93 was his age; 24 as famous as his name; and 1 was his place in baseball lore—when all aspects of the game are considered.
Willie Mays died June 18 at the age of 93. He wore number 24. Joe Montana’s jersey read 16, and Steph Curry still shows off 30. "They all belong on San Francisco's Mt. Rushmore," said Steve Kroner, a veteran San Francisco Chronicle sportswriter and lifelong Giants' fan.
Mays was Rookie of the Year in 1951, wearing a New York Giants jersey. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947, so Mays was not far behind in the breakthrough that helped bring Major League Baseball into the modern world.
Missing just about all of 1952 and ’53 because he was serving in the Army during the Korean War, the man called “The Say Hey Kid” batted over .300 and drove in 100 runs or more 10 times each, collected 3,293 hits, slammed 660 home runs, was known for his speed on the bases, and he could play a little bit of defense in center field. Ask Vic Wertz about the winner of 12 Gold Gloves.
World Series, 1954. Cleveland vs. New York at a ballpark known as Polo Grounds. Isn’t that one of the great names in all the venues, from the Rose Bowl to St. Andrew’s to Madison Square Garden?
Game 1: The Giants and Indians are tied 2-2 with two on in the eighth inning. Cleveland’s Wertz comes up and hits the ball about as far as Pan Am could fly in those days: 460 feet. You’re telling me the ball went 460 and wasn’t 50 feet beyond the fence? I am. Willie Mays begins to chase this tiny object which would have dazzled the Wright Brothers.
Mays was not looking back but over his shoulder, when he stuck up both arms and his glove. He had position, and the ball had a destination which would live forever in baseball history—from Coogan’s Bluff to Cooperstown. Mays caught the ball, wheeled his body in a millimeter of a second and hurled the ball toward the infield. The runners would not score.
Roscoe McGowen of the New York Times called Mays, "the team electrifier."
The Giants would win the game Mays had saved in the 10thinning, as Dusty Rhodes blasted a pitch no one would catch—the three-run home run made it a 5-2 final. Cleveland won 111 games—but they were swept by New York. Pitchers Bob Lemon (0-2) and Early Wynn (0-1) both are in the Hall of Fame, as is teammate Bob Feller, who was 13-3 in the regular season, but he wasn't able to pitch in the Series.
Oh, that Rhodes homer? Went almost 200 feet shorter than the out Wertz made.
Willie Mays was a World Champion for the only time in his career. In 1958, the Giants moved to San Francisco. Baseball at the Polo Grounds had suffered its third out.
Mays made dozens of great catches--many known as "basket catches"— at Candlestick Park, and he hit plenty of home runs in a wind-tormented ballpark. His career ended in 1973 when he was back in New York with the Mets.
The Negro Leagues were celebrated June 20, two days after Mays died, at Rickwood Field in Birmingham. At 114, that's the oldest ballpark in the country. And Mays played for the Birmingham Black Barons in his last stop before moving on to the majors, which were (finally) integrated.
Willie Mays at the Astrodome, ca. 1965. Art Dlugach
Willie Mays autographed baseball. Art Dlugach