'Say who,' 'Say what,' 'Say where,' 'Say hey'". Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. The New York Giants purchased his contract in 1950, and he was in center field at the Polo Grounds by the next season. His name was also used on the album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan in the song "I Shall Be Free", and in Gil Scott-Heron's song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised". During the Giants' comeback in August and September 1951 to tie the Dodgers in the pennant race, Mays' fielding and strong throwing arm were instrumental to several important Giants victories. Mays had 3,283 hits during his career, which made him one of the small group of players with more than 3,000 career hits. [14], Over the next several years, a number of major league baseball franchises sent scouts to watch him play. Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. [20], Mays was a popular figure in Harlem. "[16] He appeared in his first major league game the next day in Philadelphia. Mays' career statistics and his longevity in the pre-performance-enhancing drugs era have drawn speculation that he may be the finest five-tool player ever, and many surveys and expert analyses, which have examined Mays' relative performance, have led to a growing opinion that Mays was possibly the greatest all-around baseball player of all time. On September 13, 1965, he hit his 500th career home run off Don Nottebart. He was traded to the New York Mets midseason in 1972 and retired after the 1973 season. What else?" Mays married Marghuerite Wendell Chapman (19262010) in 1956, and they adopted their son Michael, who was born in 1959. The Giants again won the pennant and in the World Series, faced the Cleveland Indians winners of an AL-record 111 games. In 1959, the Giants led by two games with only eight games to play, but only won two of their remaining games and finished fourth, as their pitching staff collapsed due to overwork of their top hurlers. With the great play of Mays and others, the Giants tied the Dodgers in the standings on the last day of the season, and a three-game play-off for the National League championship was won with a home run, known as the shot heard round the world, hit by the Giants Bobby Thomson. The obstacle in the deal was that Tom Hayes, owner of the Birmingham Black Barons, wanted to keep Mays for the balance of the season. Midsummer Classics: Celebrating MLB's All-Star Game. Research is still ongoing and well continue to publish updates as more information becomes available. After the 1957 season, the Giants franchise relocated to San Francisco, California. [75] Some Giants players referred to him, their team captain, as "Cap.". Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Updates? After he retired, he played golf frequently in the San Francisco area. "Ted [Williams] was the 'Splinter'. The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball, Did not play in major or minor leagues (Military Service). Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free. [6] In 1999, Mays placed second on The Sporting News's "List of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players", making him the highest-ranking living player. This Month in Sports ReferenceFind out when we add a feature or make a change. Join our linker program. Player stats do not include the extensive amount of exhibitions and barnstorming games Negro League teams often played. It was the 660th, and last, home run of his major league career. At the 2007 All-Star Game in San Francisco, Mays received a special tribute for his legendary contributions to the game and threw out the ceremonial first pitch. [50] Like Mays, Mantle had gone to work for an Atlantic City casino and had to give up any baseball positions he held. Willie Mays, in full Willie Howard Mays, byname the Say Hey Kid, (born May 6, 1931, Westfield, Alabama, U.S.), American professional baseball player who was exceptional at both batting and fielding. Mays walks with President Bush, July 30, 2006, After Mays retired as a player, he remained an active personality. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. In November 2015, Mays was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama during a ceremony at the White House. The New York Giants had already signed Mays for $4,000 and assigned him to their Class-B affiliate in Trenton, New Jersey.[15]. He loves baseball. He also fell down in the outfield during a play where he was hindered by the glare of the sun and by the hard outfield. The Dodgers won the pennant following a playoff with the Milwaukee Braves. Esta pgina foi editada pela ltima vez s 15h53min de 27 de junho de 2021. Foi eleito para o Hall of Fame na votao de 1979, seu primeiro ano como elegvel[1]. Military Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. [23] It was at Fort Eustis that Mays learned the basket catch from a fellow Fort Eustis outfielder, Al Fortunato. [8] As a baby, Mays was cared for by his mother's younger sisters Sarah and Ernestine. Also in 1966, he appeared in the "Twitch or Treat" episode of Bewitched, in which Darrin Stephens asks if Mays is a warlock, and Samantha Stephens replies, "The way he hits? us, High School: Fairfield Industrial HS (Fairfield, AL), Debut: Mays is one of five National League players to have had eight consecutive 100-RBI seasons, along with Mel Ott, Sammy Sosa, Chipper Jones, and Albert Pujols. Javascript is required for the selection of a player. In 