As a 60 something from Alabama, Willie Mays was my absolute hero from my adolescence to this very day. I met him one day in the early 1980's in Birmingham one day in a business. I just looked at him in silent awe, he looked at me and gave me a nod and a grin. I had gooseflesh. Willie Mays is still the best, Willie is still my hero.
All I can say is that I was fortunate to watch Willie play at candlestick Park. Every year when I was a kid, my dad would take a group of 4Hers to San Francisco.
In the late 1960s, we would leave Portland, OR at 7am for a 7pm game at Candlestick. Driving 12 hours for a chance to see Willie Mays play was well worth it.
In 1957 my dad took me, by New York Central train, from Rochester to NYC. He said he wanted me to see the greatest player I will ever see before he left for the west coast. There ,in the Polo Grounds, I first saw Willie Mays. My dad remains correct. Over the next 63 seasons I’ve never seen anyone as good.
i dont . they make it seem like a guy like trout or bonds couldnt play in there era. its stupid that they try too compare the stats back then they would see the same pitcher for almost all the nine innings less teams pitchers maybe hade 3 pitches.
@@ryukenhondaraiden252 You of course are a moron. Barry Bonds is a cheater. The old time players played for the love of the game. Not for big salaries like today. There was no one like Willie Mays before or since.
7 mvp's…anti probably should have been 12 or 13. .609 OBP one year .863 slugging percentage 73 home runs. another year, 52 stolen bases another year, 8 gold gloves. Who els approaches that level? Babe Ruth only, and he played in an era that was easier to dominate. @@BuckyBrown-lt4ry
Ruth did.2,214 Rbi,2,174 Runs scored,.342 b.a.,.690 slug.%,.474 on base %,714 hrs,In only 2,503 games.Mays had over 3,000 games and only hit.302 with 660 hrs and 1,903 rbi.And since when could Mays pitch?
Mantle was better at their peak....considerably better......Mays was better over his career, because he had a longer career, and a longer period of top production. But May's best year was not as good as Mantle's third best year. The big difference is On Base Percentage. Willie was a more aggressive hitter, and didn't draw as many walks as Mantle
Mantle's career OBP was.420, Willie's was .383. OBP correlates better with run production than any other main stat. Mantle also had the better career Slugging Percentage, which is the second best stat for run production. Willie was a better fielder, but Mantle was a very good center fielder. Mays had a great stolen base percentage, but Mantle's was even better, although he didn't steal quite as many bases. Willie grounded into about twice as many double plays as Mickey. But whatever advantage Willie might have had over Mickey on defense or the base paths, it didn't make up for the disparity in offensive production. Willie was more fun to watch, though....
I hear you but instead of wishing that we were older, instead let’s just be thankful that we’ve been fortunate enough that our lives have overlapped with willies time on earth. We know old people’s stories that saw him play and we’ll be able to pass on those stories to the next generations, for me, at least 100 years after he played eventually
I was lucky enough to grow up in his neighborhood in Florida. My Dad was absolutely in AWE of him and told me he was the best ever. Being a little kid, it didn't really register I lived in the same street as a legend. All I remember is how incredibly kind he was.
I was born in 1960 a little too late but still got to follow Willie's career in the daily box scores after school..First thing I would do when I got off the bus,run straight to the paper box,grab the sports page & my after school snack then open up to the box scores to see what Willie did the night before..My favorite player of all time..
It was 1955. I was 11 years old. I was a Yankee fan, Mickey Mantle my favorite, how could it be otherwise, but was acutely aware of both Brooklyn’s Duke Snider and the Giants Willie Mays. I identified with both Mickey and Willie, as I played both shortstop and centerfield. Mays had become famous for his 1954 catch against the Cleveland Indians Vic Wertz in game 1 of the 1954 World Series. In the Spring of 1955, our 5th grade teacher took our class in a school bus to the Polo Grounds to watch the Giants play the St. Louis Cardinals, whose Hall-of-Fame first baseman, Stan Musial was still playing. We arrived an hour before the game and were seated on the third base side while the Giants were still taking batting practice. Mays was positioned in the outfield with some of his teammates leisurely catching fungoes hit by a Giants coach. He was standing in deep centerfield next to a teammate when the Giants coach hit one high in the air. Mays heard the distinctive sound and gave a momentary glance to the ball’s trajectory. He returned his gaze to his Giant’s teammate and simultaneously took three horizontal steps to the right, still engaging his teammate in conversation. Seconds passed. Then Mays took another momentary glance at the descending ball, put his hands behind his back, bent over and caught the ball in a reverse basket catch behind his back. I was stunned. The visual/mental computer in his brain had calculated precisely where the ball was going to land within fractions of a second of its launch. It was almost magical, and I recognized, perhaps for the first time, that there are rare gifts some people possess who we, mere mortals, do not. One can only marvel at those that have been so blessed.
I lived in central California from 1963 to 1971. Willie Mays was 32 to 40 during those years. I never saw a better player..and I've been a huge baseball fan for 60 years. He made everything look so smooth and easy.
Don’t forget almost two full seasons away for service in the Army, alongside a career at Candlestick, as two major factors that decreased Willie’s career stats.
I don't think there is any other hitter that could change his swing the way Willie MAYS did at Candlestick to hit to right centerfield to let the wind carry the ball out of the park! AMAYSING!
