Willie Mays

Willie Mays Center fielderBorn: May 6, 1931(1931-05-06) (age 77)
Westfield, AlabamaBatted: Right Threw: Right MLB debut May 25, 1951
for the New York GiantsFinal game September 8, 1973
for the New York MetsCareer statistics Batting average .302 Home runs 660 Hits 3,283 Teams

New York / San Francisco Giants (1951-1952, 1954-1972)
New York Mets (1972-1973)

Career highlights and awards

21x All-Star selection (1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973)
12x Gold Glove Award winner (1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968)
2x NL MVP (1954, 1965)
1951 NL Rookie of the Year
2x MLB All-Star Game MVP (1963, 1968)
1971 Roberto Clemente Award
San Francisco Giants #24 retired

Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Elected 1979Vote 94.7% (first ballot)

Willie Howard Mays, Jr. (born May 6, 1931 in Westfield, Alabama; outside of Birmingham) is a retired American baseball player who played the majority of his career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing his career with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility. Mays won two MVP awards and tied a record with twenty-four appearances in the All-Star Game. He ended his career with 660 career home runs, third at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all-time. Many consider him to be the greatest all-around player of all-time.

Mays' first Major League manager, Leo Durocher, described his abundance of talent, saying: "He could do the five things you have to do to be a superstar: hit, hit with power, run, throw, and field. And he had that other ingredient that turns a superstar into a super superstar. He lit up the room when he came in. He was a joy to be around."[1]

Upon his Hall of Fame induction, Mays was asked to name the best player that he had seen during his career. Mays replied, "I don't mean to be bashful, but I was."[2]

1 Professional career
- 1.1 Early years
- 1.2 Major leagues
2 Post-playing days
3 Special honors and tributes
4 Personal life
5 Origin of "Say Hey Kid" nickname
6 Willie Mays in popular culture
7 See also
8 References and notes
9 References
10 External links

Professional career

Early years

Mays' professional baseball career began in 1947, when he played briefly with the Chattanooga Choo-Choos in Tennessee. Shortly thereafter, Mays returned to his home state and joined the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League. Over the next several years, a number of Major League baseball franchises sent scouts to watch him play. The first was the Milwaukee Braves. The scout that found him, Bud Maughn, referred him to the Braves but they declined. He then tipped a scout for the New York Giants. Finally, in 1950 Mays signed with the Giants and went to their Class-B affiliate in Trenton, New Jersey.[3]

After Mays hit .353 in Trenton, he began the 1951 season at AAA Minneapolis Millers of the American Association. With the Millers, Mays displayed his offensive skills and defensive ability. After he hit .477 in 35 games, Mays was called up to the Majors on May 25, 1951. During his brief tenure in Minneapolis, he played with two other eventual Hall of Famers Hoyt Wilhelm and Ray Dandridge.

Major leagues

New York Giants (1951–57)

Mays began his career with zero hits in his first twelve at bats. On his 13th at bat, he hit a homer over the left field fence of the Polo Grounds off Warren Spahn.[4] Mays' average improved steadily throughout the rest of the season. Although his .274 average, 68 RBI and 20 homers (in 121 games) were among the lowest of his career, he still won the 1951 Rookie of the Year Award. During the Giants' amazing comeback in August and September 1951 to overtake the Dodgers in the 1951 pennant race, Mays' fielding, and great arm were often instrumental to several important Giant victories.[5] Mays ended the regular season in the on-deck circle when Bobby Thomson hit the Shot Heard 'Round the World against the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The Catch: Willie Mays hauls in Vic Wertz's drive at the warning track in the 1954 World Series.

