Mays was a 24-time All-Star and his iconic over-the-shoulder catch is still considered one of the greatest in the history of the game.
Willie Mays, the iconic baseball legend whose remarkable career spanned 22 seasons, has died, the San Francisco Giants announced Tuesday. He was 93.
Mays “passed away peacefully this afternoon”, the Giants said in a post to social media.
“All of Major League Baseball is in mourning today as we are gathered at the very ballpark where a career and a legacy like no other began”, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement Tuesday evening. “Willie Mays took his all-around brilliance from the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League to the historic Giants franchise. From coast to coast in New York and San Francisco, Willie inspired generations of players and fans as the game grew and truly earned its place as our National Pastime.”
Mays had issued a statement Monday saying Thursday’s Giants game against the St. Louis Cardinals being played at Rickwood Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama — which will commemorate Mays and the Birmingham Black Barons of the , with whom Mays began his professional career in 1948.
The MLB said Thursday’s game will now include a “pregame ceremony honoring the life of Willie Mays.”
Nicknamed the “Say Hey Kid”, Mays spent the majority of his career playing center field for the Giants, first in New York and then after the team moved to San Francisco. During Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, the only championship he would win, Mays made “The Catch” — an over-the-shoulder snag of a fly ball that is still considered the greatest catch in the history of the game.
