All language subtitles for Say.Hey.Willie.Mays.2022.1080p.WEB.H264-BIGDOC.[eng]

[TV static drones]

[bright tone]

[mellow music]

[cheers and applause]

announcer:
This is gonna go away, back,

and gone
over the left field wall.

Line drive to center.

Ball was well-hit.

But Willie Mays picks up
two home runs here

in the sixth inning.

- Willie Mays is arguably
one of the greatest,

if not the greatest player,

in the history
of Major League Baseball.

- Mays changed the way
the game was played.

[cheers and applause]

When Willie stepped
on the field,

it was like going
to see Michael Jordan,

Muhammad.

- He's an American icon,
a beloved figure.

- He was a gigantic star.

It's just hard to quantify.

- But I think it's critical
to understand who and what

Willie Mays is.

- Willie Mays came out
of segregated baseball

in America.

- The expectation
that he would shut up,

don't raise any issues,

especially if they have to do
with race,

just go out and play ball.

Willie fulfilled
that phenomenally

to such an extent that
he actually drew criticism.

You gotta stand up
and do more.

You gotta stand up
and speak out.

Willie didn't want any part
of that.

- The words were hurtful
to Willie.

- He's a really complicated
figure,

kind of a fascinating figure.

- It doesn't diminish
his status

as the greatest
baseball player ever.

For a Black man
to have done what he did

at the time that he did it,

maybe that's enough.

- Are you Willie Mays,
the greatest baseball player

of all time?

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

- Willie's always gonna be
the godfather.

You know, my dad passed away,
2003.

I had Willie.

I never played a game

without either one of them
in my entire lifetime.

We were in spring training

and I was hitting
towering home runs.

Like, towering balls
that were going like this.

And Willie said that you gonna
be in a slump, boy.

And I said why?

He said, "The ball
should never do this.

"That ball needs to go boom.

You need--that ball needs to
come off your bat like that."

[Junior Walker
& The All Stars' "Shotgun"]

announcer: M-A-Y-S
spells "Bye, bye, baby."

The slugger
opened the '61 season

belting four homers
in one game.

Only nine ballplayers have
ever accomplished the feat.

From there, Mays becomes
the highest-paid

ballplayer in history.

announcer:
35-year-old Mays hit 52 homers

and earned the Most
Valuable Player award.

In his 535th career home run

tops Jimmie Foxx
and gives Mays sole possession

of second place
in total home runs hit.

Only Babe Ruth has blasted
more four-baggers than Willie.

- ♪ Do the dirty now ♪

♪ Hey ♪

♪ Put on your red dress ♪

announcer: Drive
to deep left center field.

It's gone! It's a home run.

Number--number 599
of Mays' career.

announcer: Deep to left.

That one is way back.
Way back there!

- Willie Mays joined
the great Babe Ruth

as the only player
to hit 600 home runs.

announcer: 0 and 2.
Wagner delivers.

Mays hits it into left.
[cheers and applause]

Willie Mays has done it again.

He has brought the baseball
world to a standstill.

- He is the most spectacular
baseball player

that ever played.

- ♪ I said shotgun ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Shoot 'em
'fore they run now ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Do the jerk, baby ♪

- Willie exceled.

He ran bases.

People talk about
how fast he could get

from first to third.

Stealing home.

Catching the ball like,
you know,

we gon' put a little something
on it, like right here.

So when you think about
all that,

he dominated the entirety
of the game.

announcer: Many of Mays'
former teammates were there

as they honored Willie Mays
as the greatest Giant ever.

- ♪ Shotgun ♪

- I mean, he threw out
over 7,000 baseball players

playing center field.

That's the deepest part
of the stadium.

660 home runs,
12 Golden Gloves

22 seasons, 24 All-Star games.

But unless you know
and follow the game,

you don't really get
a full appreciation

of how great he was.

- Why do you love baseball?

- Well, first of all,

baseball was a game
that you could play

and you could play it
for a long time.

I picked baseball

because I could play it
every day.

It was fun.

Oh, I learned baseball
when I was about four or five.

When I was a young man
coming up,

my father and I used to talk
about baseball all the time.

They called him Cat

because he could run,

he could throw,
and he could field.

And he could hit, man.

He's a leadoff hitter.

He and I would go
to the baseball field--

and just the two of us--

and he would show me
how to do every position:

catching, second base,
shortstop,

because they look
for you to be the leader.

And we lived in a town
called Fairfield, Alabama.

- The thing about the state
of Alabama in the 1940s,

it is Jim Crow America.

I mean,
it's almost undescribable.

The things that we think
of now as racist

were routine examples
of everyday life.

White person walking down
the street,

you step off to the side,
let them pass.

Don't look them directly
in the eye.

Yes, ma'am. No, sir.

The whole bit.
Hold your head down.

Think of every
possible injustice

you've ever heard about related
to segregation and racism.

It was there
and there in abundance.

[film reel clicking]

- My mother and dad
wasn't never together now.

They did their own thing.

My mother got married
to a guy named Frank.

So I didn't stay with my mother
that long.

I stayed with my two aunts.

Ernestine and Sarah,
they took care of me.

And my dad, he used to work
in a steel mill.

And he would always
come home early,

like, 2:00 in the afternoon,

and he would show me
how to do a lot of things

'cause he was
a good baseball player.

Make sure that I didn't get
in no trouble.

I haven't been in no trouble

since I was, I guess,
two or three years old.

- Babe Ruth used to say,
"Start a boy young.

Teach him to play ball
when he's four years old."

In the spring of any year,
a boy with a bat and a ball

is secretly, to his father,
a major leaguer.

So it was with Willie
and his dad.

- Well, when I actually--
when I started--

first started playing ball
was with my father,

'bout five or six years old.

He was playing semipro ball
around Birmingham,

and he was working what
you call a steel mill team

around Birmingham.

And I used to play
with the big fellas,

like, 19 and 20 years old,
when I was about 12.

announcer: It's a sport
that appeals to all ages.

The sound of a ball
meeting a bat...

[bat cracks]
Is a familiar ring

to millions of people
round the world.

- The Negro League
was a Black baseball league.

- If a Black man wanted
to play baseball,

he played in the Negro Leagues
or he didn't play.

- Baseball did not want
Black players to participate

in the league,
and so concurrently

there was a league
of Black teams

from around the country

with the best Black players,
Black owners.

Everything about it was Black.

It was a reality
in segregated America.

announcer: It's a game
where the Negro athlete

of today and yesteryear
has left a bright mark.

- When I got to be
in high school,

I was already playing
professional ball,

but I couldn't say that.

They could give me money
under the table

and I went home,
and I gave it to my aunts.

Sometime I make 1,000.
Sometime I make 2,000.

But I had to come home,
and they--

and my aunts would give me
a couple dollars back

to put in my pocket
so I could go to the movies,

take the girls out,
or whatever it would be.

- I remember him
as "Buck-duck."

That was his nickname.

My dad,

he was with the Birmingham
Black Barons

in the old Negro League.

He was first baseman.

He was the second baseman,
and he was the manager.

When Dad went to talk
to Mays' father

about Mays playing,

Mays' father knew that my dad
would take good care

of Buck-duck
in his professional life.

You know, try to keep him
straight and everything.

Oh, Dad was a straight shooter.

- Well, Piper Davis
is like the godfather

of Black baseball
in Birmingham.

He helped usher Willie Mays
on to the team,

was a mentor for Willie
and a mentor

for a lot
of the Black Birmingham kids

that wanted to play baseball.

[upbeat music]

They played in this ballpark.

Rickwood Field, America's
oldest baseball park.

And the last park to play home
to a Negro League team.

announcer:
Here's your starting lineup.

Leading off and playing
center field, Cool Papa Bell.

- The greatest baseball
players of that time

played in the Negro League.

Many of those players
would have been great

in Major League Baseball

had they been given
the opportunity,

but of course, not until
Jackie Robinson

does that happen.

- If you didn't
leave church early,

you didn't get a seat
in Rickwood

when the Black Barons played.

- When I played
with the Birmingham Barons,

the guy that really helped me--

actually, it was three guys.

Piper Davis was the manager.

Artie Wilson
was the shortstop,

and Bill Greason
was the pitcher.

- I had pretty good stuff.

Well, I had my curveball.

I did about 92
on the fastball.

If I got two strikes on you,
I said "Bye."

'Cause my--
my downer was like this.

We were young on the club.

We were rookies.

And I, being
a little older than Willie,

I tried to help him all I could

because I was a little more
knowledgeable of things

than he was.

We were friends
and we played together

in several places.

- Willie was 17 years old.

He was literally a boy
among men in many ways

except when it came
to the ball field.

- ♪ Whoo ♪

[Muddy Waters' "Mannish Boy"]

♪ Yeah, yeah ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Now when I was a young boy ♪

♪ ♪

♪ At the age of five ♪

♪ ♪

♪ My mother said
I was gonna be ♪

♪ ♪

♪ The greatest man alive ♪

♪ ♪

- The other guys are husbands,
fathers, steel workers,

more mature men,
and yet Willie's a kid.

And he had
a youthful exuberance.

They say he brought a lot
of excitement to the team

and probably is the reason
they won their championship

in 1948.

- ♪ I spell M ♪

♪ ♪

♪ A, child ♪

♪ ♪

♪ N ♪

♪ ♪

♪ That represents "man" ♪

- At the end of the day,

Piper came to me and he says,
"What did you learn today?"

And I had to tell him
what I learned,

how I learned,
and "Can you do it tomorrow?"

"Yeah, man.
I can do it tomorrow."

- ♪ I'm a man ♪

♪ ♪

- When he played,
he was a center fielder.

So he would tell our left
fielder and right fielder,

"Don't come nowhere in here.

"You go from where you are
to the line,

and everything else,
I'll take care of."

And he was--he was tremendous.

He was a great
young ballplayer.

[bat cracks]
- So while Willie Mays,

as a 17-year-old,
hit one home run

for the Birmingham
Black Barons,

he was, by the end
of the season,

the starting center fielder

for this Black Barons team

that went all the way to
the Negro League World Series

and actually got a game-winning
hit in one of those games.

