Felipe Alou
Alou (right) as manager of the Giants in 2005.
Outfielder / First baseman / Manager
Born: (1935-05-12) May 12, 1935 (age 77) Haina, Dominican Republic
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 8, 1958 for the San Francisco Giants
Last MLB appearance
April 24, 1974 for the Milwaukee Brewers
Career statistics
Batting average	.286
Home runs	206
Runs batted in	852
Games managed	2,054
Win–loss record	1,033-1,021
Winning %	.503
Teams
As player San Francisco Giants (1958–1963) Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1964–1969) Oakland Athletics (1970–1971) New York Yankees (1971–1973) Montreal Expos (1973) Milwaukee Brewers (1974) As manager Montreal Expos (1992–2001) San Francisco Giants (2003–2006)
Career highlights and awards
3× All-Star selection (1962, 1966, 1968) 1994 NL Manager of the Year

Felipe Rojas Alou (born May 12, 1935 in Bajos de Haina, Dominican Republic), is a former Major League Baseball outfielder, first baseman, and manager. He managed the Montreal Expos (1992–2001) and the San Francisco Giants (2003–06). The first Dominican to play regularly in the major leagues, he is the most prominent member of one of the sport's most notable families of the late 20th century: he was the oldest of the trio of baseball-playing brothers that included Matty and Jesús, who were both primarily outfielders, and his son Moisés was also primarily an outfielder; all but Jesús have been named All-Stars at least twice. The family name in the Dominican is Rojas, but Felipe Alou and his brothers became known by the name Alou when the Giants' scout who signed Felipe mistakenly thought his matronymic was his father's name.

During his 17-year career spent with the Giants, Milwaukee & Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Montreal Expos, and Milwaukee Brewers, Alou played all three outfield positions regularly (736 games in right field, 483 in center, 433 in left), and led the National League in hits twice and runs once. Batting regularly in the leadoff spot, he hit a home run to begin a game on 20 occasions. He later became the most successful manager in Expos history, leading the team from 1992 to 2001 before rejoining the Giants in 2003.

Playing career[link]

Alou during his playing career with the Giants.

Alou lived in poverty in the Dominican Republic and dreamed of escaping it by becoming a doctor.^{[citation needed]} However, a switch from track and field to baseball at the Pan-American Games revealed a talent for the game as the Dominican team took gold. He still pursued a university career a while longer, but was finally forced to sign with the Giants in November 1955 for only $200 due to family financial problems.^{[citation needed]}

Alou made his major league debut in 1958 and was an All-Star in 1962, when he batted .316 with 25 home runs and 98 RBI.

Alou was joined by his brothers, Matty in 1960, and Jesus in 1963, who, on September 15 of that year became the first all-brother outfield.^[1]

Alou was traded to the Braves before the 1964 season with Ed Bailey, Billy Hoeft, and a player to be named later (Ernie Bowman) for Del Crandall, Bob Hendley and Bob Shaw. Two years later he enjoyed his best season, when he batted .327 with 31 home runs and led the league in runs (122), hits (218), at bats (666), and total bases (355); he finished second in the batting race to his brother Matty. He also had a good year in 1968, batting .317 and leading the league in hits (210) and at bats (662); he made the All-Star team both years.

After the 1969 season, Alou was traded by the Braves to the Athletics for Jim Nash. In April 1971, he was traded by the Athletics to the Yankees for Rob Gardner and Ron Klimkowski. In September 1973, he was selected off waivers by the Expos from the Yankees, and was purchased by the Brewers from the Expos after the season.

Managing career[link]

After the end of his playing career, Alou joined the Montreal Expos organization in 1976, becoming a batting coach and a minor league manager. The Giants offered him the manager's spot in 1985, but he remained with the Expos out of loyalty. On May 22, 1992, Alou was promoted from the Expos bench coach to field manager, becoming the first Dominican-born manager in MLB history.^[2] The team was developing a core of young talent during this period, including Larry Walker, John Wetteland, Delino DeShields, and Alou's own son, Moisés. In 1994 the Expos had the best record in the major leagues; however, the strike that year denied the Expos a chance at getting to their first World Series, and ownership soon began dealing all their young talent to cut payroll. Alou was named the NL Manager of the Year. The Los Angeles Dodgers tried to lure him away in 1998, but he declined to leave Montreal. Eventually, Alou became the most successful manager in team history.

