CHICAGO — The man deemed by many to be the greatest baseball player to have ever lived, a player more deeply ingrained in San Francisco Giants history than any other, died Tuesday at the age 93, days before his formative club was set to honor him in his hometown.
Willie Mays, “the ‘Say Hey’ Kid,” passed away peacefully, according to the Giants, who announced the news in the fifth inning of their game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, where Mays played more games than any setting besides Candlestick Park and the Polo Grounds.
“My father has passed away peacefully and among loved ones,” said his son, Michael Mays, in a release from the club. “I want to thank you all from the bottom of my broken heart for the unwavering love you have shown him over the years. You have been his life’s blood.”
[ READ MORE: Bob Melvin, Bruce Bochy share their favorite Willie Mays memories ]
Mays, who followed the Giants from New York to San Francisco and played 21 of his 23 major-league seasons for the organization, was inducted into the Hall of Fame the first time he appeared on the ballot in 1979 and has since kept strong ties to the organization, making frequent visits to spring training, Candlestick Park and Oracle Park.
“Today we have lost a true legend,” Giants Chairman Greg Johnson said in a statement. “In the pantheon of baseball greats, Willie Mays’ combination of tremendous talent, keen intellect, showmanship, and boundless joy set him apart. A 24-time All-Star, the Say Hey Kid is the ultimate Forever Giant. He had a profound influence not only on the game of baseball, but on the fabric of America. He was an inspiration and a hero who will be forever remembered and deeply missed.”
Born in Westfield, Alabama, Mays made his professional debut at 16 years old in 1948 for the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League, where he played for three seasons before the Giants purchased his contract in 1950. He went on to win Rookie of the Year in 1951 and Most Valuable Player in 1954 and 1965.
[ READ MORE: Mays forever a Giant, but his roots were in Birmingham ]
Citing his health, Mays said earlier this week that he wasn’t going to be able to make it to Birmingham for the Giants’ game at Rickwood Field but that “Rickwood’s been part of my life for all my life. Since I was a kid.
“It was just ‘around the corner there’ from Fairfield (where Mays grew up), and it felt like it had been there forever. Like a church. The first big thing I ever put my mind to was to play at Rickwood Field. It wasn’t a dream. It was something I was going to do. …
“I’m glad that the Giants, Cardinals and MLB are doing this, letting everyone see pro ball at Rickwood Field. Good to remind people of all the great ball that has been played there, and all the players. All these years and it is still here. So am I. How about that?”
Mays’ 660 home runs ranked third all-time until 2003 when his godson, Barry Bonds, passed him.
Perhaps no one play in the pantheon of baseball is as iconic as Mays’ over-the-shoulder bucket catch in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series.
His power swing, tremendous defense and exuberance for the game inspired countless young fans, including Giants manager and Bay Area native Bob Melvin.
“He probably inspired me to play baseball and like it as much as I did,” Melvin said this week. “I was a huge Willie Mays fan.”
“I fell in love with baseball because of Willie, plain and simple,” added Giants President and Chief Executive Officer Larry Baer in a statement. “My childhood was defined by going to Candlestick with my dad, watching Willie patrol centerfield with grace and the ultimate athleticism. Over the past 30 years, working with Willie and seeing firsthand his zest for life and unbridled passion for giving to young players and kids, has been one of the joys of my life.”
Mays’ legacy spans from coast to coast and everywhere in between.
Living in an apartment building adjacent to the site of the old Polo Grounds, Mays played stickball in the street with neighboring kids before heading over to the ballpark later in the evening, and he can take primary credit for the swath of Giants fans who remain in New York more than half a century since the team moved west.
It would be difficult to find a city and an athlete more closely tied than Mays and San Francisco, but his tenure in the city he would eventually call home for the rest of his life got off to a rocky start when, upon the Giants’ move in 1958, he was denied the house he sought to purchase by a racist zoning policy.
Mays would eventually be allowed to move into the property, and his star power raised attention to the issue. By 1963, California had passed the Rumford Fair Housing Act, and in 1968, discriminatory zoning was outlawed nationwide.
“It all went back to Willie Mays,” said Dr. Harry Edwards, professor emeritus of sociology at UC Berkeley.
His statue now stands in the plaza named after him outside the home plate gate of the Giants’ home park. He has a cable car — No. 24 — dedicated in his honor.
In 2015, he was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor, by President Barack Obama.
Decades earlier, all that mattered to Mays were athletics and academics.
Making his professional debut for the Black Barons at 16 years old in 1948, Mays suited up only on Sundays, when he wasn’t in class. A multi-sport athlete, baseball was Mays’ third-best sport, according to accounts from his youth, helping Fairfield Industrial High School to a football state title and starring on its basketball team.
At Rickwood Field, a short drive from Mays’ childhood home, his passing was announced during the minor-league game between the Birmingham Barons and Montgomery Biscuits that was part of the week’s festivities intended to highlight Mays and the scores of future Hall of Famers who treaded its grounds.
At Wrigley Field, where the Giants were playing when Mays passed, he enjoyed as much success as anywhere else. Playing 179 games here, Mays slugged 57 home runs, 39 doubles and 11 triples while batting .342 with a 1.077 OPS.
His name and image appeared on the outfield scoreboards in the middle of the sixth inning for the final time, and the Wrigley Field public address announcer informed the 36,297 on hand of the news. After a brief moment of silence, a familiar tune began to play over the stadium speakers.
Say hey, say who? Say, Willie, swinging at the plate. Say hey, say who? Say, Willie, that Giants kid is great.
