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The Say Hey Kid Is 90 Today
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 2:37 pm
by T_Bone0806
Happy Birthday to my favorite baseball player ever (even though he never played for my favorite team). For my money, the greatest all around player of all time. He did everything well. Very, very well.
https://www.mlb.com/news/willie-mays-be ... 0313690615
Re: The Say Hey Kid Is 90 Today
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 3:21 pm
by Bob78164
I've thought of him for a long time as the greatest center fielder who ever lived and I'm thrilled that I saw his 655th home run in person (on the day Secretariat won the Triple Crown). But with Mike Trout around, I'm not so sure that's still true. --Bob
Re: The Say Hey Kid Is 90 Today
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 9:37 pm
by Bob Juch
He was mine; I grew up in Oakland.
Re: The Say Hey Kid Is 90 Today
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 9:37 pm
by Bob Juch
He was mine; I grew up in Oakland.
Re: The Say Hey Kid Is 90 Today
Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 8:47 am
by silverscreenselect
While we're at it, let's not forget that Mays and Mickey Mantle were both banned from baseball for life by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn after they had retired for the "crime" of signing autographs at an Atlantic City casino in the 1980s. In this case, "life" meant five years for Mays and three years for Mantle, because successor Commissioner Peter Ueberroth lifted both suspensions in 1985.
Re: The Say Hey Kid Is 90 Today
Posted: Mon May 10, 2021 11:40 am
by SportsFan68
I don't know how Mays became my older brother's favorite player, and consequently the Giants his favorite team, but I followed right along when I got old enough to learn what baseball was. Until the Rockies came along, of course.
I saw some footage a long time ago that showed him punching his glove, ostensibly on the way to making The Catch, which the announcer said meant Mays knew he would make it. I just watched four different versions and didn't see him do that, so I assume it was footage of another catch cobbled together with the actual Catch. Can't say I mind -- it was awesome.
Re: The Say Hey Kid Is 90 Today
Posted: Mon May 10, 2021 7:21 pm
by Bob78164
SportsFan68 wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 11:40 am
I don't know how Mays became my older brother's favorite player, and consequently the Giants his favorite team, but I followed right along when I got old enough to learn what baseball was. Until the Rockies came along, of course.
I saw some footage a long time ago that showed him punching his glove, ostensibly on the way to making The Catch, which the announcer said meant Mays knew he would make it. I just watched four different versions and didn't see him do that, so I assume it was footage of another catch cobbled together with the actual Catch. Can't say I mind -- it was awesome.
I think that may have been on
Baseball by Ken Burns. --Bob
Re: The Say Hey Kid Is 90 Today
Posted: Mon May 10, 2021 7:40 pm
by Vandal
Willie was quite a physical specimen who was built more like a boxer than a typical baseball player. There are few photos around of him without a shirt and he always looked shredded. Nothing soft about the Say Hey kid!
Re: The Say Hey Kid Is 90 Today
Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 8:16 am
by BackInTex
Happy Birthday Willie McCovey, er, Mays, whatever.
Re: The Say Hey Kid Is 90 Today
Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 1:50 pm
by wbtravis007
I loved Willie too. Always wanted to be #24 in football and baseball.
At a game at the Dome a Giant tossed me a practice ball coming off the field and when Willie came off I got him to sign it. Still have it, although it’s kind of hard to read.
Think about how much money he could make in one year now. He sure as hell wouldn’t have been greeting people at the casinos.
First time I ever called a sports talk show was one night when I was about 11. I just wanted to get on the air and wasn’t very creative in coming up with a question. It was going to be: “who do you think is better, Mickey mantle or Willie Mays?”
I had the rest of my family listening in another room. I totally choked. I nervously blurted “who do you think is better, mickey Mays........[deer in headlights] ....... long pause and finally went back and started over. The Mickey Mays just flowed out so smoothly I hardly noticed that I had already flubbed it, but when I got to the Willie and only had mantle left to go with it I was dead in my tracks. Pretty embarrassing going back to the room where I had gathered the family to listen.
Re: The Say Hey Kid Is 90 Today
Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 8:05 pm
by Estonut
BackInTex wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 8:16 am
Happy Birthday Willie McCovey, er, Mays, whatever.