The Giants went on to meet the New York Yankees in the 1951 World Series. This, his first World Series Game, October 4, 1951, was Mickey Mantle's as well. The first inning was unique as it was the only time that these two men batted back-to-back in the major leagues. Willie Mays flied out to right field (Mickey Mantle) for the third out in the top of the first; Mickey Mantle then took his at-bat for the Yankees in the bottom of the first, flying out to right field as well. Mays hit poorly and the Giants lost the series four games to two games. The six-game set was the only time that Mays and the aging Joe DiMaggio would play on the same field.[6]Mays was part of the first all-black outfield in major league history, along with Hall of Famer Monte Irvin and Hank Thompson, in Game One of the 1951 World Series.[7]

The United States Army drafted Mays in 1952 and he subsequently missed part of the 1952 season and all of the 1953 season. Despite the conflict in Korea, Mays spent most of his time in the army playing baseball at Fort Eustis.[8] Mays missed about 266 games due to military service. It is possible that had Mays played in those games, he rather than Hank Aaron would have broken Babe Ruth's career home run record of 714.

Mays returned to the Giants in 1954, hitting for a league-leading .345 batting average and also slugging 41 home runs. Mays won the National League Most Valuable Player Award and the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year. In addition, the Giants won the National League pennant and the 1954 World Series, sweeping the Cleveland Indians in four games. The 1954 series is perhaps best remembered for "The Catch," an astonishing, over-the-shoulder running grab by Mays in deep center field of the Polo Grounds of a long drive off the bat of Vic Wertz during the 8th inning of Game 1. The catch prevented two Indians runners from scoring, and preserved a tied score that the Giants went on to break in the 10th inning for the victory.

Mays went on to perform at a high level each of the last three years the Giants were in New York City. In 1957, he won the first of twelve consecutive Gold Glove Awards. At the same time, Mays continued to finish in the NL's top 5 in a variety of offensive categories. Mays, Roberto Clemente, also with 12, and Ken Griffey, Jr. are the only outfielders to have more than 10 career Gold Gloves. 1957 also saw Mays become the fourth player in Major League history to join the 20-20-20 Club (2B,3B,HR). No player had joined the "club" since 1941, and another would not join until 1979 (George Brett).

San Francisco Giants (1958–72)

After the 1957 season, the Giants franchise relocated to San Francisco, California. First, Mays owned homes in two San Francisco locations. [5]. Thereafter, Mays bought a palatial home in nearby Atherton.[9]

Mays' quest for the NL batting title came down to the final game of the 1958 season, just as it had in 1954. In his final regular season game, Mays collected three hits. Unfortunately for Mays, the Philadelphia Phillies' Richie Ashburn won the title.

The Giants were not one of the top teams in the National League between the years 1955 and 1960. During that span, the team never finished higher than 3rd place or won more than 83 games in an individual season. In an attempt to improve the team, the Giants hired former Giant player Alvin Dark before the start of the 1961 season. Dark promptly named Mays the team captain and the team showed improvement on the field. They finished the '61 season in third place and won 85 games, more than they had in any of the previous six campaigns. Mays would have one of his best games on April 30, 1961, hitting 4 home runs against the Milwaukee Braves (Hank Aaron also hit 2 that day).[10] In fact Mays is the only Major Leaguer to have both a 3 triple game and a 4 home run game. [6] [7]

The Giants won the National League pennant in 1962. That year, Mays played in 162 games, batted .304, and led the team in eight major offensive categories. The season was not without turmoil or noteworthy moments. The team actually finished the 162-game regular season in a tie for first place with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Giants went on to win a three-game playoff series versus the Dodgers and advanced to play in the World Series. Unfortunately for them, the Giants lost to the Yankees in seven games. Mays hit just .250 with only two extra-base hits. It was his last World Series appearance as a member of the Giants.

In both the 1963 and 1964 seasons Mays scored over 100 runs, batted in over 100 runs, and hit 85 total home runs. 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. In the bottom of the 16th inning, Mays hit a home run off Spahn and the Giants won the game 1-0.[11] 1964 marked the end of Alvin Dark's tenure as the Giants manager. The Giants hired Herman Franks after Dark left.

