Damn True
05-06-2011, 07:29 AM
The greatest baseball player of all time was born on this day in 1930.
Willie Howard Mays
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
Russ Hodges calls Willie's 595th HR in 1965 (http://www.knbr.com/portals/3/audio/giants/SHW_RussHodges_WillieMays595_1965.mp3)
Lon Simmons calls Willie's 600th HR (http://www.knbr.com/portals/3/audio/giants/SHW_LonSimmonsWillie%20Mays600.mp3)
Willie talks after being honored for his 600th HR (http://www.knbr.com/portals/3/audio/giants/SHW_WillieMays600.mp3)
Willie talks with Lon Simmons during a Giants game (http://www.knbr.com/portals/3/audio/giants/SHW_WillieMaysLonSimmons.mp3)
Russ Hodges calls Willie's 4th HR in one game (1961) (http://www.knbr.com/portals/3/audio/giants/SHW_RussHodges_Mays4HR1game1961.mp3)
Willie's famous catch off Vic Wertz in 1954 (http://www.knbr.com/portals/3/audio/giants/SHW_WillieMaysCatchOffVicWertz1954.mp3)
Russ Hodges calls Willie's inside-the-park Grand Slam in 1961 (http://www.knbr.com/portals/3/audio/giants/SHW_RussHodges_WillieMays%20InsideParkGS1961.mp3)
Willie's 3000th hit (http://www.knbr.com/portals/3/audio/giants/SHW_WillieMays3000hit.mp3)
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
The "Say Hey" Willie Mays Song (http://www.knbr.com/portals/3/audio/giants/SHW_WillieMaysSong.mp3)
Film of Wille's catch from the 1954 World Series (Giants v Indians) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUK9lG-7HTc&feature=player_embedded#at=25)
By Brian Murphy/HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WILLIE MAYS
May 6, 2011
Like other symbols of American culture in the 20th century – Duke Ellington’s music, Detroit’s Cadillacs, Katharine Hepburn’s movies – the mere mention of the name ‘Willie Mays’ inspires romantic imagery of days gone by, of a time when those who lived through it will tell you it never got better than that.
Mays turns 80 today, a lot of years for a guy we still call the “Say Hey Kid.” But that’s Mays’ gift: his name and his game bestows eternal youth to anyone who closes his or her eyes and remembers what it was like to see the joyous Giant play the game he loved and knew so well.
In honor of No. 24’s birthday, here are 24 Things You Need to Know About Willie Mays. For those who saw him, hopefully the list stirs memories. For those who never did, hopefully the list teaches you about the player many consider the greatest to ever play baseball:
1. When Mays retired in 1973, he had 660 home runs – third on the all time list behind Babe Ruth (714) and Hank Aaron (713).
2. Mays missed almost all of the 1952 season, when he was 21, and all of the 1953 season, when he was 22. He joined the U.S. Army during the Korean War.
3. In his prime playing days of the 1950s, Willie Mays was 5-foot-10, 170 pounds.
4. Mays hit 52 home runs in 1965. In Candlestick Park’s entire history, no other Giant topped the 50-homer mark.
5. Believe it or not, many in the San Francisco press criticized Mays’ first year in The City: .347, 29 HRs, 96 RBIs, and rookie Orlando Cepeda, instead, was voted most popular Giant by a local paper.
6. Mays’ biggest fan may be broadcaster Lon Simmons, who called Mays “the Babe Ruth of his generation.”
7. Simmons says those who didn’t see Mays play “don’t have the faintest idea” what a brilliant base runner Mays was – scoring from first base on singles on more than one occasion.
8. Willie Mays was born in Alabama in 1931, and played for the Birmingham Black Barons in the Negro Leagues in the late 1940s.
9. Mays would say that the Negro Leagues taught him that entertainment, flair and showmanship were an essential part of the game.
10. The Boston Braves nearly signed Mays out of the Negro Leagues, but slowed their pursuit in the end, allowing the New York Giants to sign him in June, 1950 to a contract.
11. Mays’ father, Cat Mays, also played baseball, for mill teams in the Industrial League in Alabama in the 1930s. Cat Mays later moved to San Francisco to watch his son play as a Giant.
12. Mays won 14 Gold Gloves. By comparison, Hank Aaron won 3.
13. Mays’ instincts for the game were such that manager Herman Franks said he never saw Mays have to dive for a ball. “He knew how to play the hitter,” Franks said.