♪ ♪

- Do you remember
when Jackie Robinson

entered the major leagues?

[soft orchestral music]

♪ ♪

- When I saw Jackie,
he could do everything.

I was very impressed
with what he could do.

He did everything,
and he could hit, man.

- So the first time Willie
came across Jackie

was at Rickwood Field
when Willie was a kid,

and Jackie brought a group
of barnstormers

through Birmingham.

And that's when Jackie saw
Willie for the first time,

and Jackie actually recommended
Willie Mays

to the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The Brooklyn Dodgers sent out
a scout named Wid Matthews,

and Wid Matthews
saw Willie Mays play.

He returned to Brooklyn
and said,

"The kid can't hit
a curveball."

So otherwise, imagine that,
Willie Mays a Dodger.

April 15th, 1947,

Jackie Robinson breaks
into the big leagues.

[cheers and applause]

[percussive music]

Branch Rickey,

the owner of the Brooklyn
Dodgers, signed him.

- Well, all credit
is really due to Robinson

for whatever gamble
there was in it

or whatever sort
of experiment it was.

He handled it beautifully
with a fine intelligence

to enable him to understand

that he was carrying this load
for 17 million people.

- They choreographed
Jackie's career

so that he looked like
the all-American boy.

He just happened to be a Negro,

and what that meant was
that you don't say anything,

you don't do anything,
you don't respond,

you don't fight back.

You simply go
and play baseball.

- I want to know whether
he's looking for somebody

who's afraid to fight back.

And his answer was stern.

"I'm looking for somebody
with guts enough

not to fight back."

- That's what Willie Mays
patterned himself after.

And so what Branch Rickey
and the white owners did

was to cherry-pick
the Negro Leagues,

oftentimes not even
compensating the teams

that he took the players from.

They never compensated
the Monarchs

for Jackie Robinson.

- Imagine
if Major League Baseball

had taken several
Negro League teams

and brought them
into Major League Baseball.

You would've had
Black ownership.

It would have been
true integration.

What it was, ultimately,
was a poaching

of the best players
from the Negro Leagues

that ultimately destroyed
the league because it made

the Negro League teams
obsolete.

[somber music]

♪ ♪

- Jackie Robinson
walked through the door,

but there had
to be more than just one

to actually stamp it
that we're all here.

Black African Americans
are here.

We're all in the league, and
Willie's part of that history.

- Willie
was in five World Series,

including the 1948 last
Negro League World Series ever.

- I remember
when we defeated Kansas City

to get
in the Negro World Series,

last Negro League
World Series.

Uh, did win the only game.

We won in relief against
the Homestead Grays.

They defeated us four games
to one.

And that was the end
of the league.

Birmingham Black Barons,

they were a terrific bunch
of guys.

- When I was about 15 or 16,

I guess they had scouts
watching me,

and they signed me
with the Giants.

And, as you know, they signed
me right out of high school.

Eddie Montague signed me
to the Giants at that time.

And I said, "Dad, well,
I'm going where the money is."

- The Giants
are an historic franchise,

a National League team
dating back to 1883.

For many of those years,

the Giants had been
New York's team,

not the Yankees.

But after the Dodgers,
you know,

they signed Jackie Robinson,

and that worked out
beautifully.

Then they signed
Roy Campanella,

and they signed Don Newcombe.

And immediately,
they had three players

from the old Negro Leagues

who were three of the best
and biggest stars

in the National League.

So I think Horace Stoneham,
the owner of the Giants,

whose father
had owned the Giants,

Horace Stoneham
finally realized

we're being left in the dust.

We need
to get some players here.

So they did get Hank Thompson,

but they also got Willie Mays.

They sent him to the minor
leagues for some seasoning.

- So imagine a high school kid
who just graduated

assigned to the Trenton Giants
in New Jersey,

and you go
from an all-Black league

to an all-white league.

And I'm a teenager playing
in this,

and I'm playing some
of these cities in the South.

And I'm not hearing the things
I heard in the Negro Leagues.

- Trenton, New Jersey,

that was
the Interstate League.

I was the first Black
in that particular league.

And we played in a town
called Hagerstown, Maryland.

Oh, I never forget this day,
on a Friday.

And they call you all kinds
of names there.

"Nigger this, nigger that."

And it was--and I said
to myself,

and which I think this is where
Piper Davis came in in my mind.

"Hey, whatever they call you,
they can't touch you.

Don't--don't talk back."

[melancholic music]

- And that was his thing.

If he had anger about it,

he left it on the field.

That's how he responded
to racism that came toward him.

He was like, "Then I'll just
destroy you on the field."

- So he went to AAA.

Their AAA team
was in Minneapolis,

a team called
the Minneapolis Millers.

He was just destroying
the pitching in AAA.

Stealing bases, making
great plays in the outfield.

Willie could do it all.

Name a skill in baseball
and Willie excelled at it.

And the Giants were not doing
that well.

They were kind of stumbling
around a little bit.

So in late May,
after his 20th birthday,

Leo Durocher,
the Giants' manager,

brought him up
from Minneapolis.

- Well of course,
I'm very prejudiced

when it comes to Willie Mays.

I think he's the greatest
ballplayer we have today.

- Leo, oh, my God.

Leo, he took care of me, man.

- Leo Durocher
was a Runyonesque character.

He was a baseball guy,
obviously,

but he also hung around
with Hollywood types.

He was married
to the actress Laraine Day.

He was suspended from baseball
for a year in the 1940s

for his association

with supposedly
unsavory characters.

He had been on the Yankees
with Babe Ruth.

He was a guy who spanned
a lot of baseball history.

He managed both the Dodgers
and the Giants,

and Leo loved Willie Mays.

- But when I met Leo,
we was in spring training.

They had me playing left field.

And left field was too short.

There wasn't enough room out
there for me to move around in.

And I caught about
four or five balls

in center field very easy,
no problem.

Leo said,
"That's your position.

When we bring you up,
you gonna play center field."

- Did you have a hard time
adjusting?

- No, I didn't have
a hard time adjusting.

I had a hard time just trying
to hit the ball.

- Charlie,
when he first joined us,

I know he wasn't over 24 or 25,
whatever it was.

And I was a little disturbed,
and one of my coaches came

into me, Herman Franks,

and said that you better
go talk to your boy.

He's sitting in front
of his locker, crying.

So I went down and put my arm
around Willie.

He was sitting there sobbing,
and he said, "Listen, Leo,

and he talked in a high
tenor voice, Charlie.

He said, "Listen, Leo,"
he said,

"I can't play up here."
He said, "They're too tough

"for me. I can't hit.

I know they're gonna send me
back to Minneapolis."

And I put my arm around him
and I said,

"Son, as long
as I'm the manager

"of the New York Giants,

"you're gonna be
the center fielder.

"We brought you up here
to play center field,

"and you're gonna play
center field today,

"tomorrow, next week,
next month,

"and as long as I'm here.

"Go home.
Get a good night's rest.

Tomorrow's another day."

The following day against
Warren Spahn,

first ball pitch,
over the roof.

And believe me, Charlie,

he literally carried us
on his back

for the next six weeks.

- Willie looked up
to Leo like a second father.

And Leo looked at Willie
as the guy

who is gonna turn
this team around.

Because of that, Willie just
went off in New York.

- I think Leo might have been
the guy who first coined

the idea of a five-tool player.

- There is no question
in my mind,

but what he can do
is the five essential things

better than
any other player today,

and that's hit,
hit with power,

run, field, and throw.

- Willie is a ten
on a ten scale

in all five of those.

Hit for average.

Hit for power.

Run, field, throw.

- So it'd come to 1951.

This team could win because
this guy is gonna lead us

to the World Series,
I'm telling you.

He helped the Giants turn
that season around

in a big way.

The Giants, in one
of the greatest pennant races

in history, the greatest
comeback of all time.

- He was on deck
when Bobby Thomson hit

"The Shot Heard Round
the World."

announcer:
There's a long drive...

it's gonna be, I believe...

the Giants win the pennant!

The Giants win the pennant!
The Giants...

- Bottom of the ninth,
they're down 4 to 1.

Bobby Thomson
hits the three-run homer.

Giants win it 5 to 4.

- Everybody was running
to home plate.

I was the last guy

to get to home plate
because I didn't realize

that the game was over.

We won the pennant.

And we--we just had, you know,
a good time after that.

And then when we went
into the clubhouse,

everybody was drinking
champagne and stuff like that.

They gave me a little bit
of champagne,

and they tell me
that I fell out.

- [laughs]
- And when I woke up,

I was home in the bed.

- Because it was
the World Series--

everybody watched
the World Series--

it really put Willie
in that spotlight nationally.

- New York really was
the capital of baseball

at that point.

Not only were there
great teams,

but some
of the most significant

and historic players
in the game's history

were there at the same time.

announcer: Bobby Brown
uncorked the mighty blast.

It sends Mays ranging
far back to haul it in.

He slips and falls hard when
he tries to put on the brakes.

And Woodling jogs easily
to third after the catch.

DiMaggio comes
into the batter's box.

Joe connects with a solid blow

and clouts
a mighty two-run homer.

- The Yankees ended up winning
in six games.

announcer:
The Yankees take the Series,

four games to two.

And thus the record book
closes on 1951,

one of the most brilliant
and thrilling years

in all the exciting history
of baseball.

- I had a good year in '51.

I think I hit .274,
but it was--it was good.

- So here's a 20-year-old
Willie Mays in '51.

He introduces himself,
and he's in the World Series.

He's a year out of high school.

He's a starting center fielder
in the Polo Grounds.

And the following May,
he's drafted into the army.

- I...
- Willie Howard Mays...

- Do solemnly swear...
- Do solemnly swear...

- That I will bear true faith
and allegiance...

- That I will bear true faith
and allegiance...

- To the United States
of America...

- To the United States
of America.

I tried to get a whole year in
with the Giants...

[dramatic musical sting]
- But they called me. [laughs]

- Willie's drafted
into the army,

not to fight, but to play ball,
to entertain the troops.

[somber music]

♪ ♪

- I traveled all over

'cause I played the army,
navy, marines.