Polo grounds was a good hitter's park.....very short foul lines, sat on a hill (which gives the ball carry), and little foul territory, so you don't foul out much. @@michelemcdaniel6032
If Willie Mays is your uncle you should be proud.... In my eyes he was the greatest and I have idolized him most of my life. The players of this day and age don't even come close... YOUR UNCLE WAS THE BEST...
after all these years. I still smile, ear to ear, when watching highlights of Willie's career. I was 11 yrs old when they moved away from NY. Stayed as a Giant fan until he left SF. Greatest player of my generation.
Vic Lessinger aww! When i was 11, mcguire and sosa were in their home run race. Now that im older i dont look back fondly because i know they were both cheating via suitcases full of steroids.
I was a seven year old growing up in the Bay Area, listening on KSFO radio July 2, 1963, the night Willie ended a 0-O pitching gem by homering off Warren Spahn in the bottom of the 16th inning. (That was Spahn’s 263rd pitch of the night...if you’re curious.) No man in ML history has done that-hit at least one HR in extra innings, 10th thru the 16th. A tribute to his longevity and unmatched talent. Happy 87, Willie! If my votes registers anywhere, you’re the best to ever do it.
Being from Denver Colorado, I watched Barry Bonds play a zillion times. He hit home runs on the regular. I always wondered if Willie played for the Rockies, he may have downed low flying aircraft 😂
If Hank played in the Polo Grounds instead of Milwaukee, which was a very difficult home run park (Hank hit more homers the road than at home for the years he played there), it would have evened out. Willie hit about the same number of homers on the road as he did at home during his Candlestick years.
My father took me to the Polo grounds twice. Once to see Willie, and once to see Sandy Koufax. I was a Yankee fan, dad was not. When talking about another player, he would always say “he’s a good player, but he’s not Willie.” I went with two buddies, fast forwarding to Willie’s first game as a Met. It was on Mother’s Day, a bit drizzly, but an electric crowd. If I remember correctly, he walked and scored first time up, struck out second time, third time up hits a home run and Shea went crazy. Still an unforgettable day for me. God bless the great Willie Mays.
I love the game presently, I love the game's past. I'm a National League "boy" through and through from New York. My wife's grandfather who is still with us grew up a Yankee fan. He saw the great ones from the 30's on up. He caddied for Babe Ruth in the late 30's or early 40's in Queens, New York two times as a working teen. He's always told me that Mays was the greatest he saw. To me that's good enough. Mays is always my answer to the greatest all-around player to ever play the game.
Willie broke my father's heart in '54. Talking about that WS years later, my dad, a lifelong Cleveland fan, would always speak in awe about Willie. There was no one who didn't respect him, teammate or opponent. Best there ever was.
I'm 64 grew up in have de grace MD a orioles fan my hero Brooks Robinson ,but the greatest of all Willie may's hands down thanks Willie you were the best.
I used to marvel at the opportunity to see Willie on TV Saturday afternoon. Everything he did and all of his mannerisms including how he would address the pitcher when he stepped into the batters box were the trademarks that he emblazoned upon the game. He was beyond a doubt the most feared hitter that all pitchers knew and thought of. Willie Mays will always in my mind be unparralelled in any era of our nations passtime. Long Live the Great One. Long Live Willie Mays.
Willie MAYS came up in 1951... I was 11 years old....never saw anyone better! Every year since,each outfielder (centerfielder) that came to the majors was the NEXT WILLIE MAYS ! There will never be another WILLIE MAYS!
Jimmy Ray Hart said hitting behind Mays was dangerous. After Mays homered off of Bob Gibson, Gibson would invariably and intentionally bean Hart in retaliation.
I can't even imagine Baseball without Willie. My favorite player, the best of all. One guy told me that AROD was the best player, I told him, Arod is on the bench and might get an at bat here and there.
Saw him in the outfield directing the position of the other two outfielders. They weren't taking direction from their coaches. They were taking it from Mays. He may or may not be the greatest player but he is definitely the smartest.
simply he was the best all around ballplayer of all time. and a great athlete,tremendous inspiration to untold millions of young people, a great credit to the game, and american life....
Was Henry Aaron a cheat? He admitted to using "greenies" in the 70s (amphetamines). Maybe Willie did, too. Lots of players joked about using them back then. It was not considered a big deal. Babe Ruth drank alcohol during prohibition. There was no clear rule against PED use until 2003. Just vague talk about "illegal substances", and they were legal in the Dominican Republic, where all kinds of top players were coming from. Jose Canseco said 80% of the players were using steroids. A certain mets pitcher said 90%….and that the pitchers were using them at a higher rate than the hitters….Teams subtly encouraged their use. Tommy John said the Yankees would not consider him for the following season when he got old unless he "gain 30 pounds of muscle in the offseason!" Bonds won three MVPs WITHOUT steroids, when everyone else was using them! Willie only won two MVPs…although he probably should have won one in 1962, instead of Maury Wills…
I watched Mays play growing up. He was my hero. I kept a scrapbook on him., watched him play on TV many times. He moved differently than any other player.... even the way he walked. He swung so hard some times that if he missed the ball the momentum of the bat would almost knock him off his feet and drag him around so he'd be facing the crowd behind the plate. Elegant in the outfield. The greatest ever,
Let's not forget wen that catch was made he was almost 500 feet away from home plate his throwback to Second base was perfect one-hop. Amazing and unbelievable to this day
For me, watching Willie Mays was like Richie Cunningham looking up to "The Fonz". He just had that kind of impact on me as a baseball fan. One of my biggest thrills was watching WIllie play against the Montreal Expos on July 1, 1972 at Jarry Park in Montreal. Sometimes, it is GOOD to be old!
