RIP Willie Mays
- Thread starter paultzman
- Start date
Anthony Mattia
Well-known member
Just heard this as well. Unbelievable ball player. Say hey kid. RIP
the greatest to me, had it all with class.
God bless Willie. Growing up I rooted for Yanks but Giants in the NL. Loved Mays & McCovey & Jim Ray Hart. IMHO, Willie was a better all around player in his prime than both Aaron and the Mick.
Don’t know if anyone’s watching the Mets game but Keith got choked up on the broadcast talking about Willie, really sweet moment. RIP
MarkRedman
Well-known member
The Say Hey Kid was my favorite baseball player
I practiced his infamous basket catch for hours on end, much to the chagrin of my Little League coach
RIP Willie. You will be missed by many, many adoring fans.
I practiced his infamous basket catch for hours on end, much to the chagrin of my Little League coach
RIP Willie. You will be missed by many, many adoring fans.
The first player I ever rooted for. I go back to the days when the Giants, Dodgers and Yankees were here. The argument always went, "who's better, Mays, Snider or Mantle. I'm still a Giants fan. Heck, I even saw Mays play shortstop once against the Mets. This is probably the saddest sports loss I ever experienced.
I saw Willie when I was young at the Polo Grounds and he was one of the truly great players who loved the game and its fans as seen in the video of him playing stickball with some local kids. While most remember Willie, the batter, he was one of the greatest fielders. his catch off a Vic Wertz fly in game 1 of 1954 World series is a thing of beauty. Using the basket catch over the shoulder in deep Center field was great in itself but the throw that he made was unreal. Larry Doby tagged up from second and really thought he would be able to score on a Sac Fly but Mays got it in to second base, holding Doby at third and the guy on first tagged but went back to first as Willie had made a great throw to second. Look for the play--you can find it on mlb.com
My first heroes, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, and Willie Mays in no particular order.
That he finished as a Met was due to Joan Payson who owned the Mets and earlier was a part owner of the NY Giants who was against the move. Joan thought the world of Willie and was rumored to have vowed to bring him back as soon as she could
Willie was my idol...and probably the best all-around ballplayer to ever play the game...and the most exciting! I had the privilege of playing in a game with him at Giants Fantasy Camp. I have a ball signed by both Mays and Leo Durocher, his first manager. Those who never saw him play in his prime missed a unique combination of grace and talent.