All those guys,

we killed them.

- And during the Korean War,

he introduced the basket catch
to the world.

- The guys gave me the name
"The Basket Catch."

Every time I would catch it,

"Oh, he's making a basket catch
today."

- And the basket catch is--

you know, we're all taught
as Little Leaguers,

two hands,
see the ball into the gl--

well, Willie, "No,

I'm gonna catch it down here
at belt level."

- And then
when I got out of the army

to come back to the Giants,

they just threw that in,
the writers I'm talking about.

And they just got--took it
and they just ran with it.

- He played in the army
for two years.

When he came out of the army
in '54,

Mays came back to his home
in Harlem

and came back to the Giants.

[Ella Fitzgerald's
"Drop Me Off in Harlem"]

- ♪ Drop me off in Harlem ♪

♪ Any place in Harlem ♪

♪ There's someone
waiting there ♪

♪ Who makes it seem like
heaven up in Harlem ♪

♪ I don't want... ♪

- So Willie's time in Harlem
in the '50s

was crucial
to his development as a man

as well as a ballplayer.

He was just a teenager
in Alabama,

but now here he was living

in one of the biggest cities
in the world

in the most famous
Black community in America.

Willie lived
on St. Nicholas Place

just a block and half
from the Polo Grounds.

But his main hangout was
the Red Rooster on 7th Ave

in the 130s,

which was part
of a vibrant strip of bars

and nightclubs.

The Red Rooster
was a short drive or walk

from the Polo Grounds.

Willie would go there,
and he like to play pool.

They'd give him a table
in the back

where he could eat
after the game and socialize.

He didn't drink or smoke,

but he liked to hang out there
and enjoy his celebrity.

Supposedly
the uptown gamblers,

they wouldn't let him hang out
too late.

They made sure he went home
and got his sleep

when they bet on the Giants.

- Red Rooster, that's a--
that was the restaurant

that was George Woods',

and George, I don't know.

Somebody must have called him

because every night about 9:00,

here he come.
[grumbling]

"You gotta go home."

And I said,
"What you mean, I gotta go?

It's just only 9:00."

"No, no, no.
You gotta go home."

'Cause I had a big table
for about ten

in the back of the restaurant.

So they parked my car right
by the back door

of the Red Rooster.

And they made sure

that I didn't
get in no trouble.

- And imagine, you know,

your table at the Red Rooster.

You not in no hurry
to go back to Alabama.

[laughs]

- ♪ If Harlem moved to China ♪

♪ I know nothing finer ♪

♪ Than to be in Harlem ♪

- Not only is Willie Mays
in Harlem, he's the man.

- Everybody took care of me,
made sure I got back home,

made sure that I got
to the ballpark,

made sure
that no one bothered me

'cause everyone on 7th Avenue
knew who I was.

They didn't--nobody said
nothing out of the way to me.

[lively jazz music]

The kids found out
that I could play stickball.

And they knocked
on my window every day.

In the South,
we didn't call it stickball.

We called it, like, broomball.
[kids shouting]

And that's how I learned how
to hit the ball.

We'd take the mop,

cut the head off,

and now we got a long stick.

When it bounced and come up
to me,

I could hit it a long ways.

- So a lot of the mornings,
he would play stickball

with the kids
in the streets of Harlem

and then afterward treat 'em
to cake and ice cream.

- All the kids,
they'd come by, like, 8:00,

9:00 in the morning.

I had to play
for about a hour.

When I played a night game,
I'd go out to play stickball

with the guys about
3:00 or 4:00,

and then I go to the ballpark
all the time.

And the kids
enjoyed that very much.

It was just a fun time.

- Can you imagine the great
Willie Mays plays stickball

just like the rest of us?

So there were a lot of things
that we identified with Willie.

Willie's first year
with the Giants

was my second year
broadcasting.

So really, we were both kids.

And I gravitated to him

because I loved
the way he played.

I think most of us
were absolutely blown away

by his overall ability.

And it was his attitude.

To me, in watching him,
he wasn't a big leaguer.

He was a kid
playing the outfield

and loving every minute of it.

Mays catching this one is like
a seagull dipping for a fish.

There he goes.

- This is the new Willie Mays,

and the country is on fire
because of this man.

He just lights up
every ballpark.

- My dad took me to one game
at the Polo Grounds.

We're seated down
the right field line.

And I'm on my father's
shoulders

when he says to me,
"Bobby, look.

"See that player right there?

That's Willie Mays,"

as if he was saying to his son
the equivalent of,

"Son,
that's the Washington Monument.

"That's the Grand Canyon.

"You'll never forget
having been here.

That's Willie Mays."

- The epitome of Willie Mays
at the Polo Grounds

was the famous catch in 1954.

Game one of the World Series,

New York Giants against

the heavily favored
Cleveland Indians

of the American League.

And the Indians that year had
a great pitching staff,

a deep lineup, a good defense.

They were stacked. 111 wins.

They were expected
to sweep that Series.

"The Catch" in '54,

the most famous catch
in the World Series history

that lives on to this day,

turned that World Series
around.

- Vic Wertz hit a ball
over his head.

- With a runner at first
and at second base,

Vic Wertz hit a shot
that's a home run

in any other ballpark.

[bat cracks]

[watch ticking]

[cheers and applause]

- Vic hit the ball so hard
and so high.

- But what made it amazing was,
Willie played shallow,

and Willie ran.

announcer:
But there goes Willie!

- Willie sprinted back
on the ball.

[suspenseful music]

- He didn't worry about
any walls

because it was so deep.

- With his back to the infield,
running on the dead run,

looked up.

The ball dropped over
his shoulder.

He reached out
and made the catch.

[cheers and applause]

- Part of it was catching it
over your head.

That's what made it amazing.

And then he just turned around
and winged it.

- I caught it very quickly

and got rid of it
back into the infield.

announcer: And he makes
a miraculous catch

as he stops a step short
of the wall.

- He sends that ball back
to the infield

in a split second.

- They had Larry Doby.

Larry was on second.

- And Willie knew
that the ball was so deep

that there was a good chance
that that runner would score.

- He had to come back,
touch third,

go back to second,
touch second,

and he didn't even score.

- When Willie Mays went back
for that catch

and them 30 yards went
to 40 yards

and a little further, that's,
to us, as athletes,

makes it phenomenal.

[ticking]

- Those 6.5 seconds

from the time Wertz hits
the ball

till the time Mays let go
of the ball

are 6.5 seconds
in American history

that everybody
should know about.

- What you have just seen
is a glimpse

of athletic genius.

[soft triumphant music]

That catch is one
of the greatest

athletic performances
in sports history.

- And with the momentum
created by Willie's catch,

the Giants won
the World Series.

announcer: In the clubhouse,
bedlam breaks loose

as television crews,
photographers,

and newspapermen endeavor
to record the scene.

- That World Series was one
of the biggest upsets

of all time.

And television
was just becoming a big thing.

Before that, everybody listened
to the World Series.

Everybody was tuned in

one way or the other
to the World Series.

- Baseball,
America's number one sport

and one which has a season
running for half the year,

is number one
on television too.

The athletes' audience
is vastly increased.

Television holds them
by the millions.

- I think it's important
that Willie spent

the first portion of his career
in New York

because when television
was in its infancy

and there weren't
that many games on TV,

the nation by and large saw
the All-Star game

and the World Series.

And they watched
television shows

that emanated from New York.

- Another great star
from Alabama,

Willie Mays led
the National League with .342.

- And at that time, to see
any Black person on television

was--was rare.

- Well, I've had a few
base hits in my career,

but I think
the biggest thrill I got--

up until the ball was caught,
that is--

was the ball that Willie caught

in the World Series
of last year.

I think I also got more
publicity outta that ball too.

[laughter]

- Well, Willie, uh,
when did you change your method

of catching a ball?

And what--what--
how--how long ago was that?

- Well, I spent two years
in the army,

and I said to myself,

"Now when I come out
of the army, I have to,

you know, have something new."

I said, "Well,
I better practice on this."

Well, I, you know, perfected it
pretty good, and I use it.

- What--what is the difference
in it?

How--how--how do you--

- Well, it relaxes me.

I can catch it easier that way.
I don't know, maybe--

- You didn't relax Vic Wertz,
that's all I gotta say to you.

[laughter]

- So the whole country had
a better sense of them

than they did of the stars
on other teams

outside their own cities.

So here's Willie Mays,

the first great
African American superstar.

After the war,
Willie Mays busted through

to show the world
that baseball is changing.

[The Treniers' "Say Hey
(The Willie Mays Song)"]

- ♪ Say hey ♪
- ♪ Say who? ♪

- ♪ Say Willie ♪

♪ Say hey ♪
- ♪ Say who? ♪

♪ Swinging at the plate,
say hey ♪

- ♪ Say who? ♪
- ♪ Say Willie ♪

♪ That Giants kid is great ♪

♪ He hits the ball,
it's long gone, man ♪

♪ Hits it farther
than Campy can ♪

♪ Swings the bat like
a little lead pipe ♪

♪ When they reach the ball,
it's overripe ♪

♪ Say hey ♪
- ♪ Say who? ♪

- I came to New York
when I was 19,

and I was very shy.
I didn't know anybody.

I was starting saying,
"Come here. Say hey."

We had a lot
of great New York writers

who would say, "Oh, there go
the 'Say Hey Kid,'"

and it stuck with me.

- ♪ Say Willie ♪

♪ Whatcha gonna say? ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Say hey ♪

[cheers and applause]

- 1958 will always
be remembered

as the year
Major League Baseball came

to the West Coast.

And baseball takes top billing

as the spotlight shines
on the San Francisco Giants.

- And in 1958, Horace Stoneham
moves to San Francisco

because the O'Malleys
are moving to Los Angeles.

[soft music]

- Walter O'Malley broke
the hearts of Brooklyn fans

moving the Dodgers to LA,

but the same thing happened
to Giants fans.

♪ ♪

Giants fans told me the story:

Horace Stoneham broke my heart
when he moved the Giants,

and I've never forgiven him.