14. Mays was distraught when the Giants announced their move from New York to San Francisco, and it took his dear friend and mentor, Leo Durocher, who managed Mays from 1951-55, to break the news to him and convince him he’d be OK.
15. Opposing pitchers threw at Mays on an almost daily basis, to disrupt his rhythm. “A couple times a game,” said Simmons. Mays had a response: “I didn’t care. You gotta throw it over the plate sometime.”
16. Mays went 0-for-12 in his first three games as a rookie in 1951. Then he got his first hit in his 13th at-bat: a home run off of future Hall of Famer Warren Spahn.
17. Mays won Rookie of the Year in 1951. He was NL MVP in 1954 as a NY Giant, and in 1965 as a San Francisco Giant.
18. Mays played in 24 consecutive All-Star Games – a record he shares with Stan Musial.
19. Willie Mays won one World Series as a player: the 1954 Giants sweep of the Cleveland Indians.
20. In Game 1 of that 1954 World Series, Mays made what is called “The Catch”, his back to the plate on a dead run, robbing Vic Wertz of a possible game-winning hit in the 8th inning of a 2-2 game. It is commonly considered the finest catch in baseball history.
21. Mays is Barry Bonds’ godfather, and was brought on to the field to help honor Bonds when Bonds set the all time HR record in 2007.
22. Mays still lives in Atherton and watches every Giants game he can, whether in person at his personal luxury suite, or at home on TV.
23. Mays was traded by the Giants to the New York Mets in 1972 for pitcher Charlie Williams and $50,000 cash. “The first time I saw him come out of the dugout in a Mets uniform, I had tears in my eyes,” said Lon Simmons. “I waved him back and told him to go back in the clubhouse.”
24. In Game 7 of the 1962 World Series against the Yankees, with two outs in the 9th and Matty Alou on first base, and with the Giants trailing, 1-0, Mays doubled down the RF line. Alou was held at third, and Willie McCovey lined out to end the Series. Mays wishes he could have been the baserunner rounding third on his double. He would have tried to score. “See, most guys probably don’t want to make the last out at home. I wouldn’t have cared,” he said. “You play to win.”
Happy birthday, Willie Mays.
Willie Howard Mays
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
Russ Hodges calls Willie's 595th HR in 1965 (http://www.knbr.com/portals/3/audio/giants/SHW_RussHodges_WillieMays595_1965.mp3)
Lon Simmons calls Willie's 600th HR (http://www.knbr.com/portals/3/audio/giants/SHW_LonSimmonsWillie%20Mays600.mp3)
Willie talks after being honored for his 600th HR (http://www.knbr.com/portals/3/audio/giants/SHW_WillieMays600.mp3)
Willie talks with Lon Simmons during a Giants game (http://www.knbr.com/portals/3/audio/giants/SHW_WillieMaysLonSimmons.mp3)
Russ Hodges calls Willie's 4th HR in one game (1961) (http://www.knbr.com/portals/3/audio/giants/SHW_RussHodges_Mays4HR1game1961.mp3)
Willie's famous catch off Vic Wertz in 1954 (http://www.knbr.com/portals/3/audio/giants/SHW_WillieMaysCatchOffVicWertz1954.mp3)
Russ Hodges calls Willie's inside-the-park Grand Slam in 1961 (http://www.knbr.com/portals/3/audio/giants/SHW_RussHodges_WillieMays%20InsideParkGS1961.mp3)
Willie's 3000th hit (http://www.knbr.com/portals/3/audio/giants/SHW_WillieMays3000hit.mp3)
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
The "Say Hey" Willie Mays Song (http://www.knbr.com/portals/3/audio/giants/SHW_WillieMaysSong.mp3)
Film of Wille's catch from the 1954 World Series (Giants v Indians) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUK9lG-7HTc&feature=player_embedded#at=25)
By Brian Murphy/HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WILLIE MAYS
May 6, 2011
Like other symbols of American culture in the 20th century – Duke Ellington’s music, Detroit’s Cadillacs, Katharine Hepburn’s movies – the mere mention of the name ‘Willie Mays’ inspires romantic imagery of days gone by, of a time when those who lived through it will tell you it never got better than that.
