Willie The Say Hey Kid Mays
There is no doubt where Willie got his athletic genes. His father and grandfather were ballplayers, while his mother was a champion sprinter. He started pro ball at the tender age of 16 in the Negro Southern League, but his father restricted him to home games only so he could finish high school.
The day he received his diploma the New York Giants signed him. By age 20 he was playing in the majors, in New York City no less. He helped the Giants win the NL pennant but then was drafted into the Army for a 2-year tour. He returned to lead the Giants to the World Series crown with a sweep of the Indians. The '54 Series will always be remembered by his remarkable catch-twirl-and-throw of Cleveland's Vic Wertz's 450 foot drive in the 8th inning of a tied Game 1.
Who knew that 36 years later it wouldn't even be the most famous Catch in the city he is most associated with. Mays, a two-time MVP who hit 660 home runs, won 12 Gold Gloves and three stolen base titles. But here's Willie in his own words.
New York Journal American sportswriter Barney Kremenko said that in Mays' rookie season, the reticent Mays "would blurt 'Say who,' 'Say what,' 'Say where,' 'Say hey.' In my paper, I tabbed him the 'Say Hey Kid.' It stuck."
Voted into the Hall of Fame in 1979, he was the ninth player to be so honored in his first year of eligibility. But when 23 of 432 baseball writers failed to vote for Mays, Dick Young wrote, "If Jesus Christ were to show up with his old baseball glove, some guys wouldn't vote for him. He dropped the cross three times, didn't he?"
"If he could cook, I'd marry him." - Leo Durocher (1951)
"I can't believe that Babe Ruth was a better player than Willie Mays. Ruth is to baseball what Arnold Palmer is to golf. He got the game moving. But I can't believe he could run as well as Mays, and I can't believe he was any better an outfielder."- Sandy Koufax
"They invented the All-Star game for Willie Mays."- Ted Williams
"You used to think if the score was 5-0, he'd hit a five-run homer." - Reggie Jackson
"There have been only two geniuses in the world. Willie Mays and Willie Shakespeare. But, darling, I think you'd better put Shakespeare first." - Actress Tallulah Bankhead (1962)
"Willie Mays' glove is where triples go to die" - Jim Murray, American Sports writer
"I'm not sure what the hell charisma is, but I get the feeling it's Willie Mays." - Ted Kluszewski
I think I was the best baseball player I ever saw. - Willie Mays
They throw the ball, I hit it. They hit the ball, I catch it. - Willie Mays
My next player will be a little more obscure. Had a small role in the Shot heard ˜round the World Don't even try to beat me to it.