Willie Mays got the first hit of the 1973 World Series. He also drove in the go ahead run for the Mets in Game 2....and later scored an additional run in that same inning. Days before, Willie singled and drove in a run against the Cincinnati Reds in Game 5 of the NLCS. He also caught a fly ball in CF.
I grew up watching the greatest baseball players of the 1960s : Mays, Mantle and Frank Robinson. There hasn't been anybody anywhere close to these guys since.
djf750 Mike Trout? Not too bad, huh? Isn’t it amazing that he plays in LA, but he’s SO underrated? He needs the publicity, because he’s one of the best players ever.
Funny how the portrayal of Willie's years with the Mets differs from my youthful recollection. I was so happy we had him that I probably ignored his declining skills. The late 60's and early 70's were a great time to become a baseball fan. I caught some of the all-time greats on their way out-- Banks, Aaron, Mays, McCovey, Frank Robinson, Killebrew, Billy Williams, Kaline and on and on.
lived in NY from 73 to 76... Willie was the best, played with the great Tug, and Jackson, and he still talks about these games like yesterday. Love Willie, 89 yrs old. Oh my gosh, what a time.
At 66 years old and he has been and still is my hero. From the first time I seen him on television at 9 years old until I met him in person in 1996 in Balley's casino where I was a electrician. The biggest thrill in my life. Willie Mays is and always will be the best that ever played the game. I walked and talked with him and shook his hand, the only thing I asked for was to hear him say....Say Hey, witch he did happily. The biggest hand I have ever seen.
I'm 64 and from San Francisco and Willie was my childhood hero. Willie would be well over 720 Homer's if he didn't play in homerun eating barns like Candlestick and lose 2 years to the Army.
A little bit of Willie Mays lore...for most San Franciscans...listening to Lon Simmons on the radio while at work was how we checked out the Giants. I am not sure you can say the following about any other outfielder that ever played the game...but...when Lon Simmons said there was a drive into center...there was no longer any doubt about that ball being caught because the greatest centerfielder on this planet or on any planet was soon tapping his glove and that was that....
Willie Mays is the greatest baseball player of all time. Sometimes overlooked is his throwing arm, Ted Williams is quoted as saying "Willie Mays has the greatest throwing arm I have ever seen".
@@brianf481 The hell you say.He did not even finish first in one offensive category.The best players are the ones who break the most records.You GTHOH!
I was at Wrigley Field when I first saw Willie Mays. The Cubs' Tony Taylor was on first when Dale Long hit a line drive to center field. The ball was heading for the ivy on the top of the brick wall when Willie ran at the wall, jumped up onto that wall, stuck his spikes into the ivy and launched himself into the air. He grabbed the ball and turned while in the air, landed on one foot and fired the ball to first base where he doubled off Tony Taylor. The ball never bounced but hit the first baseman's glove like a rocket. The crowd was stunned and a great silence hung over the ball park. When Willie stepped into the batter's box he launched a bomb that sailed over the wall and was lost on the street. I've never seen anyone like him. You can promote Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Ken Griffey Jr. or anyone else as the greatest outfielder. The man was the best ballplayer of all time. Period.
As much a fan of Ted Williams as I am, Willie Mays is the best I ever saw play. I was a centerfielder when I played baseball and I tried...and failed miserably...to play like Willie out there.
Here's a picture of the catch you are talking about, I think. Great catch, but it looks like he didn't put his foot on the wall, since there is no ivy in the place where he catches the ball…..www.pinterest.com/pin/548242954610978115/?lp=true
That kid from Baltimore who played mostly for the Sox and Yanks was pretty good, too. When he retired early in the 1935 season, his 714 career home runs more than doubled Lou Gehrig at #2. He also won 23 or more games twice as a pitcher and set World Series records as both hitter and pitcher. He dominated his era as no player ever has.
@Devan McClaine Ruth retired in early May of that year, about a quarter way through the season....Gehrig would have had about 355 homers at that time...just a a couple of homers less than half of Ruth...Gotcha! LOL. Gehrig only played 149 games that year, yet we know he didn't miss a game...I wonder what happened to those missing five games?
almost every great player of willie's era said he is the best they ever saw, mantle, dimaggio, durocher to name three. willie could play every facet of the game at the very highest level, you simple can't argue with that.
Beelzebub, he didn't "barely hit .300", he did it 10 times, led the league, it dropped off in later years. he played in a pitchers era and in probably one of the hardest stadiums to hit in. you put will him in fenway and he hits 800 home runs you dolt.
@@treygray2817 You're delusional ASF if you really believe that... Griffey 630 Homeruns and clearly the most gifted player of his Generation. Just cut da DUMBSHIT !!!
The greatest ever. No question.. No doubt. He did things based on supreme instinct. He was not of this earth. A great and humble human being.. I got to see him live! Ball players when I was a boy in the 60's were a class above
As a kid in little league ,I used to try to make those basket catches all the time. They switched me to shortstop. Giants left the Polo Grounds for SF when I was young. Today you can watch every team ,any night from anywhere, Back then I had to wait till the Giants came to Shea to see Willie . No ESPN, No Sportscenter, - was lucky if we got a game of the week once in awhile. Mays.Was.The.Greatest. (and Im a dyed in the wool-Micky Mantle /Yankee fan )
At the end, with the Mets, I saw him play. I watched him closely but it was more than him. He was like a portal to all the greatest of the greats. He not only represented himself but all the greats. That's how I felt about it.
