Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend
by James S Hirsch
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Book Summary Information
Author: James S HirschEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2010-02-09
ISBN: 1416547908
Number of pages: 640
Publisher: Scribner
Product features:
- ***This is 1 of only 100 Signed Copies***
- With Letter of Evaluation from Academy of Manuscripts & Autographs
Book Reviews of Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend
Book Review: An excellent and dramatic narrative about a sports legend.
Summary: 5 Stars
FATHER. The book starts by describing the father of Willie Mays, known as "Cat Mays." We read about the economic conditions of the father's home, e.g., that "20 ton electronic locomotives hauled coal or iron, blasted from their ancient beds, to the sweltering mill, where 100-foot high blast furnaces and converted molten iron to steel." (page 9). We learn that Cat Mays swept floors in a wire mill, and during the Depression earned a living playing baseball. Cat Mays mated with Annie Satterfield, who was also athletic, and played baseball.
WILLIE BORN. Willie (his real name) Mays, Jr. was born in 1931. Cat Mays' fortunes improved when he moved from Westfield to Fairfield. The author is careful to provide an economic context, and we learn of a scandal at U.S.Steel, use of company script as money, use of wagons to haul away human waste (because of no plumbing), and the fact that U.W. Clemon, who was born in Fairfield, was Alabama's first black federal judge. We also learn about Nazi-like laws in Birmingham, forbidding blacks and whites from playing checkers together (page 17).
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL. Willie Mays played quarterback for the Baby Hornets in high school, and scored a historic goal against Booker T. Washington High School by throwing a 70-yard tie-making pass (page 30). But Mays chose baseball, because only baseball (and not football or basketball) has negro leagues. We learn that Beck Shepherd, owner of the Chattanooga Choo Choos, discovered Willie Mays, and Mr.Mays joined the Choo Choos at the age of 15 (page 33). At 16, Mr.Mays was recruited by Lorenzo (Piper) Davis, owner of the Black Barons. But a little problem was that the principal of Willie Mays' high school, named E.J.Oliver, threatened to expel the boy from high school, and forbade him to play baseball for the high school team.
SOCIAL CONTEXT. Tidbits of context are provided throughout the book, e.g., "On August 18, 1947, six sticks of dynamite were used to blow up the house of a black man who had successfully sued to end Birmingham's racist zoning laws. Within two years, so many black homes had been detonated in one area that it was known as Dynamite Hill, and the city was called, Bombingham." (page 52). (Get it??? Bombinham!!!)
NEW YORK GIANTS. When Mr.Mays was 19, he was signed by the N.Y.Giants, and put on their minor league team, the Trenton Giants (p. 66). This was good for Mr.Mays because it was in a part of the United States where he would not be subjected to racial prejudice, and because it was near headquarters for the team. The book is liberally sprinkled with names of black players from the era, e.g., Larry Doby, Roy Campanella, Satchel Paige, Artie Wilson, Alonzo Perry, Sam Jethro, Hank Aaron, and the names of various scouts. We learn interesting facts about each of these people (the author does not write books by providing lists of people, just for the sake of showing off his knowledge).
SAN FRANCISCO. In the year 1956, the N.Y.Giants were worse than the other two teams in New York city, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Yankees. In fact, the Giants were the worst in the National League. San Francisco Mayor George Christopher brought the Giants to S.F., and Mays purchased a house at 175 Miraloma Drive in San Francisco. (At about the same time, the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles.) (pages 259-274). Pages 275-281 provide details on hostility from real estate brokers and homeowners, directed against Mr.Mays' attempt at owning a house in San Francisco, and we learn of the media frenzy.
RE-MAKING THE GIANTS. We learn that Alejandro "Alex" Pompez, a talent scout from the Giants, re-made the Giants by recruiting players from the Carribean, e.g., Jose Pagan, Filipe Alou, Matty Alou, Manny Mota, Juan Marichal, Andre Rogers, Jose Cardenal, and others (pages 282-283).
EQUIPMENT. Mr. Mays used a 34 ounce Adirondack bat with a tapered handle and a thick barrel with a weight at the end (page 341). Batters began wearing helmets in 1952 (page 346). At one point, because of a thumb injury Mays switched to a lighter bat (page 432). The book does not provide any organized or comprehensive account as to the different types of bats.