Mays won his second MVP award in 1965 behind a career-high 52 home runs. In fact, Mays hit career home run number 500 on September 13, 1965 off Don Nottebart. Warren Spahn, off whom Mays hit his first career home run, was on the Giants at the time. After the home run, Spahn greeted Mays in the dugout. Spahn asked: "Was it anything like the same feeling?" Mays replied "It was exactly the same feeling [and the] same pitch, too."[12]

On August 22, 1965 Mays and Sandy Koufax acted as peacemakers during a 14-minute brawl between the Giants and Dodgers. The brawl broke out after an incident between San Francisco pitcher Juan Marichal and Dodgers catcher John Roseboro.[13]

Mays played in over 150 games for 13 consecutive years, (a major-league record) from 1954 to 1966, his last 100-RBI season. That season, he finished 3rd in the NL MVP voting. It was the ninth and final time he finished in the top 5 in the voting for the award.[14] In 1970, the Sporting News named Mays as the "Player of the Decade" for the 1960s. Other career milestones include: in 1999, Mays placed second on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, making him the highest-ranking living player. Later that year, he was also elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Mays is the only Major League player to have hit a home run in every inning from the 1st through the 16th. He finished his career with a record 22 extra-inning home runs. Mays is one of three NL players to have eight consecutive 100-RBI seasons, along with Mel Ott and Sammy Sosa.

"They invented the All-Star Game for Willie Mays." — Ted Williams[15]

Willie hit career home run number 600 off San Diego's Mike Corkins in September of 1969. Plagued by injuries that season, he managed only 13 home runs. Mays enjoyed a resurgence in 1970, hitting 28 homers and got off to a fast start in 1971, the year he turned 40. He had 15 home runs at the All Star break, but faded down the stretch and finished with 18.

During his time on the Giants, Mays was friends with fellow player Bobby Bonds. When Bobby's son, Barry Bonds, was born, Bobby asked Willie Mays to be Barry's godfather. Mays and the younger Bonds have maintained a close familial relatonship over the years.

New York Mets (1972–73)

In May 1972, Mays was traded to the New York Mets for Charlie Williams and $50,000.[16] At the time, the Giants franchise was losing money. Owner Horace Stoneham could not guarantee Mays an income after retirement and the Mets offered Mays a position as a coach upon his retirement.[17]

Mays remained tremendously popular in New York long after the Giants had left for San Francisco, and the trade was seen as a coup for the Mets from a public relations standpoint. In his Mets debut, Mays hit a game-winning home run in the 5th inning against his former team, the Giants. Mays' tenure with the Mets was relatively short. He played part of the 1972 season and all of the 1973 season before he retired. However, he only played in 133 games with the team. Even though he only played sparingly in 1973, Mays was on the roster for the Mets when the team appeared in the 1973 World Series and, fittingly, got the first hit of the series. The Mets lost the series to the Oakland Athletics in 7 games. Mays only registered seven at-bats in the series and got two hits. During the 1973 Series he fell down in the outfield; he later said "growing old is just a helpless hurt." In 1972 and 1973 Mays was the oldest regular position player in baseball. When he retired after the 1973 season Mays had a lifetime batting average of .302 and 660 home runs.

After he retired as a player, Mays coached for the New York Mets until 1979. During this time, he also served the Mets in a public relations capacity. While the Mets have not formally retired number 24, only two players have worn it since Mays left the organization. The question of whether or not the Mets should retire number 24 has been an ongoing debate. Those in favor say the fact that Mays was and still is considered the greatest all-around baseball player of all time speaks for itself. Those opposed to the idea feel that Mays had nothing left by the time he joined the Mets and that his contributions while in a Met uniform were minimal. There is speculation that former Mets owner Joan Whitney Payson, a longtime admirer of Mays, wanted to have number 24 retired once he hung up his spikes, but never got around to issuing an official order.