But Willie Mays,

as long
as they had Willie Mays,

I still cared about the Giants.

- In San Francisco,
the big city is big league

for the first time,
and a gala parade

down Market Street bids
the Giants welcome

as they open the season
in their new home.

- By that time,
I think Willie was the Giants.

He was the face
of the franchise.

- I think
that without Willie Mays,

you don't have the Giants
that we've all come to know

and love in the Bay Area.

It's hard for me to imagine
San Francisco being interested

in the Giants moving
from New York

without Willie Mays.

He was a linchpin factor
in that deal being made.

- An extra burst of cheers
greets Willie Mays.

The Say Hey Kid
is at home already.

A parade that marks the making
of baseball history,

San Francisco Giants
meet Los Angeles Dodgers,

the West Coast's first
big league baseball game ever,

but incidentally,
a continuation

of an old, old
diamond rivalry.

- Seals Stadium,
the new home of the Giants,

is a beehive of activity

as ushers and ticket takers
prepare for the big ride

in the new era of baseball.

The Say Hey Kid, Willie Mays,

gets his first safety
in San Francisco

to put Mantle
on first and second.

Willie Kirkland touches
Ron Negray for a single

that produces a final run.

And the San Francisco Giants
make a successful debut

in their new home by thrashing
Los Angeles 8 to 0.

23,000 fans
leave Seals Stadium,

confident that
Major League Baseball

is on the West Coast to stay.

- When the Giants
and the Dodgers moved

to the West Coast, it made it
truly a national game.

- But in San Francisco,
they did not warm to Willie

when he first got here.

- Why didn't they embrace
Willie Mays in San Francisco?

Well, for one thing,
Joe DiMaggio.

♪ ♪

- DiMaggio was born and raised
in San Francisco

and had played
for the San Francisco Seals

in the Pacific Coast League
before going to the Yankees.

So he's already a legend.

He's their center fielder.

- He was a man about town.

He had his own restaurant.

It was the Toots Shor
of San Francisco.

- So Willie shows up,

but this is Joe DiMaggio's
town.

That's Joe DiMaggio's stadium.

That's Joe DiMaggio's position.

Who's Willie Mays?

- Willie Mays
is a New York Giant.

These are
San Francisco Giants.

- They played at Seals Stadium
the first two years.

Seals Stadium was big,
420 to center.

- Without doubt,
Mays finds himself playing

in the shadow of San
Francisco's own Joe DiMaggio.

San Francisco wants a winner,

but the fans don't get it
those first years

at Seals Stadium

even with Mays hitting
a career high of .347 in 1958.

- Willie's gone through a lot
of racial discrimination

even here in San Francisco,
where San Francisco is probably

the most unracist part
of this state

that you can imagine.

I mean, they'll shut down
anything for equality here,

which is--
I really respect and love.

But, you know, at one point,
Willie did go through that.

[cheering]

- I think they accepted him
as a athletic star,

but not as a person they wanted
to live next door to,

not as a person that they wanna
have their kids hang out with.

In the late '50s,
San Francisco was different.

For openers, you couldn't be
a policeman if you were Black.

You couldn't be
a deputy sheriff.

You couldn't be a fireman.

You couldn't live
in certain parts of the city

if you were Black.

White people were more honest
in those days.

They told you up-front

that you were not welcome
in the neighborhood,

and it was the same
all over the city.

Willie wanted to live
on Miraloma Drive

in San Francisco.

And Willie and his then-wife,
Margherite,

tried to buy a house
in Miraloma Drive.

- They picked out a home,
a beautiful home

overlooking the water.

And Willie was denied. Why?

Because of the color
of his skin.

- Willie Mays was a celebrity
of great stature.

He could afford
the $35,000 or $40,000.

The homes in that neighborhood,

he could not buy there.

The neighborhood went crazy.

They didn't want Willie Mays
or anybody else Black

in their neighborhood.

Some white guy
sold him the house,

and then the guy had
to pull back.

- The mayor said, "Hey,

"you could live over here
with me.

Live in my house
till you find another place."

He said,
"No, I want this place."

The realtor said,
"Hey, I can find you

another place
in another neighborhood."

Willie said,
"No, I want this place."

- An organization called
the Council for Civic Unity

jumped in
on Willie Mays' behalf.

- Did you make a deposit
on the house?

- Yes, we did, yes.

- I see.

And, uh, there's been
some discussion

about you not being able
to buy it, is that correct?

- Well, not now.
The guy--

the owner just called me today

and said he was very happy
to sell me the house

in the--in the neighborhood.

- I see.
- I don't know where--

- They finally did
get the house.

But it was over the objections
of the neighbors.

- In years to come,
Mays would receive everything

from daily advice
in the newspapers...

[glass shattering]
To a bottle thrown

by a fanatic
through his front room window.

- That bottle came,

and it caused
the then-Mrs. Mays

to want to get back
to New York

as fast as she could.

And that may have contributed
to their divorce.

- You indicated that you
and Willie might move back

to New York after this season.

Does this mean
you like New York

or dislike San Francisco?

What's the real reason?

- Well, we like San Francisco
and we like New York.

And we still have a home
in the east.

- Willie Mays' efforts
to get a house in this city

was as important
as his 660th home run

for San Francisco

because it launched
the real, dedicated effort

to integrate this city.

- Willie got the house,

and he'll tell you
that it's not just for me.

It's for the next guy to move
into the neighborhood.

It's for the next minority
who wants to buy a home there

because that next minority's
not gonna be Willie Mays.

Willie Mays had the power
to open the door for others.

And in that particular case,
he did.

- In the end, the evidence
not only of his greatness,

but of the joy that he brought
to the field

transmitted to the fans.

Willie was about joy as much
as he was about greatness.

He won them over.

announcer:
Sophisticated San Francisco

lets its hair down
and embraces baseball

to its bosom.

Willie Mays
and his flashing plays make

an immediate hit.

Willie Mays,
San Francisco's Say Hey hero,

hoists a humpback ball
to right.

Pafko just misses
the shoestring catch

as Mays blazes the bases
for a double.

Giant jubilation
literally rocks the joint.

[cheers and applause]

- They played at Seals Stadium

the first two years,
'58 and '59,

while Candlestick
was being built.

announcer: $15 million
Candlestick Park is opened

by the San Francisco Giants

for the inaugural of the 1960
National League season.

Giants owner Horace Stoneham
welcomed vice president Nixon.

And with a Giant on base,

Willie Mays draws a walk.

- I think it was the writer
Jack London who said,

"The coldest winter
I ever spent

was July in San Francisco."

That Candlestick Park
with the winds swirling

literally in June and July.

And those winds did not help
Willie Mays' home run total.

[Wes Montgomery's
"California Dreaming"]

Candlestick Park,

the worst place
in the Bay Area

to put a stadium,
right next to the bay,

windy, cold.

The designers brought
the city officials out

at 11:00 in the morning
and said,

"God, what a beautiful place."

Well, they didn't go at night.

'Cause if they showed up
at night,

it's the windiest place
on earth.

But that's where
Candlestick Park was built.

announcer: And for Mays
and the Giants,

playing at night
at Candlestick Park

can sometimes be quite
an experience.

[wind whistling]

- Candlestick Park
was open-air.

The winds would pour in
from left field generally.

- The wind would blow it
to the right center.

I had to wait until
that wind hit it,

and then it'd come...
come straight down.

- Willie was having home runs
knocked down to left field.

- I couldn't get the ball out
of the ballpark.

The wind would blow it back,

and I hit it hard.

- So Willie didn't complain.

He adjusted and learned how
to adapt his swing

to Candlestick Park.

There was a jet stream out
in right center,

so he got the ball up and out.

- I would've hit another 10.
Maybe 10 or 15.

announcer: Diagonal hurler
Larry Jackson

gives Orlando Cepeda
one he likes.

[cheers and applause]

400 feet into deep center
for a triple.

- You have to go
to a night game

in Candlestick
so you can experience

the coldest night ever.

It was so cold
that you are afraid to swing

because you hit the ball hard
some place,

boy, you're really like this
for three innings.

[cheers and applause]

The reason I came to play ball
was because of Willie,

when Willie Mays came
to Puerto Rico in 1954.

- Players often would play
winter ball.

They would go not only
to hone their skills,

but to make extra money
in Puerto Rico

or sometimes even Cuba
back then.

It was huge
because the islands

would incorporate
their own players

with the great American
ball players.

- I was a bag boy

for the team that Willie play
in Puerto Rico.

After watching Willie play,

I want to be a ball player.

- The Giants signed quite
a few Latin players,

especially Dominican players.

The Giants got ahead

of the other
Major League teams.

- When I walked through
that gate

to the San Francisco Giants
to go to the clubhouse,

Felipe Alou and Orlando Cepeda
was waiting for me,

and they gave me a big welcome.

They introduced me
to each player

in the San Francisco Giants.

And I gonna be playing
the same field

with Willie Mays.

[light upbeat music]

[laughs]

- [laughs]

[laughing]
He seems happy.

- This fella is the greatest
baseball player of our time.

Mays is in a class by himself,

then you start rating
the other ball players.

You start rating
the Mickey Mantles,

the Ted Williams,
the Stan Musials.

But none of them
could do the things

that Willie Mays could do

because Willie could do
so many things.

- He was shortstop
when I was in New York.

He came to California,
and he was my manager.

He made me the captain
of the whole team on the field.

Whatever I said,
that's what they did.

If they didn't do it,
they didn't play.

- You had the power
to bench a guy the next day

regardless of what Alvin Dark
or Herman Franks

or whoever
was the manager said?

- Mm-hmm.
I ran the field, you know?

And I said to Herman,
"You run the bench.

I'll run the field."
- [laughs]

- I didn't have a coach
when I played.

I didn't have one.

Everything I did was on my own.

And I told him, I said,

"Man, I don't know
if I can do that."

"Yes, you can.

"You do whatever you wanna do
on the field,

and I'll take care of the rest
of it."

- You just had a sense
of the game.

- And the rule that we had
when I played:

just one hand.

It'd go left or right.

Anytime that hand moved,
you gotta move.

