Willie Mays died last night at age 93, news that most Americans woke up to today. So did I, by checking the text my daughter sent me last night shortly after I’d dropped off to sleep.
Although I never saw Willie play in person, I saw him play on TV in many an All-Star game and, I’m pretty sure, on Saturday afternoon “Game of the Week” broadcasts. For a Cleveland kid like me, Willie was always a subject of fascination, playing in the National League in the swirling winds of Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
I first learned about Willie from my father, who ruefully recounted how Willie’s sensational catch of a Vic Wertz blast in the 1954 World Series symbolically destroyed any hope the Indians — with the best record ever posted in baseball at the time — had of winning. While the catch surely wasn’t the sole reason, the Giants swept the Tribe in four games and the catch remains one of the sport’s most iconic moments.
Willie’s baseball card was always a prize catch for any kid opening a package of Topps in the 1950s and 1960s. My favorite was the one from 1966, when Willie’s card was No. 1 in the entire set.
As a fervid fan of the Giants, a passion I developed when living many years in Northern California, I felt compelled to pay my respects. On my morning walk in a park near home, I wore my Giants cap, and a passing jogger shouted “Say hey” to me.
Later I wore my Giants No. 24 replica jersey to the grocery store. A passing man in a Phillies jersey and cap nodded to me in passing and said, “One of the greats!” On my way out of the store, another passing man of about my age said, “Say hey.”
At that point I asked my wife if she wouldn’t mind my driving a few miles away to the site of Dunn Field, the long gone park where Willie spent the 1950 season with the Trenton Giants, the year before he was called up to the parent club in New York.
With my Giants cap at my side, I stood with my head bowed and had a few moments of silence for Willie. I teared up, too.
One of the greatest men ever to play the game has left us, and I join the legions of baseball fans who mourn his passing.
Rest in peace, Willie. You were magnificent. 🧢
The Ball Caps Blog 
Excellent that you wore his jersey around town today, a great tribute and a stranger acknowledged the loss of one of the great ones! I never saw him play either, but the praise from the elders is Ruthian. I also love the picture you chose for this post – the hat off, Mays jersey on and that feeling comes through, of losing someone special.
Thanks, Steve. In my head, I was thinking of Gehrig and Ruth farewell photos, and there’s a hint of those in the way I set up the photo. Full credit to my wife for framing it.