Willie Mays Biography

Fast Facts

• At the time of his retirement, he had the second most home runs of any professional baseball player at 660
• Led the National League in home runs four times over the course of his career
• Was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979
• In 1950, the New York Giants purchased his contract
• Joined the Birmingham Barons of the Negro American League when he was 16 years old
• Played baseball alongside his father for the Fairfield Stars in the Birmingham Industrial League
• Best known as a center fielder for the MLB's San Francisco Giants
• Finished his career with the New York Mets
• Served in the Army for much of the 1952 and all of the 1953 baseball seasons
• In the 1954 World Series, he completed "The Catch" against the Cleveland Indians, which many consider to be the greatest defensive play in the history of the game