In my neighborhood we would have daily wiffle ball games involving imaginary teams of current major league players. Your first pick was inevitably Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays. Nothing against The Mick, who I would grow to appreciate later, but I was a Willie guy. I thought he was a better all around ball player and I was certain that he gave 100% every game. He also genuinely seemed like a good guy - someone you could really look up to and never be disappointed.
I celebrated Willie's 89th birthday with a visit through my collection. Here are a few of my favorite items:
My McGregor Willie Mays Model glove with 1960 baseball card.
My rookie season with Maloney Drugs. For good luck I kept a 1967 Mays baseball card tucked into the band behind the 'M" on the inside of my cap all summer.
1964 Auravision picture record. I loved these things. One of the first flexi-disc records, they were printed on cardboard with player bio and stats on the back and a 5 minute interview recording on the front. I think I got mine by sending in two Milk Duds flaps with a quarter taped to them.
45 rpm copy of Say Hey (The Willie Mays Song) by The Treniers from my jukebox.
It's actually a really swinging R & B tune produced and arranged by a very young Quincy Jones! And it features some great dialogue from Willie in the intro. Take a listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UduDreaZq6c
Two older items from when the Giants were still in New York. A Golden Stamp Book and an exhibition card. When I was growing up, there was an old penny arcade in the French Quarter that still had a machine stocked with these cards from the 1950's.
"The Catch"
During Game 1 of the 1954 World Series at Polo Grounds made what is considered to be one of the greatest plays in baseball history. During the 8th inning with the score tied 2-2, Cleveland Indians batter Vic Werz hit a deep fly to center that should have scored the runners on base. However, Mays made an over-the shoulder catch with while running toward the wall, then had the wherewithal to recover, spin, and drill a rocket back to the infield and prevent the runners from advancing. The Giants would go on the win 5 - 2 in extra innings. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vrsg_-dV7Q
I can’t tell you how many times my friends and I reenacted this catch in the back yard. If you didn't lose your cap in the process you did't do it right.
This is the box to my Aurora model of “The Catch” I got in the 1960’s. Unfortunately the model itself didn’t survive my many moves.
A couple of 1960's magazines and a Willie Mays bio I ordered at school from a catalog of "educational" books they sent us home with. I would only order the sports books. Parents couldn't say no to a book.
One of my more unusual finds was this photograph of Willie getting a rub down! It was in a box of snapshots from San Francisco at a flea market. Willie always seemed to have a smile on his face. You could tell how much he loved playing the game.
In 1973 I sent this card to Mr. Mays. He signed it beautifully and returned it in my SASE (that's self addressed stamped envelope) proving my assumption. Willie was a good guy.
