Known for movies
Short Info
Net Worth | $3 million |
Date Of Birth | May 6, 1931 |
Spouse | Mae Louise Allen, Margherite Wendell Chapman |
Fact | He was the ninth player to be so elected to the Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility with 95% of votes cast. Of the five percent of baseball writers who didn't to vote for Mays, Dick Young wrote, "If Jesus Christ were to show up with his old baseball glove, some guys wouldn't vote for him. He dropped the cross three times, didn't he?" |
Willie Mays was born on May 6, 1931, in Westfield, Alabama. His parents, Annie and Cat Mays, were both sharecroppers. He was the fifth of six children. Willie began playing baseball at a young age and was soon recruited by the Birmingham Black Barons, a Negro League team. He played for the Black Barons for three years before being drafted by the New York Giants in 1951.
Willie made his Major League debut in May of 1951. He quickly became one of the league’s best players. In 1954, he was named National League Rookie of the Year. He was also named National League Most Valuable Player that year. Willie was an All-Star for 12 straight seasons from 1954 to 1965. He helped lead the Giants to the World Series title in 1954. He was traded to the New York Mets in 1972 and played for them for two seasons before retiring.
Willie Mays is considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979. His career statistics include 2,857 hits, 660 home runs, and 1,903 RBIs. He was a 24-time All-Star and won two World Series titles.
Willie Mays’ net worth is estimated to be $80 million. He has earned his fortune through his baseball career and various business ventures. He has also worked as a television commentator and an instructor at baseball camps.
Willie Mays has been married twice. His first wife was Mae Louise Allen. They were married for 50 years before she passed away in 2013. They had three children together. Willie married his second wife, Doris, in 2015. He has four children from his first marriage and one from his second marriage.
General Info
Full Name | Willie Mays |
Net Worth | $3 million |
Date Of Birth | May 6, 1931 |
Height | 1.8 m |
Weight | 82 kg |
Profession | TV Personality, Baseball player |
Nationality | American |
Family
Spouse | Mae Louise Allen, Margherite Wendell Chapman |
Children | Michael Mays |
Parents | Annie Satterwhite, William Howard Mays |
Accomplishments
Awards | National League Most Valuable Player Award, Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year |
Movies | Willie Mays and the Say-Hey Kid |
Social profile links
Quotes
# | Quote |
---|---|
1 | [on fellow ball-player Ernie Banks] Eddie would famously say, 'It's a beautiful day for a baseball game. Let's play two'. And I'd tell him, 'Ernie, we just played a double-header. Nobody wants to play anymore. We're all tired!' Then we'd all just laugh. |
2 | My father told me that I was able to walk when I was only six months old. And wouldn't you know it, he got me walking after a baseball. Getting a baseball was just about the first thing I was able to do. He put two chairs close to each other and then put a baseball on one. I was clinging to the other. He walked me through two or three times. 'See the ball," he said. 'See the ball.' Then he turned me loose - and I went for the ball myself. When he knew I could chase a ball, he gave me batting lessons. He handed me a rubber ball and a little stick maybe two feet long, and sat me in the middle of the floor. I'd play with the ball all day long, hitting it with the stick, then crawling or toddling after it across the room. My dad was determined that if I wanted to, I would become a baseball player and not end up in the steel mills the way he did. |
3 | Baseball is a game, yes. It is also a business. But what it most truly is is disguised combat. For all its gentility, its almost leisurely pace, baseball is violence under wraps. |
4 | Every time I look at my pocketbook, I see Jackie Robinson. |
5 | Over the years, a lot of organizations have asked me to be their spokesman, or have wanted me to make speeches about my experiences as a black athlete, or to talk to Congressmen about racial issues in sports. But see, I never recall trouble. I believe I had a happy childhood. Besides playing school sports, we'd play football against the white kids. And we thought nothing of it, neither the blacks nor the whites. ... I never got into a fight that was caused by racism. |
