Willie Mays

Willie Howard Mays, Jr. (born May 6, 1931 in Westfield, Alabama) is a former star of Major League Baseball. Mays, nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, played center field throughout nearly all his career and is regarded as one of the finest players ever to have played the game and is often mentioned as the greatest player currently alive. The epitome of the five-tool player, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, in 1979.

Retirement

Mays was a coach for the New York Mets and also acted in a PR role for the club until 1979. He also served as a guest host of the Dick Cavett Show. In 1979, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, appearing on 95% of the ballots cast. Shortly after, he took a job as a greeter in a casino in Atlantic City. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn immediately suspended Mays from involvement in organised baseball. Despite public outcry, the suspension would not be lifted till 1985 by Kuhn's successor, Peter Ueberroth. Having returned to Atherton, Mays is presently employed as Special Assistant to the Giants and appears often at baseball memorabilia shows.

Related Topics:
New York Mets - 1979 - Dick Cavett Show - Hall of Fame - Atlantic City - Commissioner - Bowie Kuhn - Peter Ueberroth

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Mays' number 24 is retired by the San Francisco Giants. Their home ballpark, SBC Park, is located at 24 Willie Mays Plaza with a larger-than-life statue of Mays in front of the main entrance, surrounded by 24 palm trees, and the right-field wall is 24-feet high, all in honor of Mays.

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Mays is the godfather of baseball star Barry Bonds. They share a close bond, and when Bonds tied Mays at third on the all time home run list, Mays greeted him warmly and presented him with a diamond-studded Olympic torch given to Mays for his part in carrying the Olympic Torch on its tour through the US.

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