That's the only rule
we ever had in the outfield.

Now if you didn't see that,
you didn't play the next day.

Very simple.

- Willie was the leader
in our team.

Yeah,
and there was no question,

no question about it.

We didn't have nobody
in the team

that could lead us the way
that Willie did.

- So we start gelling
very quickly.

All the guys began
to play together,

not no one man playing this,
one man playing that.

I wanted nine guys
on that field to play together.

That's all I wanted,
and once we play together,

we can win.

announcer: Orlando Cepeda
hammers the ball

into deep right center.

Mays trots home from third,

and Cepeda pulls up
at second base with a double.

announcer: Marichal,
a perennial all-star,

is ready to take on
the American League's best

once again.

announcer: After he retires
the first two,

Lee Walls flies
to Willie Mays.

Charging in, Alou dives
and comes up with a ball.

- Marichal was one
of several Latin players

to pay handsome dividends
to the Giants.

- In '62, Willie had
an MVP-caliber year,

hit 49 home runs,
led San Francisco

to their first post-season.

They had this incredible
final week.

So now
it's a best-of-three playoff--

Giants and Dodgers,
just like '51.

Game three
is at Dodger Stadium.

This is the year
Dodger Stadium opened,

and they did big-time
box office business.

But the Dodgers go
to the ninth inning

ahead 4 to 2.

The Giants start rallying.

The Giants get 4 runs
to go ahead 6 to 4.

And Willie Mays had one
of the big hits in the rally.

The Dodgers just fell apart.

And finally here's a fly ball
to Willie Mays in center field.

announcer: Lee Walls flies
to Willie Mays

for the final out.

- And he takes the ball out
of his glove,

and he flings it up
into the stands.

Giants have won the pennant.

announcer: And now it's on
to San Francisco

and the World Series
with the New York Yankees.

[lively music]

- We played good
to beat the Dodgers.

And we played good
in the World Series

against the Yankees.

- The next day
they were facing Whitey Ford

at Candlestick Park.

The World Series,
for the first time,

has come to San Francisco.

[soft music]

[cheers and applause]

announcer:
With the players lined up

on the infield,
the crowd comes to attention

for the national anthem.

- I remember we started it
in San Francisco.

They win one. We win one.

And we went to Yankee Stadium.

[excited chatter]

announcer: Willie Mays
takes batting practice.

The tying run is now
at the plate.

But Davenport flies to Tresh
for the final out.

And the Yankees again lead
in the series,

two games to one.

- And I--
I started the fourth game.

I was pitching the best game
of my life.

I strike out Mickey Mantle
twice.

I end up winning that game.

- Let's go!

- And then game five we lost.

We came back to San Francisco.

- They were coming back
from New York

for games six and seven.

And there were several days
of rain.

The worst storm in a century
hit the Bay Area.

The field at Candlestick
had absorbed rain

for four days in a row.

It was wet.

They had brought in
helicopters.

There were these
incredible pictures

of the helicopters
hovering low over the field

at Candlestick 'cause they're
trying to dry off the field.

announcer:
The fans are on edge

because the Giants
ae fighting for survival.

Willie Mays never seems
to lose his zest

or his brilliance.

- So finally, the bottom
of the ninth inning

of game seven...

- Willie's at the plate.

The ninth inning
of the seventh game

of the 1962 World Series.

[low suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

- Before I got to bat,

Matty Alou bunted.

[cheers and applause]

- Matty Alou was on first base
with two out.

Yankees lead 1-0.

Willie's the hitter.

He doubles down
the right field line.

- But when I hit the ball,

it didn't go to the fence like
it usually go.

He caught it before it went
to the fence, but it was wet.

- Roger Maris makes
a really good play

to cut it off before it gets
to the fence.

- He fielded a wet ba--

it had to be
a soaking wet baseball,

and he fired
a perfect relay throw

to Bobby Richardson,
the second baseman,

who was a Gold Glover,
and then Richardson threw

to the plate on one hop

right to Elston Howard,
the catcher.

The third base coach held up
Matty Alou.

And the story was always felt

that Matty would've been dead
if he'd tried to score.

But Willie...

- I asked Willie about that.

Willie said to me,

"If I had been the runner
instead of the batter,

"I would've run right through
that stop sign.

I would've made them
make a perfect play to get me."

- And he held up Matty at third
and me at second.

- The next batter is McCovey.

He hit a line drive.

[cheers and applause]

- Willie McCovey hit right
to Bobby Richardson.

- And he caught the ball
in short right--right field.

- A couple inches either way,
and the Giants score 2 runs

and win the game 2 to 1.

announcer: The 20th
world championship won

by the New York Yankees.

He's carried off the field
on the shoulders...

[cheers and applause]

- The Giants won only one
pennant in the '60s,

but they had the best record
in the '60s.

They finished second
five straight years.

They were a great team.

- We had seven Latin players,

so we would talk Spanish.

I remember in the dugout
one time, you know,

I don't wanna say the name
who did it,

but he came up to me and said,
"Juan, speak English.

You in America."

- Alvin Dark turned off a lot
of minorities.

He said some things,
some very regrettable things.

- I remember what happened
to Orlando.

- Well, in my case,

because I like--
I love music so much,

I carried my record player
with me on the big LP.

But Alvin Dark,
because he don't like music,

he tried to stop me.

And he gave order

to the clubhouse man

for me not to bring my music
with me on the road.

If I can't bring my music
with me,

I'm not going nowhere.

- He would not allow Spanish
to be spoken in the clubhouse.

[somber music]

Cepeda and some
of the other minorities

were ready to walk out.

It was gonna be a mutiny.

- Willie had to talk to Alvin
about the situation.

- He says, "You go
and you do what you have to do,

and I will back you up
for the fullest."

And he did.

Alvin Dark. That's what I said.

A lot of people say,
"Well, he's a racist."

I don't think so.

- Willie got in between,

and Willie tried to tell me,
"You a baseball player.

"Put aside the manager,
whatever he say.

If you do well,
everybody gonna like you."

So that really helped me.

- Willie was always like that.

He was, um,

he just saw things differently,
you know?

Willie just said, just--
"Let's play the game.

"You know, let's just--we got--

we got to stick together.
Let's just play the game."

He had just a different
perspective on things and a--

more of a outgoing personality
toward that.

- Alvin kept doing it.

There was gonna be a mutiny.

Alvin was fired
after the season.

So Willie's a great uniter.

He's a great peacemaker,
the captain.

The Giants had the best
road attendance

in the National League
throughout the '60s.

They had the Alou brothers.

They had Cepeda.

They had McCovey,
Marichal, Perry.

But it was Mays
who brought the fans in.

It was Mays who united
that team,

who made that team good enough

for everybody
to wanna go see the Giants.

- I got this Willie Mays bat
last week.

I told the youngsters
of the country

that I'd ask you to give them
a couple of tips on hitting.

- Well, I could've used
this bat today, Ed.

- [laughs]
- Why you give it to me now?

- Willie was so naturally
effervescent

and such a gifted storyteller

and so comfortable in front
of the cameras

that much of white America
felt comfortable with him.

He wasn't outwardly political,
so that might--

may have put people at ease.

- Hey, Sam!

- Say Hey, Willie!

- I did three
or four different things

that came out of Hollywood.

[phone rings]

[bright music]

- Donna.
- Willie.

What a nice surprise.
- How are you?

- Will you join us?

- Oh, no. Thank you, Donna.

I just stopped by
to see a friend of mine.

He owns this place.
- Oh.

- He used to be an umpire,
you know?

- I remember asking Willie
about this.

There are no Black people
on any of these sitcoms,

but Willie Mays
would just show up

as if that was
a natural course of things.

So here's Donna Reed having
lunch with a white lady,

and all of a sudden,
Willie Mays shows up.

- Oh, wait till I tell
the doctor

that I met little ol' Say Hey.

- The incongruity of the scene
was apparently lost

on most viewers, and then
he walked away with the check.

- I did "The Tonight Show,"
"What's My Line?"

"Ed Sullivan."

- What's the greatest streak
you've ever had in baseball,

would you say?
- Well, my--I have two.

I--my greatest
in baseball was last week

when I hit my 512 home runs,
enough to break Mel Ott.

[applause]

- Just a couple of days
before his birthday in 1966,

Willie Mays hit number 512.

He broke Mel Ott's
National League record

and became the number one
home run slugger

in National League history.

Giants were in New York.

"The Ed Sullivan Show"
was the big national show

on Sunday nights
that was live.

His fame has gone
coast-to-coast by that time.

[wind whistling]

[soft vocalizing]

- Willie Mays lives alone
behind miles

of drawn curtains,

searching for whatever privacy
there is off the field,

that quiet time alone.

The life of a celebrity
is not always ideal.

You have to pay a price that
quite often is greater than

or as great as the cheers
and plaudits and the wealth.

- So San Francisco was not like
the center of Black folk

because it was not as social.

There was no such thing
as a Black Harlem

in the Bay Area
and in the city.

At some point,
Margherite and Willie Mays,

they got divorced.

[smooth jazz music]

Willie Mays
is not a social butterfly.

Even today,
that's who Willie Mays is.

He was never a player,
a street player.

He was a baseball player.

But being Willie Mays,
you know, Willie Mays was--

he's always with it.

- Willie home, decorated all
in gold and white,

is high on a hill overlooking
the famous Golden Gate Bridge.

He leads the gracious life
of a superstar

in these luxury surroundings.

- Yeah, that was
the best house to be a kid in.

He cut a hole
in the living room floor

and put, like,
a spiral staircase

down to the garage,
so it was like the Batcave.

[engine turns over]

- The gold clock says 10:15

and time to be going
to the park

to play Los Angeles again.

Willie, after a night game
and a late meal,

gets home past midnight,

so there's very little time
to relax.

The games just keep coming,
night and day.

- The fans have been very good
to me.

They've been great, and they
always been coming in,

but I don't worry about
the grown people too much.

I worry more about the kids.

- I'm Mike Murphy.

I've been with the Giants
for 63 years.

I started as a bat boy.

If you needed something,
you go see Willie.

He took care of me
when I was a kid.