6 | You know, a lot of people said when I was forty, I should quit, but I don't think so. You should play as long as you can and as long as you enjoy the game. In '73, I wasn't enjoying the game, so I quit in May, I retired, and they wouldn't let me retire. So I finished up in the World Series. But I say to players: Play as long as you can, because you only have one chance. |
7 | Youngsters of Little League can survive under-coaching a lot better than over-coaching. |
8 | I remember the last season I played. I went home after a ballgame one day, lay down on my bed, and tears came to my eyes. How can you explain that? You cry because you love her. I cried, I guess, because I loved baseball and I knew I had to leave it. |
9 | I don't compare 'em. I catch 'em. |
Facts
# | Fact |
---|---|
1 | Found out he was being called up to the major leagues on May 12, 1951 when he was at a movie theater in Sioux City, Iowa and a message flashed up on the screen that said 'Willie Mays call your hotel'. |
2 | In 1959, earning $80,000 per year playing for the San Francisco Giants, Mays lived on a modest $300 per week budget. The remainder went to taxes and investments. |
3 | His first career Major League home run went completely out of the Polo Grounds which had never been done before. When asked about the pitch he threw that Mays hit out, Warren Spahn (who was sixty feet, six inches away on the pitchers mound) responded, "Gentlemen, for the first 60' that was a hell of a pitch.". |
4 | Made major league debut on 25 May 1951. |
5 | He was the ninth player to be so elected to the Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility with 95% of votes cast. Of the five percent of baseball writers who didn't to vote for Mays, Dick Young wrote, "If Jesus Christ were to show up with his old baseball glove, some guys wouldn't vote for him. He dropped the cross three times, didn't he?" |
6 | Was recently passed by godson Barry Bonds in the number of career home runs. |
7 | Member of 1951 National League Champion New York Giants team. Member of 1954 World Series Champion New York Giants team. Member of 1962 National League Champion San Francisco Giants team. Member of 1971 National League Western Division Champion San Francisco Giants team. Member of 1973 National League Champion New York Mets team. |
8 | San Francisco Giants All-Time At Bats Leader (10,477). |
9 | San Francisco Giants All-Time Games Played Leader (2,857). |
10 | San Francisco Giants All-Time Runs Leader (2,011). |
11 | San Francisco Giants All-Time Doubles Leader (504). |
12 | San Francisco Giants All-Time Hits Leader (3,187). |
13 | San Francisco Giants All-Time Homerun Leader (646). |
14 | San Francisco Giants All-Time Total Bases Leader (5,907). |
15 | Mays deliberately set his hat on his head in a certain way so that it would always fall off when running at full speed. |
16 | He won 12 Gold Gloves and appeared in a record-tying 24 All-Star games. |
17 | Godfather of Barry Bonds. |
18 | Became famous for catching fly balls using the waist-high or basket catch. |
19 | Is generally regarded as the greatest all-around baseball player of all time. |
20 | Once hit a line drive so hard it went right through the outfield fence of a minor league ballpark in Milwaukee. |
21 | Hit his first major league home run off Warren Spahn at the Polo Grounds in New York. |
22 | Remained with the Mets as a coach after he retired, although his duties were never defined. |
23 | Was forced to sever all ties with baseball by then-commissioner Bowie Kuhn after taking a job with the Bally Corporation; was reinstated by Kuhn's successor, Peter Ueberroth, in the mid-1980s. |
24 | Uniform #24 retired by the Giants; has been issued sparingly by the Mets since he left the organization. |
25 | Was called up by the Giants in May of 1951, at which point he was batting .477 for their AAA affiliate, the Minneapolis Millers. Told Giants manager Leo Durocher he wasn't coming because he felt he couldn't hit big league pitching. Was asked by Leo if he thought he could hit .250 for him, and when Willie said he thought he could, Leo told him to come up immediately. |
26 | Spent most of 1952 and all of 1953 in military service. |
27 | Hit the 600th home run of his career against San Diego's Mike Corkins in September of 1969. |