Met him McIver a main in Stockton CA He used my glove to play catcher signed it Life is filled with memories I will always thank them for that one Who knows where my glove is now
@@chiefleapinglizard7502 Yep... l also heard of Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Barry Bonds and Mays standout over the others. I'm sure you know what is said about opinions...
Happy 90th Birthday Mr. Mays! Greatest player anybody living and not blind has ever seen, footage included!
Can’t believe he’s still alive
Happy 93rd birthday to Willie Mays.
As a 60 something from Alabama, Willie Mays was my absolute hero from my adolescence to this very day. I met him one day in the early 1980's in Birmingham one day in a business. I just looked at him in silent awe, he looked at me and gave me a nod and a grin. I had gooseflesh. Willie Mays is still the best, Willie is still my hero.
As a kid, when Willie had a good day, I had a good day. And when Willie had a bad day, I had a bad day.
no kidding he was real he just rode the perfect wave of life.talented and a unique AMERICAN ICON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I still have his Giants baseball card
😲 wow a white person from Alabama liking a black athlete? Unbelievable..
@@tvworks3861 that's gotta be worth a lot of money.
Willie Mays was my boyhood sports idol. I am 69 years old.
All I can say is that I was fortunate to watch Willie play at candlestick Park. Every year when I was a kid, my dad would take a group of 4Hers to San Francisco.
In the late 1960s, we would leave Portland, OR at 7am for a 7pm game at Candlestick. Driving 12 hours for a chance to see Willie Mays play was well worth it.
man is that ever dedication.I think Mays hitting 52 in'65 is more impressive than Ruth's or Maris's records.
In 1957 my dad took me, by New York Central train, from Rochester to NYC. He said he wanted me to see the greatest player I will ever see before he left for the west coast.
There ,in the Polo Grounds, I first saw Willie Mays.
My dad remains correct. Over the next 63 seasons I’ve never seen anyone as good.
I seen Willie mays at Shea
Stadium in the summer of
1968. He hit a home n
Made a shoe string catch
Seeing is believing
I like listening to old timers talk about old time baseball, they all put extra juice into their stories...
LOVE IT!!! 😂
i dont . they make it seem like a guy like trout or bonds couldnt play in there era. its stupid that they try too compare the stats back then they would see the same pitcher for almost all the nine innings less teams pitchers maybe hade 3 pitches.
@@ryukenhondaraiden252 You of course are a moron. Barry Bonds is a cheater. The old time players played for the love of the game. Not for big salaries like today. There was no one like Willie Mays before or since.
Willy's skills was so impeccable he made the game look so easy
I am a baseball fanatic St Louis on 56 years old Mr Willie Mays make me proud to be a black man
Ted Williams: "If there was someone born to play baseball, it was Willie Mays."
I love Ted BUT Willie Mays was the Greatest Baseball player ever!!!!
No, it was Babe Ruth, or Barry Bonds. Mays does not approach them.
@@joemarshall4226 Bonds? Get real.
7 mvp's…anti probably should have been 12 or 13. .609 OBP one year .863 slugging percentage 73 home runs. another year, 52 stolen bases another year, 8 gold gloves. Who els approaches that level? Babe Ruth only, and he played in an era that was easier to dominate.
@@BuckyBrown-lt4ry
Jackie🙃😇
My dad grew up watching Willie Mays play live. He even went to the 1962 World Series!!! For me Willie Mays is the greatest baseballer ever
OMG I saw so many of Mays games. He was unbelievable. He could do anything out there.
Williie Mays is the best baseball player period. Throw, hit, run, catch. No one did it better
Matt VanGundy Barry Bonds did...
Yeah but Bonds was juiced.
Ruth did.2,214 Rbi,2,174 Runs scored,.342 b.a.,.690 slug.%,.474 on base %,714 hrs,In only 2,503 games.Mays had over 3,000 games and only hit.302 with 660 hrs and 1,903 rbi.And since when could Mays pitch?
Mantle was better at their peak....considerably better......Mays was better over his career, because he had a longer career, and a longer period of top production. But May's best year was not as good as Mantle's third best year. The big difference is On Base Percentage. Willie was a more aggressive hitter, and didn't draw as many walks as Mantle
Mantle's career OBP was.420, Willie's was .383. OBP correlates better with run production than any other main stat. Mantle also had the better career Slugging Percentage, which is the second best stat for run production. Willie was a better fielder, but Mantle was a very good center fielder. Mays had a great stolen base percentage, but Mantle's was even better, although he didn't steal quite as many bases. Willie grounded into about twice as many double plays as Mickey. But whatever advantage Willie might have had over Mickey on defense or the base paths, it didn't make up for the disparity in offensive production. Willie was more fun to watch, though....
I remember my first time to a major league park, Candlestick in 1968. I was watching Mays the whole time.
My hero. There isn't a day that goes by where I wish I was old enough to see this true living legend play
MANCHESTER UNITED Uh...congratulations?
@MANCHESTER UNITED "important sport" is about as logical as a concept as "reality tv"
@MANCHESTER UNITED why are you here?
I hear you but instead of wishing that we were older, instead let’s just be thankful that we’ve been fortunate enough that our lives have overlapped with willies time on earth. We know old people’s stories that saw him play and we’ll be able to pass on those stories to the next generations, for me, at least 100 years after he played eventually
Don't worry I've seen him play and I consider him to be the best all around Baseball player of all time!