He'd give us money
to go eat lunch

or "Here, kids, here.

Here's 20 bucks. Go eat lunch."

20 bucks in the '50s
was a lot of money.

He'd never refuse anybody.

And, you know, kids go up
to him and, you know,

ask him for autographs
and everything.

- When he arrives
at Candlestick,

the kids are there
to greet him.

[kids cheering]
And beyond the gate,

his quiet, private hours
are over.

- I bet you every one of
those kids got an autograph,

baseball, or photograph
from him

because that's who Willie Mays
really was.

And that made him
an even bigger star.

He surpassed
the white superstars.

- He comes from a family

and a place where everybody
helps everybody.

I guess
he's paying it forward.

He's seeing people
are helping me.

I need to help people.

- Willie is in the prime
of his career

with the San Francisco Giants.

So many people,
not just ballplayers

or even athletes,

people who grew up
in that area

in various walks of life speak
with such reverence

about Willie Mays

and what he meant
to their childhood

or their adolescence.

He was a gigantic star.

- Willie Mays played
so frequently

and he was so durable

that from 1951 through 1962,
he missed 21 games.

Giants lost 14 of 'em.

So no wonder managers wanted
him to play every single day.

He played to an extent

that he was literally
exhausted and passed out.

This happened three
or four times in his career

and was rushed to the hospital

and would often spend a couple
of nights at the hospital,

where he'd be rejuvenated,

and return to the field
and keep playin'.

But in the '50s and '60s,
that was Willie Mays.

He did not wanna stop
until he literally passed out.

- I think the era of baseball
at that time was,

you don't get sick,
you don't get hurt,

you don't get tired.

Black players don't get that.

That we play every day.

I learned that from those guys.

That was the Mays era
and start of my era.

The easy jobs
in the front office

that paid six figures,

Black players don't get
those kind of jobs.

Those are
for the white players.

- We knew
what the situation was

because by 1968,

the masses of Blacks
had grown tired

and impatient
with litigation and legislation

and gradualism.

They began to struggle
for dignity and respect.

We're gonna do
what we're going to do

regardless whether
the white folks believe us

or not.
You see what I'm saying?

- And that's boycott?

- I am saying
that we are going to do

what is in the interest
of Black people,

whatever it is.

That's when the athletes
in the mid-late 1960s decided

we've got to make a clean,
hard break with our fathers.

Not just Willie Mays,

but that whole era of athletes

who found it necessary
and imperative

to simply shut up and play.

And you had Jim Brown,
Muhammad Ali,

and Bill Russell.

You had Arthur Ashe.

You Tommie Smith
and John Carlos,

who took it international.

These athletes were saying,
"We're not just commodities

"for your entertainment
and pleasure.

"We are full, complete,
and total human beings,

and we demand
to be treated as such."

Said that
on a international stage

12 years after Jackie Robinson
had retired.

He made the statement,

"I never had it made

"because I realize
I'm a Black man

in a racist white society."

Willie didn't want any part
of that.

And this is where
he actually drew criticism

from Jackie Robinson.

[somber music]

- "Willie's personable

"and has great talent,

"but he's never matured.

"He continues to ignore
the most important issue

"of our time.

"He's never had
any decent guidance

"in these matters
and probably keeps looking

"only to his security
as a great star.

"It's a damn shame
he's never taken part.

"He doesn't realize he
wouldn't be where he is today

"without the battles
that others have fought.

"He thinks
it's not his concern,

"but it is.

Jackie Robinson."

- Jackie ripped him.

He said,
"Wouldn't it be wonderful

"if this young superstar
could tell us

"about leaving Birmingham,

"and being denied at the house
in San Francisco,

and overcoming it all?"

- I think that's totally unfair

'cause Willie's always been
outspoken.

It's just
that Willie saw things

a little bit more calmer,
I guess you can say.

- Willie's father
always told him,

"Don't create chaos.
Don't pop off.

Don't say too much."

Just put your head down,
run the bases,

and play the game right.

And Willie took that to heart.

- Some marched and protested.

Some won gold medals
in the World Series.

It's about humanizing us.

That's what happened
in the '60s.

It's, these people
made it impossible

for us to be dismissed,
ignored.

They brought the light.

- "Different people do things
in different ways.

"I can, for instance,
go out and picket.

"I can't stand on a soapbox
and preach.

"That simply isn't my nature.

"People like Mr. King
and Mr. Wilkins

"are better equipped
than I am.

"But it's not true
what Robinson said about

"my not doing anything
for race relationships.

"I've worked
for the Job Corps,

"and I don't know
how many kid's groups

"I've addressed
and will continue to address.

"In my own way,
I believe I'm helping.

"You see, I've been doing
things a long time

"along this line,
but I want no credit.

"Everyone must do his own job
in his own way,

"and in my heart,
my way is just as important

"as Jackie Robinson's way.

"I believe understanding
is the important thing.

"In my talks to kids,
I've tried my best

"to get that message across.

"It makes no difference
whether you are Black or white

"because we are all
God's children

"fighting for the same cause.

"Let's talk about progress
for a while.

"Just look around out there
in the clubhouse.

"There are an awful lot
of southern boys

"on this team, yet we live
and play together in harmony.

"It was not possible
15, 16 years ago.

"Today's kids
don't have the hardships

"Jackie and I had,

"and they realize
and appreciate it.

"Today, for instance, we play
as many as five or six Negroes

"at the same time
on our ball club.

"And once in Atlanta,
we had eight or nine in there

"at the same time, and Atlanta
is a Southern town.

Willie Mays."

- Harry Edwards' famous book,

"The Revolt
of the Black Athlete,"

that's something particular
to the '60s.

Willie came along

before anybody knew
who Cassius Clay was.

So I wanna judge Willie Mays
as Willie Mays.

- Willie's always been
outspoken.

It's just
that those were the gentlemen

that were picked at that time,

as well as Martin Luther King
was our representation

of freedom for Blacks
at the time.

Willie just wasn't
on that panel.

Doesn't necessarily mean
Willie wasn't outspoken

for what he believed in.

He believed
in what they were saying,

and maybe Willie
at that time felt

they were the right candidate
for that.

- Well, it's almost unfair
to suggest

that Willie Mays
should do anything

other than be
the proficient professional

he needed to be
as a baseball player.

Black people have imposed upon
them the dual responsibility

to not only represent
all Black people,

but to make it comfortable
for even some racists

to interact
without ever accepting

the racist response,

you are okay,
but the rest of you are not.

And that's kind of the way
Willie Mays was treated.

He became "okay,
but the rest of them not."

And to the extent
that he could be helpful,

with the NAACP,

with the Council
for Civic Unity,

with all
the other organizations,

and with individuals
like Willie Brown,

the upcoming lawyer,
politician,

Willie Mays was helpful.

And we all are not gonna be
Muhammad Ali.

- Willie did things
for people behind the scenes,

in the dugout,
in the clubhouse, at his home.

So I spoke with Joe Morgan,

Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson,
Maury Wills.

All of 'em, to a man, said,
"It's wrong to say

"that Willie didn't do enough
because he was there for me.

"He was there for us.

"He opened the door for us.

And he did so much more than
people give him credit for."

- I met Willie Mays
in spring training in 1968.

And he came out
of the Giants' dugout and he--

"Where is this
Reggie Jackson at?

"This Reggie Jackson kid,
I wanna see this kid.

"Reggie Jackson, they tell me
he's a great player.

"He's got a lot of power.

Where's this kid,
Reggie Jackson?"

And I was
the Arizona State kid.

He wanted to introduce himself
to me,

and I was absolutely thrilled.

I learned so much from Willie.

- As Willie started getting
up there in years,

every time there would be
a young outfielder

who had promise,
there was always talk

of him being
the next Willie Mays.

Bobby Bonds,

that was the guy
they really thought

could really be
the next Willie Mays.

announcer: Bobby Bonds
is off and running.

- He had tremendous speed,
tremendous power.

Great base-stealer.

He could do it all.

announcer:
Bonds gives the Giants one

of the best defensive
outfields ever assembled.

And he can do the impossible.

- Willie had a locker,
and nobody dressed next

to Willie but only
special people that he wanted.

So we put Bobby next
to Willie,

and that's how they became
best of friends.

- Willie took him
under his wing.

- I grew up with Bobby.

The Bonds' were--were
the heroes in our town.

And I was always
with him and my dad

'cause my dad
was always Bobby's coach.

Bobby was the man.

He introduced me
to Willie Mays.

I told him I liked his glove
that he had on.

It was a kangaroo glove,

and Willie took it off his hand
and gave it to me.

And so I felt a closeness
to, you know, to Willie

and definitely always
a closeness,

you know, to Bobby.

And, you know,
Willie helped Bobby.

You know, he loved Bobby.

- My dad loved Willie more
than anything.

Everything was Willie this
in our house, Willie that.

Willie this, Willie this.

If you wanna hit,
you gotta hit like Willie.

You know, throw your hands
like this

and everything like that, and--

'cause my dad idolized
Willie Mays.

'Cause Willie took all
the Black athletes

at that time, and he held them
on his shoulder.

And we as kids
remember this forever.

I was one of those kids that,
I mean,

I was obsessed with Willie.

I would put Willie--
I'm left handed,

and I would put Willie's glove
on backwards

just so I could wear his glove.

But it was my parents,
you know,

that sat there and told Willie,
you know,

"You're gonna take this kid."

'Cause I wouldn't wanna leave
the locker room.

I didn't wanna--I followed him
like a little puppy dog.

And I guess my dad
kind of got fed up

because I remember being
on the field

when I was five
and six years old,

and I guess my dad kind of got
fed of me just screamin'

"I wanna be with Willie,"
crying, "Wanna be with Willie."

And Willie just finally
just said, "Gimme that boy,"

you know?
Like, you know?

And he took me out
on the field.

- Barry Bonds grew up not only
in a baseball household,

but as part
of baseball royalty.

His mom and dad,
Pat and Bobby Bonds,

asked Willie Mays
to be the godfather for Barry.

- Barry would climb all over
his locker, get in his locker.

And he would say,
"What are you doing in there?