Statistics

Year Ag Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB K BA OBP SLG TB SH SF IBB HBP GDP1951 20 NYG NL121 464 59 127 22 5 20 68 7 4 57 60 .274 .356 .472 219 1 2 11 1952 21 NYG NL 34 127 17 30 2 4 4 23 4 1 16 17 .236 .326 .409 52 0 1 2 1954 23 NYG NL 151 565 119 195 33 13 41 110 8 5 66 57 .345 .411 .667 377 0 7 2 12 1955 24 NYG NL 152 580 123 185 18 13 51 127 24 4 79 60 .319 .400 .659 382 0 7 13 4 12 1956 25 NYG NL 152 578 101 171 27 8 36 84 40 10 68 65 .296 .369 .557 322 0 3 20 1 16 1957 26 NYG NL 152 585 112 195 26 20 35 97 38 19 76 62 .333 .407 .626 366 0 6 15 1 14 1958 27 SFNL 152 600 121 208 33 11 29 96 31 6 78 56 .347 .419 .583 350 0 6 12 1 11 1959 28 SF NL 151 575 125 180 43 5 34 104 27 4 65 58 .313 .381 .583 335 0 6 9 2 11 1960 29 SF NL 153 595 107 190 29 12 29 103 25 10 61 70 .319 .381 .555 330 0 9 11 4 15 1961 30 SF NL 154 572 129 176 32 3 40 123 18 9 81 77 .308 .393 .584 334 0 4 15 2 14 1962 31 SF NL 162 621 130 189 36 5 49 141 18 2 78 85 .304 .384 .615 382 0 3 11 4 11 1963 32 SF NL 157 596 115 187 32 7 38 103 8 3 66 83 .314 .380 .582 347 0 7 5 2 15 1964 33 SF NL 157 578 121 171 21 9 47 111 19 5 82 72 .296 .383 .607 351 1 3 13 1 11 1965 34 SF NL 157 558 118 177 21 3 52 112 9 4 76 71 .317 .398 .645 360 2 2 16 0 11 1966 35 SF NL 152 552 99 159 29 4 37 103 5 1 70 81 .288 .368 .556 307 1 4 11 2 13 1967 36 SF NL 141 486 83 128 22 2 22 70 6 0 51 92 .263 .334 .453 220 2 3 7 2 12 1968 37 SF NL 148 498 84 144 20 5 23 79 12 6 67 81 .289 .372 .488 243 0 6 7 2 13 1969 38 SF NL 117 403 64 114 17 3 13 58 6 2 49 71 .283 .362 .437 176 0 4 7 3 8 1970 39 SF NL 139 478 94 139 15 2 28 83 5 0 79 90 .291 .390 .506 242 0 6 3 3 7 1971 40 SF NL 136 417 82 113 24 5 18 61 23 3 112 123 .271 .425 .482 201 1 4 11 3 8 1972 41 SF NL 19 49 8 9 2 0 0 3 3 0 17 5 .184 .394 .224 11 1 0 1 0 4 NYMNL 69 195 27 52 9 1 8 19 1 5 43 43 .267 .402 .446 87 3 0 5 1 5 1973 42 NYM NL 66 209 24 44 10 0 6 25 1 0 27 47 .211 .303 .344 72 1 1 0 1 7 Totals: 2,992 10,881 2,062 3,283 523 140 660 1,903 338 103 1,464 1,526 .302 .384 .557 6,066 13 91 192 44 251

Led NL
Led MLB
Won NL MVP [18]

Post-playing days

After Mays stopped playing baseball, he remained an active person. 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.[19]

On January 23, 1979, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. It was his first year of eligibility and he had appeared on 409 of the 432 ballots cast (roughly 95 percent).[20] Shortly after, he took a job at the Park Place (now Bally's Atlantic City) casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. While there, he served as a Special Assistant to the President and as a greeter. Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle was also a greeter during that time. When he heard of this, Bowie Kuhn, Baseball Commissioner, suspended both men from involvement in organized baseball. Peter Ueberroth, Kuhn's successor, lifted the suspension in 1985.

Since 1986, Willie Mays has served as Special Assistant to the President of the San Francisco Giants. Mays' number 24 is retired by the San Francisco Giants. AT&T Park, the Giants stadium, is located at 24 Willie Mays Plaza. In front of the main entrance to the stadium is a larger-than-life statue of Mays, (see image).

Special honors and tributes

A statue of Mays in front of AT&T Park

When Mays' godson Barry Bonds tied him for third on the all-time home run list, Mays greeted and presented him with a diamond-studded Olympic torch (given to Mays for his role in carrying the Olympic Torch during its tour through the U.S.). 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 #25 with the Giants.[21]

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 to both his birth in the month (May 6), and his number (24).