Mays turns 80 today, a lot of years for a guy we still call the “Say Hey Kid.” But that’s Mays’ gift: his name and his game bestows eternal youth to anyone who closes his or her eyes and remembers what it was like to see the joyous Giant play the game he loved and knew so well.
In honor of No. 24’s birthday, here are 24 Things You Need to Know About Willie Mays. For those who saw him, hopefully the list stirs memories. For those who never did, hopefully the list teaches you about the player many consider the greatest to ever play baseball:
1. When Mays retired in 1973, he had 660 home runs – third on the all time list behind Babe Ruth (714) and Hank Aaron (713).
2. Mays missed almost all of the 1952 season, when he was 21, and all of the 1953 season, when he was 22. He joined the U.S. Army during the Korean War.
3. In his prime playing days of the 1950s, Willie Mays was 5-foot-10, 170 pounds.
4. Mays hit 52 home runs in 1965. In Candlestick Park’s entire history, no other Giant topped the 50-homer mark.
5. Believe it or not, many in the San Francisco press criticized Mays’ first year in The City: .347, 29 HRs, 96 RBIs, and rookie Orlando Cepeda, instead, was voted most popular Giant by a local paper.
6. Mays’ biggest fan may be broadcaster Lon Simmons, who called Mays “the Babe Ruth of his generation.”
7. Simmons says those who didn’t see Mays play “don’t have the faintest idea” what a brilliant base runner Mays was – scoring from first base on singles on more than one occasion.
8. Willie Mays was born in Alabama in 1931, and played for the Birmingham Black Barons in the Negro Leagues in the late 1940s.
9. Mays would say that the Negro Leagues taught him that entertainment, flair and showmanship were an essential part of the game.
10. The Boston Braves nearly signed Mays out of the Negro Leagues, but slowed their pursuit in the end, allowing the New York Giants to sign him in June, 1950 to a contract.
11. Mays’ father, Cat Mays, also played baseball, for mill teams in the Industrial League in Alabama in the 1930s. Cat Mays later moved to San Francisco to watch his son play as a Giant.
12. Mays won 14 Gold Gloves. By comparison, Hank Aaron won 3.
13. Mays’ instincts for the game were such that manager Herman Franks said he never saw Mays have to dive for a ball. “He knew how to play the hitter,” Franks said.
14. Mays was distraught when the Giants announced their move from New York to San Francisco, and it took his dear friend and mentor, Leo Durocher, who managed Mays from 1951-55, to break the news to him and convince him he’d be OK.
15. Opposing pitchers threw at Mays on an almost daily basis, to disrupt his rhythm. “A couple times a game,” said Simmons. Mays had a response: “I didn’t care. You gotta throw it over the plate sometime.”
16. Mays went 0-for-12 in his first three games as a rookie in 1951. Then he got his first hit in his 13th at-bat: a home run off of future Hall of Famer Warren Spahn.
17. Mays won Rookie of the Year in 1951. He was NL MVP in 1954 as a NY Giant, and in 1965 as a San Francisco Giant.
18. Mays played in 24 consecutive All-Star Games – a record he shares with Stan Musial.
19. Willie Mays won one World Series as a player: the 1954 Giants sweep of the Cleveland Indians.
20. In Game 1 of that 1954 World Series, Mays made what is called “The Catch”, his back to the plate on a dead run, robbing Vic Wertz of a possible game-winning hit in the 8th inning of a 2-2 game. It is commonly considered the finest catch in baseball history.
21. Mays is Barry Bonds’ godfather, and was brought on to the field to help honor Bonds when Bonds set the all time HR record in 2007.
22. Mays still lives in Atherton and watches every Giants game he can, whether in person at his personal luxury suite, or at home on TV.
23. Mays was traded by the Giants to the New York Mets in 1972 for pitcher Charlie Williams and $50,000 cash. “The first time I saw him come out of the dugout in a Mets uniform, I had tears in my eyes,” said Lon Simmons. “I waved him back and told him to go back in the clubhouse.”
24. In Game 7 of the 1962 World Series against the Yankees, with two outs in the 9th and Matty Alou on first base, and with the Giants trailing, 1-0, Mays doubled down the RF line. Alou was held at third, and Willie McCovey lined out to end the Series. Mays wishes he could have been the baserunner rounding third on his double. He would have tried to score. “See, most guys probably don’t want to make the last out at home. I wouldn’t have cared,” he said. “You play to win.”
Happy birthday, Willie Mays.