Willie Mays Memorial Cover

Willie Mays (1931 - 2024), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid," was a professional baseball center fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1951 to 1973. He was among the first ten Black American players in MLB (7th) as was Lany Doby (2nd). Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all-time, Mays began his career in 1948 when he played briefly during the summer with the Chattanooga Choo-Choos, a Negro minor league team, before playing for the Negro American League's Birmingham Black Barons and spent the rest of his career in the National League (NL), playing for the New York/San Francisco Giants and New York Mets. A 24-time All-Star, Mays finished his career with a .302 lifetime average, 3,293 hits, 660 home runs, 1909 RBls, 2062 runs, and 339 stolen bases. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979.