What are you doing in there?"

So they used to grab
his gloves, and, oh...

[laughing] He'd get mad
if you grabbed his gloves.

- That little kid,
five years old,

I remember saying to him,

"Boy, get out of my locker."

[laughter]

- I'll tell you one thing
about Say Hey, boy,

'cause you did--
you brought up one catch,

and then there's another catch
with him and my father

in San Francisco, okay?

I was mad at my dad
because he hurt my godfather,

like really mad.

[cheers and applause]

- Game of the week.

Bobby Tolan, Cincinnati Reds,
hits a monster fly ball

to right center,
so the ball goes up.

Bobby jumps up,

but Willie comes out
of nowhere and jumps over him,

makes the catch,
climbs the cyclone fence,

comes down with it.

They collide,

and Bobby is actually looking
at the ball

and holds the ball up
for the umpire to see.

- Willie came out of nowhere,
okay?

'Cause the ball
was hitting right center,

and I--I was a kid
and I was at that game.

My dad's knee hit Willie
in his chest a little bit.

And I was so mad at my dad

because Willie
was on that ground forever.

I didn't want to talk
to my dad for hours.

Like, "I don't like you.

You hurt my--
you hurt my Willie."

And Willie's on the ground
and the ball's sittin'

in his glove.

Without the glove falling off

or the ball falling out
of your glove,

and then him hanging
on the ball,

to have not only retained
the ball

and be knocked out,

that, to me, was the best catch
I've ever seen.

- Two things happened
at that time.

I got married,
and I got traded to the Mets.

- The Giants, meanwhile,
were having a tough time,

and business
was not going well.

I mean, the Stoneham family
was literally going bankrupt.

The Giants used to be the
second highest-drawing team

in the National League
behind the Dodgers,

and most of those years,
second best-drawing team

in all
of Major League Baseball.

And they would a million six.

One year they got
a million seven,

a million five.

And '68, they A's came out
from Kansas City.

And both teams drew 800,000.

And really, where did they
expect all these extra fans

were gonna come from?

Because the Giants
had been the only team?

We used to go
from the East Bay

over to Candlestick.

Well, now we didn't have
to do that anymore.

We could just go
to the Coliseum.

We didn't have to go across
the bridge anymore.

It was 1972,
and they started trading some

of their higher-priced
players.

Willie Mays would regularly
have the highest salary

in the game.

That's when he got traded.

I think it killed
Horace Stoneham to do it.

But they just couldn't
afford it.

- Mr. Stoneham told me,
he says,

"Willie, I don't have
enough money to pay you."

I said,
"What do you mean, sir?"

He says, "I gotta get you back
to New York,

"where you can still make,
you know,

quite a bit of money."

So I says,
"I don't think I wanna go.

I think I better go home."

And he said, "No, no, no.

Mrs. Joan Payson's the owner
of the Mets."

She already called."

And she says, "We got you."

And I said, "I gotta go home."

"No, no, no.

"Your wife is already here.

"She's been here for two days.

She said,
"Write your own contract."

And I said,
"Whoa, I got her now."

So I said,
"I, Willie Mays, would like

"to do what I wanna do,

when I wanna do it
at any time."

And she said,
"Is that what you want?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"You got it."
And I said, "Oh, my God.

She gave me everything
that I asked for."

I can't go nowhere.

- When I got back to New York,

it was just like I never left.

[light funk music]

- What a moment.

This is a sensation
in New York.

- The feeling
that I had when I came back

was--
it just was no expressing it.

It was just a feeling
that a town wanted a fella

to come back,
and I think they showed that

by, you know,
the way they treat me

when I first came back,
and it's just terrific

just to be back.

- The Giants went to New York
just a few days later,

and they play the Mets.

And Willie hits a home run
against the Giants,

and he beats the Giants.

announcer: And it's well back
in left field.

It could be.
It's going, going.

And it is a home run!

Number 647 in his career.

[cheers and applause]

- The way I felt that
the players on the Giants felt

that they had to get beat,

they'd rather for me
to beat 'em.

And this is the way I feel all,
you know,

going around the bases,
you know.

♪ ♪

- It's beautiful.
- Unreal.

- I think it's wonderful.

- It's great.
- It's fantastic.

- I was always
a Willie Mays fan.

- [speaking Spanish]

- It's the best thing
that ever happened to me.

- So May of '72,

Joan Payson has the Mets,
brings him home.

He was a key player
on that team in '72.

And he was thinking,
"Well, that's it for me.

I'm okay
if this is my last year."

But Joan Payson
wouldn't allow it.

She says, "One more year,
Willie, one more year."

So Willie agreed
to play one more year.

[cheers and applause]

Those Mets came outta nowhere
to win their division in '73.

announcer: It's over!

The New York Mets
have won the pennant!

The New York Mets
have won the pennant!

The New York Mets
have won the pennant,

and this is a wild scene!

- And find themselves
in the World Series

against the Oakland A's.

Game one of the '73
World Series is in Oakland.

announcer: Batting third
and playing center field,

number 24, Willie Mays.

[cheers and applause]

Willie Mays never played
at the Oakland Coliseum.

And he gets a standing ovation

that might have been
the longest of his career.

[cheers and applause]

But it's game two
that everybody looks at.

Game two
was at the Oakland Coliseum.

It started
in the late afternoon.

- I played center field
the same day.

I almost missed a ball
in the sun off Jerry Grote.

The sun was horrible there
that day.

And it's always bad in Oakland
in October.

I don't know how they built
the field that way,

but someone didn't have
the foresight.

- The thing goes 13 innings.

It's the longest World Series
on record through that season.

And Deron Johnson gets up
for the A's

and hits a little blooper
into center field.

And the ball gets by him
and goes to the wall.

announcer:
And it gets by him.

He lost his footing again.

Deron Johnson's in to second.

Willie Mays stumbling again
as he did on the bases.

- So later in the game,
Reggie hits a triple

that Willie lost
in the sun as well.

[melancholic music]

♪ ♪

- This "Willie Mays stumbled
around in center field

because he was old
and couldn't play," no.

If he couldn't get
to the ball, I'm okay.

But he didn't get to the ball
and drop it.

He never did that.

Never.

That game is not an image
of Willie Mays.

Willie--you can say
Willie Mays was old

when he played his last game,

he got a base hit,

and he had trouble
with the sun in center field

in the World Series.
I got that.

But Willie Mays was flawless
as a baseball player.

So if somebody wants
to talk about his sun game,

you forget about the fact

that he got the go-ahead
base hit to put them ahead

with a ground ball single
up the middle.

- You'll see a picture
that everybody points to.

- Bud Harrelson was called out
at the plate by the umpire.

- Willie, the on-deck hitter,

was out there screamin'
and yellin' at the umpire

saying, "You got this wrong,
man."

- Because that's such
a powerful photo,

you misread it
if you don't have the context

to understand that he wasn't
as good at 40 as he was at 20,

but it's like, no.

Not only is this dude good,

this dude might be the best
there ever was.

announcer: There was one
very poignant pause

down the home stretch
when Willie Mays announced

that 1973 would be
his final season

as an active player.

♪ ♪

- I remember watching
game seven,

and the Mets were down
three runs

as they come up in the ninth.

And they get two men on base.

And I realize he's 42 years old
and at the end of his career

and all the rest,

but I'm thinking,
"Yogi, send Willie up.

"This is Willie Mays'
last at-bat.

"He's already announced
his retirement.

"Two out,
tying run at the plate.

Send Willie Mays up."
He didn't.

Knowles got Garland out.

Lost the game.

I asked Willie about that
decades later.

He goes,
"I was reaching for a bat.

"It was a perfect moment.

Even if I struck out,
I wanted a chance."

- We should've won
the World Series at that time

'cause we--we did a good job,
I felt.

I think I played till 42.

A long time.

♪ ♪

announcer: Ladies
and gentlemen, Willie Mays.

[cheers and applause]

- I hope that
with my farewell tonight

you would understand what
I'm going through right now.

Something that I'd never feel

that I would ever
quit baseball,

but as you know,
it always come a time

for someone to get out.

And I look
at the kids over here,

the way they are playing

and the way they are fighting
for themselves

tells me one thing.

Willie, say goodbye to America.

Thank you very much.

[thunderous cheers
and applause]

♪ ♪

Anybody
who have seen me play know

that I love what I'm doing.

This doesn't mean
that I'm getting out

of baseball because I'm hurt.

But I'm getting out
of baseball

because I don't feel
that seeing the way

that I was playing the last,
oh, well,

I'd say the last couple years,

I didn't feel
that the people of America

should look at a guy
like myself

that loved the game
of baseball

and being on the field
and not being able to produce.

It's difficult right now
to even, uh,

try to explain to you
how much I love baseball

and how much baseball mean
to me.

I think we had what you call
a love affair.

I think the two together

for 22 years
have been terrific.

- Fast-forward 20 years or so,

Willie was not working
for the Giants.

Willie was out of baseball.

This is in late '92

when our group came together
to buy the team.

And Peter Magowan and I went
to Willie

the very first spring training
that we had in early '93.

And we said, "Willie, you have
to be part of this franchise.

And we want you
to have a lifetime contract."

So it's 1992,
and the best free agent

on the market is available
for our first year

owning the franchise, 1993.

And how did we get
to Barry Bonds?

Well, I don't know him.

But there's one person
that could make the pitch:

Willie.

There was a call that was made
by Willie to Barry.

And when the decision came
for Barry

to determine where
he was gonna play in 1993

and where he would play
for the next 15 years,

he was very emotional
and he called up.

And I remember being
on the other end of the call

and saying,
"Look, how can I not come

to the home of my father
and my godfather, Willie?"

- I wanted to go home.

This is what I've always wanted
my whole entire life.

And that was really,
really important to me.

The most important thing
in the world.

- The biggest deal
in baseball history

finally went through today

as the San Francisco Giants
signed

free agent outfielder
Barry Bonds

to a six-year
$43.75 million deal.

- And I wanna thank
the San Francisco Giants

organization for talking
to Willie for me

and giving me this opportunity

and especially Willie
for allowing this to happen.

