Willie Mays is a retired American professional baseball player who was a center fielder with the New York and San Francisco Giants for the most of his career
Willie Mays
@African American Men, Family and Childhood
May 6, 1931
Biography
Personal Details
- Birthday: May 6, 1931
- Nationality: American
- Famous: African American Men, Former Professional Baseball Star, African American Athletes, African American Baseball Players, African Americans, Sportspersons, Baseball Players
- City/State: Alabama
- Spouses: Mae Louise Allen (m. 1971), Margherite Wendell Chapman (m. 1956–1961)
- Known as: Willie Howard Mays Jr.
- Childrens: Michael Mays
Willie Mays born at
Westfield, Alabama
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Birth Place
Mays first marriage was to Margherite Wendell Chapman (from 1956-1963) and the couple had adopted a son named Michael together.
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Personal Life
He married again in 1971 to Mae Louise Allen. His second wife died in 2013 after battling for years with Alzheimer’s.
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Personal Life
Willie Mays was born on May 6, 1931 in Alabama to Ann and Willie Sr. His father was a baseball player with the local Negro team and mother was a talented basketball player in her high school. His parents separated when he was 3.
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Childhood & Early Life
He was raised by his mother’s younger sister, Sarah, and was influenced to play baseball by watching his father play it with perfection. He attended the Fairfield Industrial High School and played various sports there.
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Childhood & Early Life
In 1947, Mays got an opportunity to play baseball professionally with Chattanooga Choo-Choos, Tennessee, and later he joined the Negro American League. He was ultimately signed by The New York Giants and assigned to Class-B affiliate, New Jersey.
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Career
In 1951, Mays scored .247 average, 68 RBI and 20 homers in 121 games and though this was the lowest of his career but he still won the Rookie of the Year Award. He became famous in Harlem.
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Career
He was drafted during the Korean War in 1952 and missed two seasons of the game. He returned to the Giants in 1954 and scored .345 batting average and 41 homers and won the National League emblem of the year.
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Career
In 1955, Mays scored 51 homers and in the next season 36 homers and 40 bases and became the second player to join “30-30 club”. He performed brilliantly during the last three years when Giants was in New York.
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Career
Mays won the Gold Glove Award in 1957. He became the 4th player in the Major League history to join the 20-20-20 club, a task that no player could accomplish in the last 16 years.
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Career
In the 2000s, he was honored with—the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award, a doctorate from Dartmouth College, special tribute in All-Star Game in San Francisco, induction in the California Hall of Fame and in the African-American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame.
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Awards & Achievements
1956 was the greatest season of Mays with the New York Giants. He became the only second player and the first National League player to join the “30-30 club”. He led the league with 36 homers and stole 40 bases.
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Awards & Achievements