On 2004-05-24, during the fifty-year anniversary of The Catch, Willie Mays received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Yale University [8].

On 2005-12-06 he was recognized for his accomplishments on and off the field when he received the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award.

Willie Mays received an honorary doctorate from Dartmouth College on 2007-06-10.

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.

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.[22]

On 4 June 2008, Community Board 10 in Harlem NYC, voted unanimously to name an 8 block service Road that connects to the Harlem River Drive from 155th Street to 163rd Street running adjacent to his beloved Polo Grounds - Willie Mays Drive

Personal life

Mays was married to the former Margherite Wendell Chapman in 1956. They adopted a son before divorcing in 1961.

Origin of "Say Hey Kid" nickname

It is not clear how Mays became known as the "Say Hey Kid". One story is that in 1951, Barney Kremenko, a New York Journal writer, having overheard Mays blurt "'Say who,' 'Say what,' 'Say where,' 'Say hey,'" proceeded to refer to Mays as the 'Say Hey Kid'.[23]

The other story is that Jimmy Cannon created the nickname because, when Mays arrived in the majors, he did not know everyone's name. "You see a guy, you say, 'Hey, man. Say hey, man,' " Mays said. "Ted was the 'Splinter'. Joe was 'Joltin' Joe'. Stan was 'The Man'. I guess I hit a few home runs, and they said there goes the 'Say Hey Kid.'"[24]

While known as "The Say Hey Kid" to the public, Mays's nickname to friends, close acquaintances and teammates is "Buck."[25]

Willie Mays in popular culture

Because of his prodigious abilities and popularity, even beyond the New York and San Francisco area, Mays has been a popular topic in popular culture. Some examples include:

"Robbing the Banks", Fresh Prince episode, 01/18/93. Will is the proud owner of an autographed Willie Mays baseball, which is the plot of this episode.

The song "Home Run Willie" by Larry Hosford.

Mays is mentioned in a Bob Dylan song, called "I Shall Be Free": "What do you do about Willie Mays?"

Jughead released a song called "Paging Willie Mays".

Mays was saluted in a Peanuts comic strip story about Charlie Brown and a spelling bee. Charlie Brown reaches the finals in the school spelling bee, finally gaining the chance to be a winner for once. Charlie is given the word "maze". A baseball fanatic, Charlie Brown immediately assumes they have said the name of the baseball hero, Willie Mays, and proudly spells "M-A-Y-S" only to have the whole class laugh at him as a result, thus blowing the spelling bee. "I told you you'd make a fool of yourself," replies Violet.

Mays appears (but is not shown) in two subsequent Pearls Before Swine comic strips which are part of a larger strip series about Wee Bear being on a journey across America to find "the one person who can bring this divided country together". Wee Bear regards Mays as this person, visits him at his home and asks him to "go back to center field and everything will be okay".

Mays is mentioned in the quintessential baseball song, "Centerfield" by John Fogerty: Say hey Willie, tell Ty Cobb and Joe DiMaggio, don't say it ain't so, you know the time is now.

Mays is mentioned in the Baseball song "Talkin Baseball" by Terry Cashman. He is mentioned in the Chorus line "Especially Willie, Mickey and the Duke". Referring to Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Duke Snider, the 3 great outfielders of the 3 NY Teams of the mid 50's.

Mays is also mentioned in the movie Soul of the Game. He is depicted as a young boy until the end of the movie when he is being interviewed by a reporter.

In 1972 Rankin-Bass productions made a cartoon movie titled Willie Mays and the Say-Hey Kid where Mays meets his guardian angel during The Catch as part of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie show.

In the 1989 film Major League, Wesley Snipes' character is named Willie Mays Hayes, describing himself as "batting like Mays, and running like Hayes".

In the rap song "For Heaven's Sake" by rap group Wu-Tang Clan, Inspectah Deck raps a brief statement about Mays: "Ay yo my rap style swing like Willie Mays, My eyes purple haze."