28 | Was the National League's Most Valuable Player in 1954 and 1965. |
29 | Was the National League's Rookie of the Year in 1951. |
30 | Hit the 500th home run of his career against Houston in September of 1965. |
31 | Moved into second place on the all-time home run list with his 535th homer in August of 1966; remained second behind Babe Ruth until Hank Aaron overtook him in 1972. |
32 | Led the National League in stolen bases from 1956 thru 1959; was the first player to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season. |
33 | Remembered for his over-the-shoulder catch of a Vic Wertz fly ball in Game One of the 1954 World Series. |
34 | Hit four home runs in one game against the Milwaukee Braves in 1961. |
35 | Passed the 3000-hit mark in July of 1970. |
36 | Traded to the New York Mets for pitcher Charlie Williams and cash in May of 1972, fulfilling a longtime ambition for Mets owner Joan Whitney Payson, herself a longtime admirer of Willie. |
37 | Retired with 660 career home runs and a lifetime .302 batting average. |
38 | Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, 1979. Played for the National League's New York/San Francisco Giants (1951-1972) and New York Mets (1972-1973). |
Pictures
Movies
Actor
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
The Donna Reed Show | 1964 | TV Series | Willie Mays |
Soundtrack
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
About Last Night | 2014 | writer: "Say Hey, Willie Mays" | |
The Colgate Comedy Hour | 1954 | TV Series performer - 1 episode |
Self
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Westfield Struggles to Success | 2014 | Documentary | |
Prime 9 | 2009-2011 | TV Series | Himself |
Charlie Rose | 2010 | TV Series | Himself |
The Daily Show | 2010 | TV Series | Himself |
2008 MLB All-Star Game | 2008 | TV Special | Himself - Pre-Game Hall of Fame Ceremony |
2007 MLB All-Star Game | 2007 | TV Special | Himself - Ceremonial 1st Pitch / NL Honorary Captain |
The Republic of Baseball: The Dominican Giants of the American Game | 2006 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
Costas Now | 2006 | TV Series | Himself |
The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame... | 2005 | TV Series | Himself |
ESPN 25: Who's #1? | 2005 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
ESPN SportsCentury | 2000-2004 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
The Tim McCarver Show | 2003 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
100 Years of the World Series | 2003 | Video documentary | Himself |
Here's to You, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years | 2000 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
Michael Jordan to the Max | 2000 | Documentary | Himself |
Joe DiMaggio: The Final Chapter | 2000 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
ABC 2000: The Millennium | 1999 | TV Movie documentary | |
Up Close Primetime | 1998 | TV Series | Himself |
Comic Relief: Baseball Relief '93 | 1993 | TV Movie | Himself |
1992 MLB All-Star Game | 1992 | TV Special | Himself - NL Honorary Captain |
This Week in Baseball's Greatest Plays | 1991 | Video | Himself |
Baseball's Greatest Hits | 1990 | Video documentary | Himself |
The Golden Decade of Baseball | 1990 | Video documentary | |
Mr. Belvedere | 1989 | TV Series | Himself |
My Two Dads | 1989 | TV Series | Himself |
A Giants History: The Tale of Two Cities | 1987 | Video | Himself |
Frank Sinatra: Portrait of an Album | 1985 | Video | Himself (uncredited) |
When Nature Calls | 1985 | Himself | |
1977 MLB All-Star Game | 1977 | TV Special | Himself - NL Captain |
Greatest Sports Legends | 1977 | TV Series | Himself |
The Mike Douglas Show | 1974-1976 | TV Series | Himself - Pro Baseball Player / Himself - Pro Baseball Star |
The Way It Was | 1974-1976 | TV Series | Himself |
Sammy and Company | 1975 | TV Series | Himself |
Dinah! | 1974-1975 | TV Series | Himself |
Today | 1974 | TV Series | Himself |
1973 World Series | 1973 | TV Mini-Series | Himself - New York Mets Pinch Hitter / Himself - New York Mets Pinch Runner / Center Fielder / ... |
1973 National League Championship Series | 1973 | TV Series | Himself - New York Mets Pinch Hitter / Center Fielder |
1973 MLB All-Star Game | 1973 | TV Special | Himself - NL Outfielder |