Despite Alou's popularity in Montreal, the Expos' dismal record eventually led to his dismissal by new owner Jeffrey Loria, who replaced him with Jeff Torborg during the 2001 season. Several teams tried to lure Alou out of retirement, including the Boston Red Sox, but he would not budge. He finally agreed to serve a single year as the bench coach for Detroit Tigers rookie manager Luis Pujols (2002). Prior to the 2003 season, Alou was named manager of the Giants, the team where he began his professional baseball career, replacing Dusty Baker who had left to manage the Chicago Cubs. In his first season in San Francisco, he managed his team into the playoffs, where they were defeated by the Florida Marlins in the NL Division Series in 4 games. The Marlins went on to win the World Series.

In 2005, the Giants signed Moisés Alou to a one-year contract with an option for the 2006 season, reuniting him professionally with his father after seven seasons apart. Felipe Alou retired from the Giants in 2006.

See also[link]

Baseball portal

• List of Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic
• List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters
• List of major league players with 2,000 hits
• List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions
• List of second generation MLB players
• List of Major League Baseball managers in 2006

References[link]

External links[link]

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube
• Felipe Alou managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com
• Baseball Almanac
• Baseball Library

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2009)

Harvey Kuenn
Kuenn in 1953.
Outfielder / Shortstop
Born: (1930-12-04)December 4, 1930 West Allis, Wisconsin
Died: February 28, 1988(1988-02-28) (aged 57) Peoria, Arizona
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 6, 1952 for the Detroit Tigers
Last MLB appearance
October 2, 1966 for the Philadelphia Phillies
Career statistics
Batting average	.303
Hits	2,092
Runs batted in	671
Teams
As player Detroit Tigers (1952–1959) Cleveland Indians (1960) San Francisco Giants (1961–1965) Chicago Cubs (1965–1966) Philadelphia Phillies (1966) As manager Milwaukee Brewers (1975, 1982–1983)
Career highlights and awards
10× All-Star (1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1959², 1960, 1960²) 1953 AL Rookie of the Year 1959 AL batting title

Harvey Edward Kuenn (December 4, 1930 – February 28, 1988) was an American player, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball. As a shortstop and outfielder, he played with the Detroit Tigers (1952–59), Cleveland Indians (1960), San Francisco Giants (1961–65), Chicago Cubs (1965–66), and Philadelphia Phillies (1966). He batted and threw right-handed. After retiring, Kuenn managed the Milwaukee Brewers (1975, 1982–83).

Early life and career[link]

Kuenn ( /ˈkiːn/) was born in West Allis, Wisconsin, but raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and attended Lutheran High School. He once kicked a 53-yard field goal for Lutheran in a football game, which is tied for the eighth-longest field goal in Wisconsin high school football history. He played collegiate baseball at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he was a member of Delta Upsilon Fraternity. Signed by Detroit as an amateur free agent in 1952, Kuenn was named the starting shortstop after joining the team late in the season. In his first full season in 1953, he hit .308 with 94 runs and led the major leagues with 209 hits, setting a major league rookie record with 167 singles. He received the American League Rookie of the Year and TSN Rookie of the Year awards. Also in that season, he received the first of his ten consecutive selections to the All-Star Game.

A line drive hitter who hit to all fields, Kuenn showed consistency in the next two seasons, compiling almost identical numbers: .306 with 81 runs and 201 hits in 1954; .306 with 101 runs and 190 hits in 1955. He raised his average to .332 in 1956, surpassed only by Mickey Mantle (.353) and Ted Williams (.345) in the batting race. A year later, he slumped badly to .277. But he rebounded in 1958 with .319, ending third in the league behind Williams (.328) and Pete Runnels (.322), and surpassing Al Kaline, Vic Power, Bob Cerv, Mantle, Rocky Colavito, Minnie Miñoso and Nellie Fox. In that season, he switched to the outfield, where he played all three positions over the remainder of his career.