Happy Happy Birthday to the Say Hey Kid! You were the greatest!
I met Willie in the 70's When he played with the Mets at Wriggley Field in Chiargo What a great guy to talk to really liked talking to his Fans etc.
I was lucky enough to grow up in his neighborhood in Florida. My Dad was absolutely in AWE of him and told me he was the best ever. Being a little kid, it didn't really register I lived in the same street as a legend. All I remember is how incredibly kind he was.
As a dominican there should be a lot more of us watching this legend
I was born in 1960 a little too late but still got to follow Willie's career in the daily box scores after school..First thing I would do when I got off the bus,run straight to the paper box,grab the sports page & my after school snack then open up to the box scores to see what Willie did the night before..My favorite player of all time..
It was 1955. I was 11 years old. I was a Yankee fan, Mickey Mantle my favorite, how could it be otherwise, but was acutely aware of both Brooklyn’s Duke Snider and the Giants Willie Mays. I identified with both Mickey and Willie, as I played both shortstop and centerfield. Mays had become famous for his 1954 catch against the Cleveland Indians Vic Wertz in game 1 of the 1954 World Series. In the Spring of 1955, our 5th grade teacher took our class in a school bus to the Polo Grounds to watch the Giants play the St. Louis Cardinals, whose Hall-of-Fame first baseman, Stan Musial was still playing. We arrived an hour before the game and were seated on the third base side while the Giants were still taking batting practice. Mays was positioned in the outfield with some of his teammates leisurely catching fungoes hit by a Giants coach. He was standing in deep centerfield next to a teammate when the Giants coach hit one high in the air. Mays heard the distinctive sound and gave a momentary glance to the ball’s trajectory. He returned his gaze to his Giant’s teammate and simultaneously took three horizontal steps to the right, still engaging his teammate in conversation. Seconds passed. Then Mays took another momentary glance at the descending ball, put his hands behind his back, bent over and caught the ball in a reverse basket catch behind his back. I was stunned. The visual/mental computer in his brain had calculated precisely where the ball was going to land within fractions of a second of its launch. It was almost magical, and I recognized, perhaps for the first time, that there are rare gifts some people possess who we, mere mortals, do not. One can only marvel at those that have been so blessed.
P
Happy 90th Birthday, Mr. Mays!
WE LOVE YOU, WILLIE!!!!!!
Is he gonna live forever
No question..... The most complete player to ever play the game
Townes van zandt
I lived in central California from 1963 to 1971. Willie Mays was 32 to 40 during those years. I never saw a better player..and I've been a huge baseball fan for 60 years. He made everything look so smooth and easy.
Don’t forget almost two full seasons away for service in the Army, alongside a career at Candlestick, as two major factors that decreased Willie’s career stats.
I don't think there is any other hitter that could change his swing the way Willie MAYS did at Candlestick to hit to right centerfield to let the wind carry the ball out of the park! AMAYSING!
The polo grounds where he started was worse than candlestick
Polo grounds was a good hitter's park.....very short foul lines, sat on a hill (which gives the ball carry), and little foul territory, so you don't foul out much. @@michelemcdaniel6032
He's my Uncle 🙂🙃😆😁And I'm Proud
If Willie Mays is your uncle you should be proud.... In my eyes he was the greatest and I have idolized him most of my life. The players of this day and age don't even come close... YOUR UNCLE WAS THE BEST...
Thank you! He's pretty close actually he's my pop- pop's/Grandpa's Brother🙂
Your very nice and sweet thx for the support,😉😁
You are very welcome for your appreciation, I was just looking at these comments, nothing but love and admiration, wow! I wish I knew him.
Everything is Jadyn your uncle is a national treasure!
When Willie hit 4 Home Runs in one game he was on deck when Jim Davenport grounded out for the game ending out.
If you don’t love this game, you just don’t understand.
Willie was the MAN !!! Still is one of the greatest. ❤️
He wasn't just a great player: he was a great entertainer.
My Dad being from Birmingham and then coming to NY,Willie was his favorite player and I wanted to play like him
after all these years. I still smile, ear to ear, when watching highlights of Willie's career. I was 11 yrs old when they moved away from NY. Stayed as a Giant fan until he left SF. Greatest player of my generation.
Vic Lessinger aww! When i was 11, mcguire and sosa were in their home run race. Now that im older i dont look back fondly because i know they were both cheating via suitcases full of steroids.
I hope you're a met fan now
He sure was!
If Koufax says Willie best, he is the best player.
Joe S That's because he never faced Bonds!
Jo Bckts Or Cobb.
If Stats Guru Bill James says Willie was the best, fine. But he says Babe Ruth.
@@AHMAD-2324 Oh yes we can't forget the Steroid freak that cheated, LOL!
@@AHMAD-2324 LMAO
I was a seven year old growing up in the Bay Area, listening on KSFO radio July 2, 1963, the night Willie ended a 0-O pitching gem by homering off Warren Spahn in the bottom of the 16th inning. (That was Spahn’s 263rd pitch of the night...if you’re curious.) No man in ML history has done that-hit at least one HR in extra innings, 10th thru the 16th. A tribute to his longevity and unmatched talent. Happy 87, Willie! If my votes registers anywhere, you’re the best to ever do it.
Willie Mays was the best ballplayer I ever saw.
