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Willie Howard Mays
San Francisco Giants
Outfield
Born: May 6, 1931, Westfield, AL
Signed: Signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent, June 20, 1950
Major League Teams: New York Giants 1951-1952, 1954-1957; San Francisco Giants 1958-1972; New York Mets 1972-1973
Hall of Fame Induction: 1979
In many ways, these posts covering the cards of well-known Hall of Famers are much harder to compose than the posts for the cards of short-time, little known players. What could I possibly write here about Willie Mays, the "Say Hey Kid," that hasn't already been written or that properly pays tribute to one of the greatest baseball players of all time?
He played the game with joyful abandon, and I would have loved to have seen him play live.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.
Building the SetDecember 25, 2021 from Lake Havasu City, AZ - Card #484
Acquired from Kyle's Sports Cards from Lake Havasu City, Arizona in early December, Doug's "big" baseball card Christmas present from Santa was this Mays card. While he was way more into the PS5 found under the Christmas tree, I like the idea of continuing the tradition started by my Dad and then continued by my Mom of Santa bringing one blockbuster card each Christmas. Last year it was the Steve Carlton (#477) rookie card, and this year it was the arguably the second or third priciest card needed for our set behind Sandy Koufax (#300) and well behind the Mickey Mantle (#350) card. To Doug's credit, he of course realize this was an expensive card and I'm proud of him for knowing how important Mays was to the game.
The Card / Giants Team Set
I'd consider this a fairly iconic baseball card and it's been reprinted several times over the years when celebrating Mays' second league MVP win in 1965. Personally, I first saw the card as part of the 1982 Topps Kmart 20th Anniversary set, and then again a few years later on the MVP subset found within the 1975 Topps set my Dad and I were collecting. The back of the card contains a brief summary of some of Mays' accolades, and then just lines of glorious statistics.
1965 Season
Mays had an amazing season, and arguably the best of his career. In 157 games, he batted .317 with 52 home runs (to lead the league) and 112 RBIs. He led the National League in on-base percentage (.398), slugging percentage (.645), and OPS (1.043). Mays led off and played center field for the National League All-Stars, playing the entire game and going 1 for 3 with a lead-off home run and a pair of walks. He won his ninth Gold Glove in a row. Mays hit his 500th career home run on September 13th in the Astrodome off Astros' pitcher Don Nottebart (#469), joining a club that consisted of only four other players at the time - Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Mel Ott and Ted Williams. Following the season, with the Giants missing the World Series when they finished two games behind the Dodgers, Mays won his second MVP award by besting Dodgers' teammates Koufax and Maury Wills.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1951 Bowman #305
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (25): 1952-1975, 1986
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2022 Topps Opening Day Bomb Squad #BS-6
2,256 - Mays non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/12/22.
Sources:
1956 Topps Blog
With everyone vaccinated and the pandemic hopefully in our rear-view mirror, this past Christmas was marked by a return to large family gatherings, a ton of food and a lot of laughs. I wrote about my Mom's baseball-related gifts to me over at The Phillies Room.
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The Card / Giants Team Set
I'd consider this a fairly iconic baseball card and it's been reprinted several times over the years when celebrating Mays' second league MVP win in 1965. Personally, I first saw the card as part of the 1982 Topps Kmart 20th Anniversary set, and then again a few years later on the MVP subset found within the 1975 Topps set my Dad and I were collecting. The back of the card contains a brief summary of some of Mays' accolades, and then just lines of glorious statistics.
1965 Season
Mays had an amazing season, and arguably the best of his career. In 157 games, he batted .317 with 52 home runs (to lead the league) and 112 RBIs. He led the National League in on-base percentage (.398), slugging percentage (.645), and OPS (1.043). Mays led off and played center field for the National League All-Stars, playing the entire game and going 1 for 3 with a lead-off home run and a pair of walks. He won his ninth Gold Glove in a row. Mays hit his 500th career home run on September 13th in the Astrodome off Astros' pitcher Don Nottebart (#469), joining a club that consisted of only four other players at the time - Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Mel Ott and Ted Williams. Following the season, with the Giants missing the World Series when they finished two games behind the Dodgers, Mays won his second MVP award by besting Dodgers' teammates Koufax and Maury Wills.
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First Mainstream Card: 1951 Bowman #305
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (25): 1952-1975, 1986
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2022 Topps Opening Day Bomb Squad #BS-6
2,256 - Mays non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/12/22.
Sources:
1956 Topps Blog
I actually did see him play in person, at least once, when I was very little and he was finishing his career with the Mets. Of course that was nothing like seeing him in his prime, and anyway I can't really remember it well, but, still, it's nice that I can at least say I saw Willie Mays.
ReplyDeleteHaving never seen Mays play, I'd say the closest I came to seeing someone live with his skills was Ken Griffey, Jr.
ReplyDeleteSame photo as his 1968 card.
ReplyDelete