Willie Mays

Hall of Famer Willie Mays is a former Major League baseball player, and one of the best center fielders to ever play the game. He was born in Westfield, Alabama on May 6, 1931. In 1950 he signed with the New York Giants as an amateur free agent. Willie made his major league debut the next year on May 25, 1951.

Mays followed the Giants when they moved to San Francisco in 1958, and continued to excel. Most of his last two seasons, in 1972 and 1973, were spent playing for the New York Mets. Mays finished his career with 660 home runs, currently fourth on the all-time list behind Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, and Babe Ruth. Many experts feel he would have surpassed Babe Ruth's career total before Hank Aaron had he not served in the Army in 1952 and 1953. He led the National League in home runs four times, triples three times, won the Most Valuable Player Award again in 1965, and competed in 24 All-Star Games. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979.

A black man born in severely segregated Alabama in 1931, Mays began his baseball career playing with the Chattanooga Choo-Choos and the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues, before signing with the New York Giants in 1950. Soon, Mays was tearing up the minor leagues, and made his debut with the Giants in 1951, winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award, and competed in the 1951 World Series against the New York Yankees. In 1952 and 1953, Mays was drafted into the U.S. Army and he missed nearly all of both seasons.

Upon his return from service in 1954, Mays wasted no time in establishing himself as the best hitting and fielding centerfielder in the game. He finished his offensive campaign with 41 homers, driving in 110, and hitting .345 with a 119 runs, 13 triples, and 33 doubles for a phenomenal .667 slugging percentage to pick up the N.L. MVP award. After the first half of the season, in which he played in his first of 24 All-star games, the Giant's manager Leo Durocher advised Mays to concentrate on getting base hits for the rest of the season, which gives you a good perspective of Willie's power-hitting capabilities.

In game 1 of the Giant's 1954 World Series victory, he made an over-the-shoulder catch near the warning track at New York's "Polo Grounds field." "The Catch", as it is referred to today, is considered by many to be the best defensive play ever made in World Series play. The entire play sequence involved, happened so fast that the fans didn't completely realize what was going on until the ball had already been thrown back to the infield holding Larry Doby at third, after he had tagged at second.