Mays is mentioned in the song "Our Song" by Joe Henry: "I saw Willie Mays at a Scottsdale Home Depot… But that was him, I'm almost sure- the greatest center fielder of all time."

In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "In the Cards," there is a convoluted plot involving an original 1951 Willie Mays rookie baseball card, which is extremely rare when the episode is set, in the year 2373, over 400 years after the card was made. Involved in the plot is a lie to an alien, wherein the character Jake Sisko along with his friend Nog, is trying to explain that he wants the card to track down an elusive time-traveler named "Willie Mays," who is trying to change the past, without telling the truth, which is that he really wants it as a gift for his father, Benjamin Sisko. The sequence contains the line, "The entire future of the galaxy may depend on us tracking down Willie Mays... and stopping him."

In the 1996 film Basquiat, Jean-Michel Basquiat is referred to as "Willie Mays" by his friend Benny

An episode of "The Honeymooners" includes a line by Jackie Gleason's character, Ralph Kramden: "Her foot slipped? I wish my foot could slip like that. I'd be playing center field for the New York Giants!"

Mays is mentioned in "Throw Sum 1'z" by Silas feat. Profa C in Profa C's verse

An ambiguous reference in the Belle and Sebastian song "Piazza, New York Catcher", Murdoch sings "well he may" as "Willie May"

Appeared as himself in the Twitch or Treat episode of the magical sitcom Bewitched on October 27, 1966.

In the Broadway musical, Damn Yankees, the Adler/Ross song "Six Months Out of Every Year" shows baseball widows complaining that "Six months out of every year when we cook for them it never pays...Instead of praising our ghoulash, They are appraising the plays of Willie Mays!"

References and notes

^ [1] [2]
^ Albuquerque Journal Online
^ Salon Brilliant Careers | Willie Mays
^ ESPN.com: Mays brought joy to baseball
^ Willie Mays, by Arnold Hano, Tempo Books, Grosset & Dunlop, Inc. NY. copyright 1966, pp. 60-75 first printing, August 1966, Library of Congress Number 66-17205
^ The Series, an illustrated history of Baseball's postseason showcase, 1903-1993, The Sporting News, copyright 1993, The Sporting News Publishing Co. pp. 144-145 ISBN 0-89204-476-4
^ Willie Mays, by Matt von Albade, Tempo Books, Grosset & Dunlop, Inc. NY. copyright 1966, p.80 first printing, August 1966, Library of Congress Number 66-17205
^ BIOPROJ.SABR.ORG :: The Baseball Biography Project
^ Mary Kay Linge, Willie Mays: A Biography (Greenwood Press, 2005), p.151.
^ The Baseball Page
^ July 2, 1963 Milwaukee Braves at San Francisco Giants Box Score and Play by Play - Baseball-Reference.com
^ The majesty of Mays
^ Letting Off Steam - confrontations between players, fans and umpires | Baseball Digest | Find Articles at BNET.com
^ He also finished 6th in the balloting three times.
^ National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: The Hall of Famers
^ Mays Trade (at bottom). Retrieved on 2006-10-22.
^ Shaun McCormack, Willie Mays (Rosen Publishing Group, 2003).
^ Willie Mays Statistics. Baseball-Reference. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
^ Mays on the IMDBb. Retrieved on 2006-10-22.
^ [3]
^ [4].
^ Mays inducted into California Hall of Fame, California Museum, Accessed 2007
^ Mays earns his nickname. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
^ Article on Mays. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
^ eMuseum: Willie Mays. Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Retrieved on 9 Mar 2007.

References

David Pietrusza, Matthew Silverman & Michael Gershman, ed. (2000). Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia. Total/Sports Illustrated.
"Willie's Time: A Memoir Of Another America", by Charles Einstein
Willie Mays, by Arnold Hano, Tempo Books, Grosset & Dunlop, Inc. NY. copyright 1966, first printing, August 1966, Library of Congress Number 66-17205
The Series, an illustrated history of Baseball's postseason showcase, 1903-1993, The Sporting News, copyright 1993, The Sporting News publishing co. ISBN 0-89204-476-4