If he'd of hit in Atlanta where Henry Aaron hit, he'd of had 1000 home runs!!
Jack Vanderpool Amen! Amaysing. MAYS! My favorite player since 1951!GREATEST. EVER !
AMEN!
If he been lefty like ruth he'd have hit 1000 homeruns.
Being from Denver Colorado, I watched Barry Bonds play a zillion times. He hit home runs on the regular. I always wondered if Willie played for the Rockies, he may have downed low flying aircraft 😂
If Hank played in the Polo Grounds instead of Milwaukee, which was a very difficult home run park (Hank hit more homers the road than at home for the years he played there), it would have evened out. Willie hit about the same number of homers on the road as he did at home during his Candlestick years.
My father took me to the Polo grounds twice. Once to see Willie, and once to see Sandy Koufax. I was a Yankee fan, dad was not. When talking about another player, he would always say “he’s a good player, but he’s not Willie.” I went with two buddies, fast forwarding to Willie’s first game as a Met. It was on Mother’s Day, a bit drizzly, but an electric crowd. If I remember correctly, he walked and scored first time up, struck out second time, third time up hits a home run and Shea went crazy. Still an unforgettable day for me. God bless the great Willie Mays.
I love the game presently, I love the game's past. I'm a National League "boy" through and through from New York. My wife's grandfather who is still with us grew up a Yankee fan. He saw the great ones from the 30's on up. He caddied for Babe Ruth in the late 30's or early 40's in Queens, New York two times as a working teen. He's always told me that Mays was the greatest he saw. To me that's good enough. Mays is always my answer to the greatest all-around player to ever play the game.
September 16, 2018: Willie, you played the game with heart.....fantastic!
Willie broke my father's heart in '54. Talking about that WS years later, my dad, a lifelong Cleveland fan, would always speak in awe about Willie. There was no one who didn't respect him, teammate or opponent. Best there ever was.
Baseball is my passion, Willie Mays my hero - thanks for this excellent video!
I'm 64 grew up in have de grace MD a orioles fan my hero Brooks Robinson ,but the greatest of all Willie may's hands down thanks Willie you were the best.
I used to marvel at the opportunity to see Willie on TV Saturday afternoon. Everything he did and all of his mannerisms including how he would address the pitcher when he stepped into the batters box were the trademarks that he emblazoned upon the game. He was beyond a doubt the most feared hitter that all pitchers knew and thought of. Willie Mays will always in my mind be unparralelled in any era of our nations passtime. Long Live the Great One. Long Live Willie Mays.
Willie MAYS came up in 1951... I was 11 years old....never saw anyone better! Every year since,each outfielder (centerfielder) that came to the majors was the NEXT WILLIE MAYS ! There will never be another WILLIE MAYS!
Jimmy Ray Hart said hitting behind Mays was dangerous. After Mays homered off of Bob Gibson, Gibson would invariably and intentionally bean Hart in retaliation.
I can't even imagine Baseball without Willie. My favorite player, the best of all. One guy told me that AROD was the best player, I told him, Arod is on the bench and might get an at bat here and there.
A-Rod was a gold-glove shortstop who put up offensive numbers that rivalled Willie's. That's what made him unique.
Saw him in the outfield directing the position of the other two outfielders. They weren't taking direction from their coaches. They were taking it from Mays. He may or may not be the greatest player but he is definitely the smartest.
The intros to these Sports Century videos gives me chills before the damn thing actually starts!
simply he was the best all around ballplayer of all time. and a great athlete,tremendous inspiration to untold millions of young people, a great credit to the game, and american life....
Please don't put Bonds in the same sentence with Wille.
Bonds is a cheat and a phony, an embarrassment to baseball.
Ahmad2423...If you mean by being selfish, I agree.
You're right. Bonds was a MUCH better player, and his godfather, Willie, would tell you so…..
Was Henry Aaron a cheat? He admitted to using "greenies" in the 70s (amphetamines). Maybe Willie did, too. Lots of players joked about using them back then. It was not considered a big deal. Babe Ruth drank alcohol during prohibition. There was no clear rule against PED use until 2003. Just vague talk about "illegal substances", and they were legal in the Dominican Republic, where all kinds of top players were coming from. Jose Canseco said 80% of the players were using steroids. A certain mets pitcher said 90%….and that the pitchers were using them at a higher rate than the hitters….Teams subtly encouraged their use. Tommy John said the Yankees would not consider him for the following season when he got old unless he "gain 30 pounds of muscle in the offseason!" Bonds won three MVPs WITHOUT steroids, when everyone else was using them! Willie only won two MVPs…although he probably should have won one in 1962, instead of Maury Wills…
I watched Mays play growing up. He was my hero. I kept a scrapbook on him., watched him play on TV many times. He moved differently than any other player.... even the way he walked. He swung so hard some times that if he missed the ball the momentum of the bat would almost knock him off his feet and drag him around so he'd be facing the crowd behind the plate. Elegant in the outfield. The greatest ever,
Say Hey Kid..What a Man indeed...👍👍👏👏🇺🇸🙏🇺🇸
I remember watching him play on TV at the end of his career. Even then, nearing 40, he was the best player on the field.
Let's not forget wen that catch was made he was almost 500 feet away from home plate his throwback to Second base was perfect one-hop. Amazing and unbelievable to this day
He was the best..... most incredible player that I ever saw......