1992, when Bonds signed a free agent contract with the Giants, Mays personally offered Bonds his retired #24 (the number Bonds wore in Pittsburgh) but Bonds declined, electing to wear #25 instead, honoring his father, Bobby Bonds, who wore that number with the Giants. [7] His mother, Annie Satterwhite, was a gifted basketball and track star in high school. Mays retired after the 1973 season with a lifetime batting average of .302 and 660 home runs. On April 30, 1961, Willie Mays became the ninth player in history to hit four home runs in one game. Willie Mays debuted with the New York Giants in 1951 and led the team to the 1954 World Series title. ". Mays hit his 600th home run off San Diego's Mike Corkins in September 1969. Hirsch. Milner admitted, however, that he had never seen Mays use amphetamines and Mays himself denied ever having taken any drugs during his career.[52]. Chuck Prophet wrote the song "Willie Mays is Up at Bat" for his 2012 "Temple Beautiful" album, a tribute to San Francisco. Research is still ongoing and well continue to publish updates as more information becomes available. He remained in the New York Mets organization as their hitting instructor until the end of the 1979 season. The Giants won the National League pennant in 1962, with Mays leading the team in eight offensive categories. [1], Mays shares the record of most All-Star Games played with 24, with Hank Aaron and Stan Musial. After retiring as a player, Mays was a part-time coach and did public relations work for the Mets. The 1954 World Series was the team's last championship while based in New York. [42] The Giants went on to win the game and sweep the Series. I guess I hit a few home runs, and they said 'There goes the 'Say Hey Kid. Mays helped them win the pennant and advance to the 1948 Negro League World Series, where they lost the series 4-1 to the Homestead Grays. Neptune has winds that blow faster than the speed of sound, with gusts reaching 1,500 mph. Mays got the first hit of the Series, but had only seven at-bats (with two hits). Some high school data is courtesy David McWater. On June 4, 2008, Community Board 10 in Harlem voted unanimously to name an eight-block service road that connects to the Harlem River Drive from 155th Street to 163rd Street running adjacent to his beloved Polo GroundsWillie Mays Drive.[60]. Copyright 2000-2022 Sports Reference LLC. The six-game set was the only time that Mays and retiring Yankee ace Joe DiMaggio would compete against each other. He did manage to share the inaugural NL Player of the Month award with Stan Musial in May (no such award was given out in April until 1969), batting .405 with 12HR and 29 RBI; he won a second such award in September (.434, 4 HR, 18 RBIs). Mays and the younger Bonds have maintained a close relationship ever since. The Giants were far behind the Brooklyn Dodgers in the pennant race. In 1972 and 1973, Mays was the oldest regular position player in baseball. On August 16, 1973 of the following season, in a game against the Cincinnati Reds with Don Gullett on the mound, Mays hit a fourth inning solo home run over the right-center field fence. Stan [Musial] was 'The Man'. He is considered by many to have been the best all-around player in the history of baseball. (National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum), Herman Franks, manager of the San Francisco Giants, said of Mays, to the Associated Press: "The thing about Willie is he never has lost his enthusiasm. On February 10, 2010, Mays appeared on The Daily Show, discussing his career and a new biography, Willie Mays: The Life, the Legend, by James S. (National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum), Willie Mays played for the Giants organization from 1951-1972, taking most of 1952 and all of 1953 off to serve in the military. His final Major League Baseball appearance came on October 16 during Game 3 of the 1973 World Series. (Osvaldo Salas/National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum), Willie Mays - Baseball Hall of Fame Biographies, Willie Mays & Brooks Robinson's World Series Glove, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, 25 Main Street,Cooperstown, NY 13326Phone: 1-888-HALL-OF-FAME | 607-547-7200 | Fax: 607-547-0398, "They invented the All-Star Game for Willie Mays. The improving Giants finished 1961 in third place and won 85 games, more than any of the previous six campaigns. [38], In May 1972, 41-year-old Mays was traded to the Mets for pitcher Charlie Williams and $50,000 ($281,901 today). Privacy Statement/Your California Privacy Rights. Mets owner Joan Payson, who was a minority shareholder of the Giants when the team was in New York, had long desired to bring Mays back to his baseball roots and was instrumental in making the trade. [48], Shortly after his Hall of Fame election, Mays took a job at the Park Place Casino (now Bally's Atlantic City) in Atlantic City, New Jersey. June 22, 1950 letter from Eddie Montague to Jack Schwarz. Mays had remained popular in New York long after the Giants had left for San Francisco, and the trade was seen as a public relations coup for the Mets. [30][31] Mays is the only Major Leaguer to have both three triples in a game and four home runs in a game.[32][33]. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. On December 5, 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver inducted Mays into the California Hall of Fame, located at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts.[59].