ABOUT WILLIE
Willie Mays is considered the greatest baseball player of all time, for his extraordinary and electrifying feats on the field. But Willie’s greatness extended to his life off of the field as well.
Willie grew up in a family and community with few resources. As a black child in that era, his only educational choice was the segregated industrial school that did not have a baseball team. He credited the life he had to hard work, good luck, and the teachers, coaches, and family members who looked after him, nurtured his natural talents, and helped him get the right start in life. For that reason, even as one of the most celebrated figures in the nation, he always took time out to pay that forward to children.
Image Source: San Francisco Giants
When Willie received the Presidential Medal of Freedom he dedicated it to the people who had looked after him as a child, the children who inspired him everyday.
Photo: Kris Connor
Photo: Arthur Rickerby/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
“They invented the All-Star Game for Willie Mays.”
— Ted Williams 
Photo: Paul Sakuma / AP
“Hopefully they can say, ‘There goes the best baseball player in the world.’ I honestly believe I did everything in baseball that a baseball player can do, and I did it with love.”
— Willie Mays