And Willie called me up.

And he sat there and he said,

"I would like for you
to wear my number."

So I was so touched.

I was crying.
I was like, "This is great.

This is great."

Peter was fine with it.

The Giants were fine with it.

But Major League Baseball
shut it down.

They said
that you can't do that

because if we start taking
uniforms out of retirement,

then why
are we retiring uniforms?

Which made perfect sense to me.

I was fine,
and then Willie said,

"Why don't you honor your daddy

and wear number 25?"

- So I have the honor
of presenting

my old number, the 25,

to my son,
and a new San Francisco Giant,

Barry Bonds.

[cheers and applause]

- And tears flowed.

- It's like a boyhood dream

that comes true for me.

Um...

[soft sentimental music]

And I'll never forget this
'cause we were on stage

and Peter Magowan
and all the owners stood

and Willie's there,
and he goes, "You ready."

That's when I knew I was
a complete baseball player

is when I got that stamp
from my godfather.

He had an IQ so high
he can see it.

My godfather
played center field.

My father played right field.

And I wanted
to be third generation

and play left field.

- Willie's the only one
and his mama, Pat,

that could put the brakes
and control Barry.

You know, he'd listen
to Bobby most of the time,

but he listened
to Willie all the time.

[laughs]

- Barry and Bobby struggle,
you know,

like many fathers and sons do.

Dad, of course, jumped in,
you know, help 'em both out.

- They were always there
for me.

My dad was there with me.

I was doing
off-season training.

My dad was in the batting cage
with me every single day

when I was training,
and Willie was there

all the time
when I was training.

Willie was there with me
on the baseball field.

And I wanted Willie
to be proud of me so bad

that I ate, drank,
lived baseball 24 hours a day.

[bat cracks]

announcer: Bonds with a drive.

Looks like number 70
for Barry Bonds.

And it is!

- And if you look back at all
of Barry Bonds' record,

what does he say
is most meaningful?

announcer: A knuckleball
is hit in the air

to deep right field.

- Passing Babe, passing Hank?

No. Matching Willie Mays, 660.

announcer: He hits it hard!

[cheers and applause]

- When I was going
for the home run record,

I didn't wanna pass
Willie Mays.

That was my godfather.

That was the only thing
I never wanted to do

was to pass Willie Mays,
and that was very hard for me.

And so Willie sat me aside.

And I was like,
"Willie, I can't do it.

"It's because
it's too emotional.

"You're gonna come out
on the field.

I'ma start cryin."

And he said,
"You better pass me,

and then
you better keep going."

I did it because of Willie.

announcer: And Bonds hits one
high and deep

towards right field and...

into McCovey Cove!

- And he said, "You pass me,
and you keep passing next.

And you keep going until
they rip that uniform off you."

[cheers and applause]

announcer:
Bonds passes Babe Ruth.

[fireworks exploding]

He is second
on the all-time home run list.

- I gotta thank all of you.

My family, my dad.

I was very, very lucky

to have two of the greatest
teachers in the world to me.

Thank you!

My father and Willie.

- Midway into Barry's career
as a Giant,

his father Bobby died.

And on his deathbed,
Willie Mays visits him,

and Bobby says,
"Take care of Barry for me"

because you're the only guy
he listens to other than me."

And Willie said, "Okay."

And that was important
for all the turmoil

and all the stuff
that Barry went through,

it was Willie Mays
who he could always call,

Willie Mays
who was always there for him.

[cheers and applause]

- There was a poignant moment
when they saluted Barry Bonds

and retired his number
formally at Oracle Park.

Willie was there,
and he got up

and said that he needed
to speak.

- When Mr. Mays wants to speak,

he gets to speak.

[cheers and applause]

So we're gonna get Mr. Mays
a microphone.

- I have to go to the podium
because when I say something,

I want everybody to hear.

- And this was not part
of the script.

- And Willie, take it away.

[cheers and applause]

- I don't like
to do things like this.

But the boy that is here today,

he was like my little son.

I taught him to be a proud man.

Give somebody honor
that deserve

to be in the Hall of Fame.

- Yes, sir!
- Yeah.

[cheers and applause]
Yeah.

- So Willie starts talking
about the Hall of Fame

and what a great thrill
it was for him

when he got that call

that he was going
into the Hall of Fame.

- You know, Dad sees Barry
as a kid that he helped groom,

and I think Barry sees Dad
as his family.

His dad's gone, so you know,
closest thing he's got.

- Let him have the honor

'cause I may not be here
forever.

I might be gone.

I want him to have kids

and his kids say,
"That's my daddy over there."

And I want him
to have that honor

be something happen to him.

[cheers and applause]

- What do you remember about
that speech?

- Trying not to cry.

'Cause it was like your father.

[voice breaking]
And that's tough

'cause he's the world to me.

And for him to stand up

for his godson like his son,

that's what I was holding back.

And that's the only answer
I got for you.

'Cause that's the same feeling
I had, the same--

and anyone
who ever brings it up,

it's the same feeling.

My dad is dead.

And Willie was--is all I have,
right?

So that...

don't do it.

That's how I felt.

- On behalf of all the people
in San Francisco

and all over the country,

vote this guy in.

He is very, very important
to me!

Thank you very much.

Okay.

- And I think that was
the generosity of spirit.

That was Willie Mays.

And who could offer counsel
to Barry Bonds

but Willie Mays?

[cheers and applause]

[soft emotional music]

- Whatever the Lord did
for Willie Mays,

he equipped Willie Mays
to play the art of baseball.

There's some people that could
hit as good as he did.

There's some people that could
throw as well as he could.

On every pitch,
Willie Mays was as decisive

intellectually on baseball,

as any one of the coaches,

as any one of the managers.

None of them could do
what Willie Mays could do.

all: ♪ Happy Birthday,
dear Willie ♪

♪ ♪

- You had to experience it
to understand what he meant.

all: ♪ To you ♪
- Yeah!

- He was baseball to a lot
of people

in an era that was brimming
with great, great players.

- I didn't think of him
as a mere ballplayer

or even as a human being,
as I look back on it,

but rather a superhero.

Willie Mays walks down
the street

and fathers say to their sons,

"There goes Willie Mays,

the greatest player
to ever play this game."

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

- We don't have time

to list all
of Willie Mays' statistics

and his quiet example
while excelling

on one
of America's biggest stages

helped carry forward the banner
of civil rights.

A few years ago, Willie rode
with me on Air Force One.

I told him then
what I'll tell all of you now.

It's because of giants
like Willie

that someone like me could
even think about

running for president.

[camera shutter clicks]

[cheers and applause]

- Are you Willie Mays,
the greatest baseball player

of all time?

- Uh-uh.

I don't do that.

- You don't do that?

- No.

- Who is it? Who would be?

- I don't know.
That's not my job.

- Right.

- You--if you's talking about
the greatest ballplayer,

I didn't do all that
to play baseball.

- Mm-hmm.
- No.

My dad could play baseball.

Oh, I got a lot
of guys could play baseball.

I didn't do that to--to--

to say I'm the best.

When I look at myself,
I think about sports first.

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

So many things happened
with me on the baseball field

that I could just look back
and just replay every moment.

I never had a day where
somebody would not come up

and say,
"I saw you make a play.

I love you because
of what you did for me."

And it made me feel
very, very proud

because not only
did I play baseball

for the people,
they enjoyed what I did.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
number 24, Willie Mays.

- ♪ Say hey, Willie ♪

♪ Greatest in the building,
what you got to say? ♪

♪ Willie, say hey ♪

♪ No question number 24,
will he amaze ya? ♪

♪ Say hey, Willie ♪

♪ Most exciting ballplayer
in the game to play ♪

♪ Willie, say hey,
Willie Mays ♪

- Who's the catcher
from the Braves

whose leg you broke?

- Del Rice, good guy.

- Why'd you break his leg?

- He got in the goddamn way.

What do you mean, what--
how I broke his leg?

I broke it sliding home.

I told him.

I said, "You better the hell
out the way, man."

- You broke the same leg twice?

- Yep.

He got in the way twice,

put the leg out there
in front of me.

And I said, "You better get
that sumbitch back there

and hold it for a minute."

Yeah, he's--
but he was a good guy.

I didn't--
I didn't hit him too hard.

Just a little bit.

- Just hard enough
to break his leg, right?

- [laughing]
Yeah, that was enough.

Who do you like on the team?

- On the Giants?

- Yeah.
- I'm a--I was a Yankee fan.

- [laughs]
- Huh?

- I was a Yankee fan.

- So?
- I like Mickey Mantle.

- What happened to me?

- [laughs]

- Oh, you left me already?

- Oh, no.
- [laughs]

- I think you left me, brother.

[laughter]

- Oh, shit.

Who else was out there
that could play?

- Babe Ruth?

- A'ight, well, fuck.

I ain't see Babe Ruth play.
- [laughs]

- What the hell
are you talking about?

I know Babe.
I met Babe

over in Long Island
a couple times,

but I don't--
- You met Babe Ruth?

- Yeah.
- Did you like Babe Ruth?

Did you like him as a person?

- Uh-oh, see, that's why
I don't say nothing.

[laughter]

- Ready?

- See, you tryin'.
- I'm tryin'!

[laughter]

- Oh, my God.

- 90-year-old man...
- Yo, that hurt.

- Whuppin' your ass.

- That did hurt.

- He wanted
to arm wrestle Willie.

- Arm wrestle, no.
[laughter]

I don't wanna break his arm
'cause he'll say I'm cheating.

- Oh, you kicked my ass today,
but--

- In the interview
or the handshake?

- Both. I think both.
- Definitely both.

- I think both.

- I told you to be nice to him,
Willie.

What are you doing?

- I'll break that son
of a bitch next time.

[laughter]

- The New York Mets are proud
to announce

that in accordance
with Mrs. Payson's wishes

and at the urging
of his former Mets' teammates,

in recognition
of his contributions

to the Mets, as well
as baseball in New York

and the country at large,

Willie Mays' 24
will take its place

in the left field corner here
at Citi Field

with the other greats
in Mets' history.

[bright tone]