Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays dies

Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays died on Tuesday. He was 93.

How did he learn to play baseball? Mays was born in Westfield, Ala., in 1931, the son and grandson of baseball players. His mother and father were unmarried and only 16 and 19 years old when Mays was born, and they separated during his toddler years. In his early teens, Mays joined his father on the semi-pro, all-black team sponsored by the local steel mill where the elder Mays worked. As a teen, Mays joined the Birmingham Black Barons of the professional Negro Leagues, but he could only play home games because his father refused to let him drop out of high school. 

In 1950, Mays signed on with the New York Giants and quickly made it to the major leagues. He played for the Giants, who moved to San Francisco in 1958, for 21 seasons and became known for his incredible catches, power-hitting, and upbeat personality. Mays was the National League MVP twice, leading his team to the World Series four times. He had a career total of 660 home runs, the sixth most in baseball history. Mays was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979 and returned to the Giants in 1986 as assistant to the club’s president.