Later playing career[link]

After winning the American League batting crown in 1959 with a .353 average, Kuenn was traded to Cleveland for Rocky Colavito, who had won the home run title with 42 homers (the trade that is often referred to by Cleveland fans as "the curse of Rocky Colavito"). With the Indians, Kuenn hit .308 in the 1960 season. He finished his career in the National League playing for the Giants, Cubs and Phillies, retiring at the end of the 1966 season.

In a 15-season playing career, Kuenn was a .303 hitter with 87 home runs and 671 RBI in 1833 games. He led the AL in hits and doubles four times each, and finished with 2,092 hits.

Kuenn had the dubious distinction of making the final out in two of Sandy Koufax's four no-hitters—in 1963 and 1965. In the former, the final out was on a ground ball back to Koufax.^[1] In the latter, he struck out for the final out in Koufax's perfect game, the last no-hitter pitched against the Chicago Cubs to date.^[2]

Kuenn was activated by the Brewers for the last two weeks of 1971, in order for him to qualify for a pension. He never appeared in a game, however.

Milwaukee Brewers career[link]

Kuenn became a Milwaukee Brewers coach in 1972 and served as an interim manager in 1975. He suffered a series of medical complications beginning in the mid-1970s, including heart and stomach surgeries, and in February 1980, he had his right leg amputated just below the knee after a blood clot cut circulation. He returned to coaching only six months after the operation.

In 1982, Kuenn managed the Milwaukee Brewers to their only World Series appearance to date after taking over the team in mid-season. He was selected by the Associated Press as the AL Manager of the Year, after taking the Brewers in June from a 23-24 start to the AL East title with a 95-67 record. Milwaukee then won the AL pennant after rallying from a 2-0 deficit and beating the California Angels in the best-of-five American League Championship Series. They ultimately lost the 1982 World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.

Kuenn was fired as manager after the Brewers finished fifth in the AL East with an otherwise respectable 87-75 record in 1983. He compiled a 160-118 managerial record. During his tenure, the hard-hitting Brewers were known as Harvey's Wallbangers. At the time, their roster included Cecil Cooper, Ben Oglivie, Ted Simmons, Gorman Thomas, and future Hall of Famers Paul Molitor and Robin Yount. After being replaced, he worked as a major league scouting consultant for the Brewers.

Death[link]

Kuenn died at his home in Peoria, Arizona, in 1988. The Brewers wore a patch with his initials during the 1988 season to commemorate him. That same year, he was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2002, his name was added to the Brewers' honorarium with a plaque in the concourse circling Miller Park.

See also[link]

• List of major league players with 2,000 hits
• List of Major League Baseball batting champions
• List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
• Major League Baseball titles leaders

References[link]

External links[link]

• Baseball-Reference.com - career playing statistics
• Baseball-Reference.com - career managerial record
• Baseball Almanac

Willie Mays
Center fielder
Born: (1931-05-06) May 6, 1931 (age 81) Westfield, Alabama
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 25, 1951 for the New York Giants
Last MLB appearance
October, 1973 for the New York Mets
Career statistics
Batting average	.302
Home runs	660
Hits	3,283
Runs batted in	1,903
Teams
New York / San Francisco Giants (1951–1952, 1954–1972) New York Mets (1972–1973)
Career highlights and awards
24× All-Star (1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1959², 1960, 1960², 1961, 1961², 1962, 1962², 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973) World Series champion (1954) 12× Gold Glove Award winner (1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968) 2× NL MVP (1954, 1965) 1951 NL Rookie of the Year 2× MLB All-Star Game MVP (1963, 1968) 1971 Roberto Clemente Award Hit 4 home runs in one game on April 30, 1961 San Francisco Giants #24 retired Major League Baseball All-Century Team Major League Baseball All-Time Team
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	1979
Vote	94.7% (first ballot)

Willie Howard Mays, Jr. (born May 6, 1931) is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing 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. Most baseball fans and historians agree that Mays was the greatest all-around baseball player to have played in the Major Leagues.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]}

Mays won two MVP awards and tied Stan Musial's record with 24 appearances in the All-Star Game. Mays ended his career with 660 home runs, third at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all-time. An outstanding center fielder, he won a record-tying twelve Gold Gloves starting the year the award was introduced six seasons into his career.^[8]

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 one of five NL players to have eight consecutive 100-RBI seasons, along with Mel Ott, Sammy Sosa, Chipper Jones and Albert Pujols. Mays hit 50 or more home runs in both 1955 and 1965. This time span represents the longest stretch between 50 plus home run seasons for any player in Major League Baseball history.

