Biography:

Professional baseball center fielder. Born– May 6, 1931, Westfield, Ala. Parents– William Howard Mays and Annie Satterwhite. Married– Margherite Wendell Chapman, 1956. Children–one.  Married Mae Louise Allen, November 27, 1971.  Education– Fairfield High School, graduated 1950.  Served in U.S. Army, 1952-54. Employed by Birmingham Black Barons Baseball Team, 1948-1950; New York Giants Baseball, Trenton, N.J., 1950-1951, Minneapolis, 1951, New York Giants and San Francisco Giants, 1951-1972; New York Mets, 1972-1973.  Worked for Park Place Casino, Atlantic City, 1979-85. Special Assistant to the President of the San Francisco Giants, after 1986. Batted 660 homeruns; received 12 Gold Glove Awards.Holds numerous records for baseball achievements; among other honors, named National League’s Most Valuable Player, 1954, 1965; Baseball’s Player of the Year in 1954 and Player of the Decade, 1970; Hickok Belt, 1954; Male Athlete of the Year, Associated Press, 1954. Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first year of eligibility, 1979. Placed second on The Sporting Life List of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players. Received honorary doctorates from Yale, Dartmouth, and San Francisco State.

Source:

Marquis who’s who online

Publication(s):

Say Hey; the Autobiography of Willie Mays. New York; Simon and Shuster, 1988.

Joint_Publication(s):

Born to Play Ball. New York; Putnam, 1955.

Danger in Center Field. Larchmont, N.Y.; Argonaut Books, 1963.

My Secrets of Playing Baseball. New York; Viking, 1967.

Say Hey!: The Autobiography of Willie Mays.  Simon and Schuster, 1988.

Willie Mays; My Life in and Out of Baseball. New York; Dutton, 1966.