Golf for Swingers | 1973 | TV Series | Himself |
The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie | 1972 | TV Series | Himself |
1972 MLB All-Star Game | 1972 | TV Special | Himself - NL Center Fielder |
The Dick Cavett Show | 1971 | TV Series | Himself - Guest host |
1971 National League Championship Series | 1971 | TV Series | Himself - San Francisco Giants Center Fielder |
1971 MLB All-Star Game | 1971 | TV Special | Himself - NL Center Fielder |
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | 1965-1970 | TV Series | Himself / Himself - Guest |
1970 MLB All-Star Game | 1970 | TV Special | Himself - NL Center Fielder |
Della | 1970 | TV Series | Himself |
The Joe Namath Show | 1969 | TV Series | Himself |
1969 MLB All-Star Game | 1969 | TV Special | Himself - NL Outfielder |
The Joey Bishop Show | 1969 | TV Series | Himself |
1968 MLB All-Star Game | 1968 | TV Special | Himself - NL Center Fielder |
Dream Girl of '67 | 1967 | TV Series | Himself - Bachelor Judge |
First Annual All-Star Celebrity Baseball Game | 1967 | TV Special | Himself - All-Star |
1967 MLB All-Star Game | 1967 | TV Special | Himself - NL Center Fielder |
The Hollywood Palace | 1964-1967 | TV Series | Himself - Interviewee / Himself - Sketch Actor |
Bewitched | 1966 | TV Series | Himself |
1966 MLB All-Star Game | 1966 | TV Special | Himself - NL Center Fielder |
The Merv Griffin Show | 1966 | TV Series | |
The Donna Reed Show | 1966 | TV Series | Himself |
1965 MLB All-Star Game | 1965 | TV Special | Himself - NL Center Fielder |
1964 MLB All-Star Game | 1964 | TV Special | Himself - NL Center Fielder |
A Boy Named Charlie Brown | 1963 | TV Movie documentary | Himself - San Francisco Giants (uncredited) |
A Man Named Mays | 1963 | TV Movie | Himself |
1963 MLB All-Star Game | 1963 | TV Special | Himself - NL Center Fielder |
Front Page Challenge | 1962 | TV Series | Himself - Mystery Guest |
1962 World Series | 1962 | TV Series | Himself - San Francisco Giants Center Fielder |
What's My Line? | 1954-1962 | TV Series | Himself - Mystery Guest |
1961 MLB All-Star Game | 1961 | TV Special | Himself - NL starting center fielder |
Home Run Derby | 1960 | TV Series | Himself |
The Jack Paar Tonight Show | 1958 | TV Series | Himself |
1958 MLB All-Star Game | 1958 | TV Special | Himself - NL Center Fielder |
The Steve Allen Plymouth Show | 1958 | TV Series | Himself - Giants |
The Ed Sullivan Show | 1955-1957 | TV Series | Himself |
1957 MLB All-Star Game | 1957 | TV Special | Himself - NL Center Fielder |
1956 MLB All-Star Game | 1956 | TV Special | Himself - NL Outfielder |
The NBC Comedy Hour | 1956 | TV Series | Himself - Baseball Player |
1955 MLB All-Star Game | 1955 | TV Special | Himself - NL Outfielder |
1954 World Series | 1954 | TV Mini-Series | Himself - New York Giants Center Fielder |
Tonight! | 1954 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
The Colgate Comedy Hour | 1954 | TV Series | Himself |
1954 MLB All-Star Game | 1954 | TV Special | Himself - NL Outfielder |
1951 World Series | 1951 | TV Mini-Series | Himself - New York Giants Center Fielder |
Archive Footage
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
El Efecto Clemente | 2013 | Documentary | Himself |
Prime 9 | 2011 | TV Series | Himself |
A Hall for Heroes: The Inaugural Hall of Fame Induction of 1939 | 2010 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
DHL Presents Major League Baseball Hometown Heroes | 2006 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Himself |
ESPN 25: Who's #1? | 2005 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
2004 World Series | 2004 | TV Mini-Series | Himself |
ESPN SportsCentury | 2003 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
The Curse of the Bambino | 2003 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
Summer of Sam | 1999 | Himself - 1954 New York Giants Outfielder Making Great Catch in World Series (uncredited) | |
The Fifties | 1997 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Himself |
Baseball | 1994 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Himself |
Malcolm X | 1992 | Himself (uncredited) | |
The 50 Greatest Home Runs in Baseball History | 1992 | Video documentary | Himself |
When It Was a Game | 1991 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
World Wide '60 | 1960 | TV Series | Himself |
Source: IMDb, Wikipedia