Ted Williams once said "They invented the All-Star Game for Willie Mays."^[9][10]

Early life[link]

Mays was born in Westfield, Alabama, just outside of Birmingham, Alabama. His father, who was named for president William Howard Taft, was a talented baseball player with the Negro team for the local iron plant.^[11] His mother, Annie Satterwhite, was a gifted basketball and track star in high school.^[12] His parents never married each other.^[12] As a baby he was cared for by his mother's younger sisters Sarah and Ernestine. Sarah became the primary female role model in Mays' life.^[13] His father exposed him to baseball at an early age, and by the age of five he was playing catch with his father.^[14] At age 10, Mays was allowed to sit on the bench of his father's Industrial League games.^[15]

Mays was gifted in multiple sports, averaging a high-for-the-era 17 points a game for the Fairfield Industrial H.S. basketball team, and more than 40 yards a punt in football. He also starred at quarterback. He graduated from Fairfield in 1950.

Early professional career[link]

Negro leagues[link]

Mays' professional baseball career began in 1947, when he was still in high school, when he played briefly with the Chattanooga Choo-Choos in Tennessee during the summer, after school had let out. Shortly thereafter, Mays left the Choo-Choos, returned to his home state, and joined the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League. Mays helped the Black Barons win their pennant and advance to the 1948 Negro League World Series, where they lost 4 games to 1 to the Homestead Grays. Mays hit just .226 for the season, but his excellent fielding and baserunning made him a useful player. However, by playing professionally with the Black Barons, Mays jeopardized his opportunities to play high school sports in Alabama state competition, and this created some problems for him with high school administration at Fairfield, which wanted him on their teams, to sell tickets and help teams win.^[16]

Over the next several years, a number of Major League baseball franchises sent scouts to watch him play. The first was the Boston Braves. The scout who found him, Bud Maughn, referred him to the Braves, but they declined. Had the team taken an interest, the Braves franchise might have had Mays and Hank Aaron together in its outfield from 1954 to 1973. The Brooklyn Dodgers also scouted him, but concluded he could not hit the curve ball. Maughn then tipped a scout for the New York Giants, which signed Mays in 1950 and assigned him to their Class-B affiliate in Trenton, New Jersey.^[17]

Minor leagues[link]

After Mays had a batting average of .353 in Trenton, N.J., he began the 1951 season with the class AAA Minneapolis Millers of the American Association. During his short time span in Minneapolis, Mays played with two other future Hall of Famers, Hoyt Wilhelm and Ray Dandridge. Batting .477 in 35 games and playing excellent defense, Mays was called up to the Giants on May 24, 1951; he appeared in his first major league game the next day in Philadelphia. Mays moved to Harlem, New York, where his mentor was a New York State Boxing Commission official and former Harlem Rens basketball legend Frank "Strangler" Forbes.

Major leagues[link]

New York Giants (1951–57)[link]

Mays began his major league career with no hits in his first twelve at bats. On his thirteenth at bat, he hit a homer over the left field fence of the Polo Grounds off future Hall of Famer Warren Spahn.^[18] Spahn later joked, "I'll never forgive myself. We might have gotten rid of Willie forever if I'd only struck him out." 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' 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 Giants victories.^[19] Mays ended the regular season in the on-deck circle when Bobby Thomson hit the Shot Heard 'Round the World against the Brooklyn Dodgers, to win the three-game playoff by 2 games to 1, after the teams had tied at the end of the regular season.