For me, watching Willie Mays was like Richie Cunningham looking up to "The Fonz". He just had that kind of impact on me as a baseball fan. One of my biggest thrills was watching WIllie play against the Montreal Expos on July 1, 1972 at Jarry Park in Montreal. Sometimes, it is GOOD to be old!
Willie Mays got the first hit of the 1973 World Series. He also drove in the go ahead run for the Mets in Game 2....and later scored an additional run in that same inning.
Days before, Willie singled and drove in a run against the Cincinnati Reds in Game 5 of the NLCS. He also caught a fly ball in CF.
Amazing watch we love you Willie Mays...✌️🤗👍⚾🇺🇸🗽💪...
THANK YOU MR.MAYS FOR YOUR STORY OF STRENGTH AND COURAGE DURING TRYING TIMES.
As a kid, he made the hair stand up on my neck........greatest of all time..? I don't know but god, he was right up there with the greats.
Willie, happy belated 93rd birthday. The greatest all-around player in baseball history. He could hit, hit for power, run, filed and throw.
I love when Johnny Roseboro said “Watch him take off like a big ass bird from first base” lol makes it even funnier because he wasn’t joking
Happy Happy 90th Birthday Willie Mays! You were one of the best who ever played the game! God Bless You!!!
Robinson Cano should take #24 off and give Willie Mays back to New York
I grew up watching the greatest baseball players of the 1960s : Mays, Mantle and Frank Robinson. There hasn't been anybody anywhere close to these guys since.
@Doug Haak I grew up then too but have you ever heard the name Mike Trout?
djf750 Mike Trout? Not too bad, huh? Isn’t it amazing that he plays in LA, but he’s SO underrated? He needs the publicity, because he’s one of the best players ever.
@@RobJazzful he's actually down in Anaheim (Orange County) with the ALWAYS mediocre LA Angels of Anaheim so he doesn't get the publicity he deserves
Hank Aaron was better than Frank Robinson and at the very least Mantle's equal.
@@djf750 lol gtfoh
Happy 89th Birthday to The aMays'n "Say Hey Kid" also known as "WILLIE HOWARD"... He could RUN, CATCH, THROW, HIT FOR AVERAGE & HIT FOR POWER!!!!!
And with good reason. He is the greatest baseball player of all-time.
Willie Mays IS the greatest baseball player of all time.
Mays by himself no cheating just saying the obvious... moral character got to count for something.
Edward Brito Supposedly Mays liked to use amphetamines.
NkrumahTure I'll have to go wit Bonds...
NkrumahTure micky mantle
I think mays and ken Griffey jr are the best baseball players of all time!
Greatest all-around ballplayer of all time, hands down. According to this film, Dimaggio, Williams, and Koufax all agree. Take their word for it.
Funny how the portrayal of Willie's years with the Mets differs from my youthful recollection. I was so happy we had him that I probably ignored his declining skills. The late 60's and early 70's were a great time to become a baseball fan. I caught some of the all-time greats on their way out-- Banks, Aaron, Mays, McCovey, Frank Robinson, Killebrew, Billy Williams, Kaline and on and on.
William Taylor as a lifelong Dodger fan and total loather of the Giants I have to give Mays his due.
ESPN did a great job with this Sports Century series
lived in NY from 73 to 76... Willie was the best, played with the great Tug, and Jackson, and he still talks about these games like yesterday. Love Willie, 89 yrs old. Oh my gosh, what a time.
At 66 years old and he has been and still is my hero. From the first time I seen him on television at 9 years old until I met him in person in 1996 in Balley's casino where I was a electrician. The biggest thrill in my life. Willie Mays is and always will be the best that ever played the game. I walked and talked with him and shook his hand, the only thing I asked for was to hear him say....Say Hey, witch he did happily. The biggest hand I have ever seen.
Hands down, the greatest of all time!
I'm 64 and from San Francisco and Willie was my childhood hero. Willie would be well over 720 Homer's if he didn't play in homerun eating barns like Candlestick and lose 2 years to the Army.
And the most Under rated greatest that ever lived!! Stops smiles Signed autos in front of his building, always smiling ..God Bless You Mr Mays
A little bit of Willie Mays lore...for most San Franciscans...listening to Lon Simmons on the radio while at work was how we checked out the Giants. I am not sure you can say the following about any other outfielder that ever played the game...but...when Lon Simmons said there was a drive into center...there was no longer any doubt about that ball being caught because the greatest centerfielder on this planet or on any planet was soon tapping his glove and that was that....
Willie would be my first pick on any team/god bless you Mr Mays....
Went to Willie Mays night in 1973 at Shea. He was a ten year old boys hero.
This is what makes baseball the greatest sport of all time. Comments can be totally different opinions and at the same time both be right.
I am so glad I got to see him play in the last years of his career and not just in newsreels!
NY Mets
Willie Mays is the greatest baseball player of all time. Sometimes overlooked is his throwing arm, Ted Williams is quoted as saying "Willie Mays has the greatest throwing arm I have ever seen".
Actually, Joe DiMaggio said that about Mays, and Joe D surely knew centerfield.
Third best
Ruth is the best.Mays did not break one record,or finish first in any category(offensive) his entire 22 year career.
@@nibiruplanetx784 you don't have to break any records to be considered the best. guy. gthoh
@@brianf481 The hell you say.He did not even finish first in one offensive category.The best players are the ones who break the most records.You GTHOH!
Willie Mays Greatest player of all time!
You may be right..Under pressure on top of it..He was a great man.