The Giants went on to meet the New York Yankees in the 1951 World Series. Mays was part of the first all African-American outfield in major league history, along with Hank Thompson and Hall of Famer Monte Irvin in Game One of the 1951 World Series.^[20] Mays hit poorly, while the Giants lost the series four games to two. The six-game set was the only time that Mays and the aging Joe DiMaggio would play on the same field.^[21]

Mays was a popular figure in Harlem. Magazine photographers were fond of chronicling his participation in local stickball games with kids. It was said that in the urban game of hitting a rubber ball with an adapted broomstick handle, Mays could hit a shot that measured "six sewers" (the distance of six consecutive NYC manhole covers, nearly 300 feet).^[22][23]

The United States Army drafted Mays in 1952, and he subsequently missed most of the 1952 season and all of the 1953 season. Despite the Korean War, Mays spent most of his time in the army playing baseball at Fort Eustis, Virginia.^[24] Mays missed about 266 games due to military service.

Mays returned to the Giants in 1954, hitting for a league-leading .345 batting average and 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 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 eighth inning of Game 1. Considered the iconic image of Mays' playing career and one of baseball's most memorable fielding plays,^[25] the catch prevented two Indian runners from scoring, preserving a tie game. The Giants won the game in the 10th inning, with Mays scoring the winning run. The Giants went on to win the 1954 World Series, the New York Giants' last championship. 56 years later, the San Francisco Giants won the World Series in 2010, their first after relocation.

Willie Mays in 1954.

Mays went on to perform at a high level each of the last three years the Giants were in New York. In 1956, he hit 36 homers and stole 40 bases, being only the second player and first National League player to join the "30-30 club". In 1957, the first season the Gold Glove award was presented, he won the first of twelve consecutive Gold Glove Awards. At the same time, Mays continued to finish in the NL's top five in a variety of offensive categories. Mays, Roberto Clemente (also with twelve), Al Kaline, Andruw Jones, and Ken Griffey, Jr. are the only outfielders to have ten or more career Gold Gloves. In 1957, Mays become the fourth player in Major League history to join the 20–20–20 club (2B, 3B, HR), a feat no player had performed since 1941. Mays also stole 38 bases that year, making him only the second player in baseball history (after Frank Schulte in 1911) to reach 20 in each of those four categories (doubles, triples, homers, steals) in the same season.

San Francisco Giants (1958–72)[link]

After the 1957 season, the Giants franchise and Mays relocated to San Francisco, California. Mays bought two homes in San Francisco, then lived in nearby Atherton.^[26][27] 1958 found Mays vying for the NL batting title, down to the final game of the season, just as in 1954. Mays collected three hits in the game, to finish with a career-high .347, but Philadelphia Phillies' Richie Ashburn won the title with a .350 average. In 1959 the Giants led by two games with only eight games to play, but could only win two of their remaining games and finished fourth, as their pitching staff collapsed due to overwork of their top hurlers. The Dodgers won the pennant following a playoff with the Milwaukee Braves.^[28] As he did in New York, Willie Mays would "play around" with kids playing sandlot ball in San Francisco. On three occasions, in 1959 or 1960, he visited Julius Kahn Playground, five blocks from where he lived, once with other Giants (Jim Davenport and Tom Haller).

Alvin Dark was hired to manage the Giants before the start of the 1961 season, and named Mays team captain. The improving Giants finished '61 in third place and won 85 games, more than any of the previous six campaigns. Mays had one of his best games on April 30, 1961, hitting four home runs against the Milwaukee Braves in County Stadium. Mays went 4 for 5 at the plate and was on deck for a chance to hit a record fifth home run when the Giants' half of the ninth inning ended.^[29][30] Mays is the only Major Leaguer to have both a three-triple game and a four-HR game.^[31][32]

The Giants won the National League pennant in 1962, with Mays leading the team in eight offensive categories. The team finished the regular season in a tie for first place with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and went on to win a three-game playoff series versus the Dodgers, advancing to play in the World Series. The Giants lost to the Yankees in seven games, and 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 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 for a 1–0 Giants victory.^[33]

Mays won his second MVP award in 1965 behind a career-high 52 home runs. He also 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 his teammate at the time. After the home run, Spahn greeted Mays in the dugout, asking "Was it anything like the same feeling?" Mays replied "It was exactly the same feeling. Same pitch, too."^[34] On August 22, 1965, Mays and Sandy Koufax acted as peacemakers during a 14-minute brawl between the Giants and Dodgers after San Francisco pitcher Juan Marichal had bloodied Dodgers catcher John Roseboro with a bat.^[35]

Mays played in over 150 games for 13 consecutive years (a major-league record) from 1954 to 1966. In 1966, his last with 100 RBIs, Mays finished third in the NL MVP voting. It was the ninth and final time he finished in the top five in the voting for the award.^[36] In 1970, the Sporting News named Mays as the "Player of the Decade" for the 1960s.

Willie hit career home run No. 600 off San Diego's Mike Corkins in September 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. Mays helped the Giants win the West division title that year, but they lost the NLCS to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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 relationship ever since.

New York Mets (1972–73)[link]

In May 1972, the 41-year-old Mays was traded to the New York Mets for pitcher Charlie Williams and $50,000 ($277,804 today).^[37] 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.^[38]

Mays had remained popular in New York long after the Giants had left for San Francisco, and the trade was seen as a public relations coup for the Mets. Mets owner Joan Whitney Payson, who was a minority shareholder of the Giants when the team was in New York, had long desired to bring Mays back to his baseball roots, and was instrumental in making the trade.^[39] On May 14, 1972, in his Mets debut, Mays put New York ahead to stay with a fifth-inning home run against Don Carrithers and his former team, the Giants, on a rainy Sunday afternoon at Shea Stadium. Then on August 17, 1973, in a game against the Cincinnati Reds with Don Gullett on the mound, Willie hit a fourth inning solo home run over the right center field fence. This was the 660th and last of his illustrious major league career.

Mays played a season and a half with the Mets before retiring, appearing in 133 games. The New York Mets honored him on September 25, 1973, (Willie Mays' Night) where he thanked the New York fans and said good-bye to America. He finished his career in the 1973 World Series, which the Mets lost to the Oakland Athletics in seven games. Mays got the first hit of the Series, but had only seven at-bats (with two hits). He also fell down in the outfield during a play where he was hindered by the glare of the sun and by the hard outfield. Mays later said, "growing old is just a helpless hurt." In 1972 and 1973, Mays was the oldest regular position player in baseball. He became the oldest position player to appear in a World Series game.^[40]

Mays retired after the 1973 season with a lifetime batting average of .302 and 660 home runs. His lifetime total of 7,095 outfield fielding putouts remains the major league record.^[41]

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.

Post-playing days[link]

After Mays stopped playing baseball, he remained an active personality. 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. He remained in the New York Mets organization as their hitting instructor until the end of the 1979 season.^[42] It was there where he taught future Mets' star Lee Mazzilli his famous basket catch.

On January 23, 1979, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He garnered 409 of the 432 ballots cast (roughly 95 percent);^[43] referring to the other 23 voters, acerbic New York Daily News columnist 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?"^[25]

Mays took up golf a few years after his promotion to the major leagues, and quickly became an accomplished player, playing to a handicap of about 4. After he retired, he played golf frequently in the San Francisco area.^[44]

Shortly after his Hall of Fame election, Mays took a job at the Park Place Casino (now Bally's Atlantic City) in Atlantic City, New Jersey. While there, he served as a Special Assistant to the Casino's President and as a greeter; Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle was also a greeter during that time. When Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn heard of this, he suspended both men from involvement in organized baseball for violating the league's rules on gambling. 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. He also serves on the advisory board of the Baseball Assistance Team, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping former Major League, Minor League, and Negro league players through financial and medical difficulties.

In May 2009, Mays gave the commencement address to the graduating class of 2009 at San Francisco State University.

On February 10, 2010, Mays appeared on The Daily Show, discussing his career and a new biography, Willie Mays: The Life, the Legend, by James S. Hirsch.

Special honors, tributes, and recognitions[link]

Willie Mays on September 28, 2008

Willie Mays's number 24 was retired by the San Francisco Giants in 1972.

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.^[45]

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 not only to his birth in the month (May 6), but also to his name (Mays) and jersey number (24). The date is also the anniversary of his call-up to the major leagues.^[46]

AT&T Park is located at 24 Willie Mays Plaza.