Definitely top 5. He did use greenies most likely. Everyone in 60s did. So the argument with bonds taking steroids... well mays had amphetamines
A Baller No chance
@@Thefvkingoat Only Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds can make the case they greatest of all time.
James Avant yeah
I was at Wrigley Field when I first saw Willie Mays. The Cubs' Tony Taylor was on first when Dale Long hit a line drive to center field. The ball was heading for the ivy on the top of the brick wall when Willie ran at the wall, jumped up onto that wall, stuck his spikes into the ivy and launched himself into the air. He grabbed the ball and turned while in the air, landed on one foot and fired the ball to first base where he doubled off Tony Taylor. The ball never bounced but hit the first baseman's glove like a rocket. The crowd was stunned and a great silence hung over the ball park. When Willie stepped into the batter's box he launched a bomb that sailed over the wall and was lost on the street. I've never seen anyone like him. You can promote Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Ken Griffey Jr. or anyone else as the greatest outfielder. The man was the best ballplayer of all time.
Period.
As much a fan of Ted Williams as I am, Willie Mays is the best I ever saw play. I was a centerfielder when I played baseball and I tried...and failed miserably...to play like Willie out there.
No he was not. He was arguably the greatest fielding center fielder, but his hitting is not as impressive as several other players.
Here's a picture of the catch you are talking about, I think. Great catch, but it looks like he didn't put his foot on the wall, since there is no ivy in the place where he catches the ball…..www.pinterest.com/pin/548242954610978115/?lp=true
Robert Allan
To be at that game and see that! Wow!
...a truly beautiful and moving comment; thank you, Robert Allan.
Willie Mays is and will always be my baseball hero.
4 HRS in 1 game.4/30/61 in Milwaukee. You rock Willie!!!😀
Sports history are so rich to be held down forever
That kid from Baltimore who played mostly for the Sox and Yanks was pretty good, too. When he retired early in the 1935 season, his 714 career home runs more than doubled Lou Gehrig at #2. He also won 23 or more games twice as a pitcher and set World Series records as both hitter and pitcher. He dominated his era as no player ever has.
Yes he did babe Ruth is the greatest baseball player of all time
Ruth did double Gehrig's total WHEN HE RETIRED….Gehrig didn't have 475 yet……..@Devan McClaine
@Devan McClaine Ruth retired in early May of that year, about a quarter way through the season....Gehrig would have had about 355 homers at that time...just a a couple of homers less than half of Ruth...Gotcha! LOL. Gehrig only played 149 games that year, yet we know he didn't miss a game...I wonder what happened to those missing five games?
As kids we all looked up to Willie and Mickey..We were so lucky to have lived then.
Happy 89th birthday, Willie Mays!
My Absolute Very Favorite Baseball
Player Of All-Time! ❤❤❤❤❤
I was there when he hit his 3,000th. It was ball day. I still have the ball. My most prized possession.
Willie Mays was the best all-around player ever. He had it all as good as anyone else!
Mr Willie Mays it tha greatest we from the same town
almost every great player of willie's era said he is the best they ever saw, mantle, dimaggio, durocher to name three. willie could play every facet of the game at the very highest level, you simple can't argue with that.
40:25. did you even watch the video?
Beelzebub, he didn't "barely hit .300", he did it 10 times, led the league, it dropped off in later years. he played in a pitchers era and in probably one of the hardest stadiums to hit in. you put will him in fenway and he hits 800 home runs you dolt.
Mays + Griffey + Mantle +Ruth + Williams+ Aaron = THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME IN MY OPINION
I agree with you. But you left out Gerhig
Griffey doesn't belong there
Add Clemente and Bonds and it's perfect
What about Barry B
@@treygray2817 You're delusional ASF if you really believe that... Griffey 630 Homeruns and clearly the most gifted player of his Generation. Just cut da DUMBSHIT !!!
The greatest ever. No question.. No doubt. He did things based on supreme instinct. He was not of this earth. A great and humble human being.. I got to see him live! Ball players when I was a boy in the 60's were a class above
As a kid in little league ,I used to try to make those basket catches all the time. They switched me to shortstop.
Giants left the Polo Grounds for SF when I was young. Today you can watch every team ,any night from anywhere, Back then I had to wait till the Giants came to Shea to see Willie . No ESPN, No Sportscenter, - was lucky if we got a game of the week once in awhile.
Mays.Was.The.Greatest.
(and Im a dyed in the wool-Micky Mantle /Yankee fan )
The greatest baseball player who ever lived
At the end, with the Mets, I saw him play. I watched him closely but it was more than him. He was like a portal to all the greatest of the greats. He not only represented himself but all the greats. That's how I felt about it.
Met him McIver a main in Stockton CA
He used my glove to play catcher signed it
Life is filled with memories
I will always thank them for that one
Who knows where my glove is now
Grande entre los grandes en el Universo de por vida,Bendiciones para ud,2;10PM,10/11/2018/,Raleigh,NC.
Awesome content keep up the great work ⚾️
NEEDED: MORE VIDEO CLIPS OF WILLIE MAYS PLAYING BALL !!!!
MAKE A MOVIE ALREADY DAMN
No.
As a life long Dodgers fan......l admit it, Willie Mays is the greatest baseball player of all time..He has no peer, no one close...
@@chiefleapinglizard7502 Yep... l also heard of Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Barry Bonds and Mays standout over the others. I'm sure you know what is said about opinions...