On May 24, 2004, during the fifty-year anniversary of The Catch, Mays received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree from Yale University.^[47]

On December 6, 2005, he was recognized for his accomplishments on and off the field when he received the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award.

On July 30, 2006 was the Tee Ball Commissioner at 2006 White House Tee Ball Initiative [2]

On June 10, 2007, Mays received an honorary doctorate from Dartmouth College.

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.^[48]

Mays with President Barack Obama aboard Air Force One, July 14, 2009.

On June 4, 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.^[49]

On May 23, 2009, Mays received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from San Francisco State University.

On July 14, 2009, he accompanied US President Barack Obama to St. Louis aboard Air Force One for the Major League All-Star Game.^[50]

On March 19, 2010 he was inducted into the African-American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame^[51]

On May 6, 2010, on the occasion of his 79th birthday, Mays appeared on the floor of the California State Senate where they proclaimed it Willie Mays Day in the state.

On May 15, 2010, Mays was awarded the MLB Beacon of Life Award at the Civil Rights game at Great American Ballpark.

The band Widespread Panic makes reference to Mays in the song One Arm Steve, from their album 'Til the Medicine Takes.

1956 Willie Mays Major League Negro-American All-Stars Tour[link]

In 1956, Mays got many of Major League Baseball's biggest black stars to go on a tour around the country after the season had ended to play exhibition games. While much of the tour has gone undocumented, one venue the tour made a stop in was Andrews Field,^[52] located in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on October 16. Among the players to play in that game were Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, Hank Aaron, Elston Howard, Monte Irvin, Gene Baker, Charlie Johnson, Sam Jones, Hank Thompson, and Joe Black.

Television appearances[link]

In addition to appearances in baseball documentaries and on talk shows, Mays has appeared in several sitcoms over the years, always as himself. He was in three episodes of The Donna Reed Show: "Play Ball" and "My Son the Catcher" (both 1964) and "Calling Willie Mays" (1966). Also in 1966, he appeared in the "Twitch or Treat" episode of Bewitched, in which Darrin Stephens asks if Mays is a witch, and Samantha Stephens replies, "The way he hits? What else?" In 1989, he appeared in My Two Dads, in the episode "You Love Me, Right?", and in the episode "The Field" of Mr. Belvedere. Additionally, he performed "Say Hey: The Willie Mays Song" on episode 4.46 of The Colgate Comedy Hour in 1954.[3]

Personal life[link]

Mays married Margherite Wendell Chapman (1926–2010) in 1956, and they adopted^[53] Michael, who was born in 1959. The couple divorced in 1962 or 1963, varying by source. In November 1971, Mays married Mae Louise Allen. He was a close friend of teammate Bobby Bonds, and is the godfather of all-time home run leader Barry Bonds.

"Say Hey Kid" and other nicknames[link]

Willie Mays tribute display at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California

It is not clear how Mays became known as the "Say Hey Kid". One story is that in 1951, Barney Kremenko, a writer for the New York Journal, having overheard Mays blurt "'Say who,' 'Say what,' 'Say where,' 'Say hey,'" proceeded to refer to Mays as the 'Say Hey Kid'.^[54]

The other story is that Jimmy Cannon created the nickname because Mays didn't know everybody's names when he first arrived in the minors. "You see a guy, you say, 'Hey, man. Say hey, man,' " Mays said. "Ted [Williams] was the 'Splinter'. Joe [DiMaggio] was 'Joltin' Joe'. Stan [Musial] was 'The Man'. I guess I hit a few home runs, and they said 'There goes the 'Say Hey Kid."^[55]

Years before he became the "Say Hey Kid," when he began his professional career with the Black Barons, Mays was called "Buck" by team mates and fans.^[56] Some Giants players referred to him, their team captain, as "Cap."

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Baseball portal

References and notes[link]

References[link]

• 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

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Willie Mays

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Willie Mays

• Willie Mays at the Baseball Hall of Fame
• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Negro league baseball statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference (Negro leagues)
• Willie Mays article, Encyclopedia of Alabama
• May 1951: Minneapolis Tribune account of Mays' first home game as a Minneapolis Miller
• Willie Mays: Say Hey! – slideshow by Life magazine