GAMES. A famous game is known by a play called, "The Catch." It occurred on Sept. 29, 54, in a game between the N.Y.Giants and the Cleveland Indians (page 185-205) , "What made Vic Wertz' hit so startling was its low, tailing trajectory. No ball had ever traveled so far in such a low arc. Mays ran past the farthest edge of the outfield grass . . . extended his arms and opened his Rawlings Model HH glove." Then Mr.Mays threw the ball, causing Larry Doby of the Indians to stay at third base. Details are provided from other games. For example, in a game against the Milwaukee Braves, Mays "sacked the ball 420 feet to dead center for a home run." (page 341). In this game, Mays tied the major league record. Later in the book, we read that, "Mays rebounded . . . ripping 6 home runs, two doubles, and a triple . . . his average rose to 0.309." (page 350). Still later in the book, we read, "In 1964, Mays had led the Giants in games played (157), hits (171), triples (9), homers (47), walks (82), RBIs (111), runs scored (121), and stolen bases (19)." (page 425). Every fifty pages or so, the book describes one or the other of Mr.Mays' losing streaks. However, Mr.Mays' performances during his losing streaks were better than that of most other ball players.
CRITICISM. The book fails to provide an extended commentary regarding any one particular baseball game. I would have thought that at least one or two baseball games in Mr.Mays' career is deserving of a blow-by-blow full-chapter account. However, this kind of detailed account of any one baseball game is missing. Furthermore, there does not exist any list of players for the N.Y.Giants or of the S.F.Giants. In my opinion, this is the very least thing that the author should have included in this book--a list of all the players on the team, along with a little biography (perhaps three or four sentences) devoted to each of the players. Is that too much to ask for?
CONCLUSION. The book discloses many personal details without digressing into gossipy fiction. The book does not require that the reader have a technical knowledge of baseball. The book is an absolute wonder, in the way it details various games, the economics of sports, racial prejudice, business models in professional baseball, deal-making, and the cultural context in America at the time. This book would be good for any high-school reading list. The book is a masterpiece. FIVE STARS.
Summary of Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend
Considered to be ?as monumental?and enigmatic?a legend as American sport has ever seen? (Sports Illustrated), Willie Mays is arguably the greatest player in baseball history, still revered for the joy and passion he brought to the game. Mays began as a teenage phenom in the Negro Leagues, became a cult hero in New York, and was the headliner in Major League Baseball?s bold expansion to California. With 3,383 hits, 660 home runs, and 338 stolen bases, he was a blend of power, speed and stylistic bravado that fans had never seen before. Now, in the first biography authorized by and written with the cooperation of Willie Mays, James Hirsch reveals the man behind the player.
Willie is perhaps best known for ?The Catch??his breathtaking over-the-shoulder grab in the 1954 World Series. It is a classic visual that represents a transcendent figure who ushered in a new era of baseball, received standing ovations around the globe, and?during the turbulent civil rights era?advocated understanding and reconciliation. However, the years of racial attacks, the stress of celebrity, and the mental and physical demands of the game also took a toll. Meticulously researched and drawing on lengthy interviews with Mays, as well as with close friends, family, and teammates,
Hirsch presents a complex portrait of one of America?s most significant cultural icons.
Authorized by Willie Mays and written by a New York Times bestselling author, this is the definitive biography of one of baseball's immortals.
Considered to be "as monumental--and enigmatic--a legend as American sport has ever seen" (Sports Illustrated), Willie Mays is arguably the greatest player in baseball history, still revered for the passion he brought to the game. He began as a teenager in the Negro Leagues, became a cult hero in New York, and was the headliner in Major League Baseball's bold expansion to California. With 3,283 hits, 660 home runs, and 338 stolen bases, he was a blend of power, speed, and stylistic bravado that enraptured fans for more than two decades. Now, in the first biography authorized by and written with the cooperation of Willie Mays, James Hirsch reveals the man behind the player.
Willie is perhaps best known for "The Catch"--his breathtaking over-the-shoulder grab in the 1954 World Series. But he was a transcendent figure who received standing ovations in enemy stadiums and who, during the turbulent civil rights era, urged understanding and reconciliation. More than his records, his legacy is defined by the pure joy that he brought to fans and the loving memories that have been passed to future generations so they might know the magic and beauty of the game. With meticulous research, and drawing on interviews with Mays himself as well as with close friends, family, and teammates, Hirsch presents a complex portrait of one of America's most significant cultural icons.
A Conversation with Author James Hirsch
Q: As a baseball fan, what were your impressions of Willie Mays before you first approached him regarding a book?
A: I never actually saw him play, but I grew up in St. Louis, and Cardinal announcer Jack Buck used to describe Mays as "the greatest player I ever saw" and speak of him with such reverence that the name itself was pure magic. Over the years, I read some stories about him and saw some video clips, and my impression was of a player who had mastered all parts of the game. As it happened, that impression didn't change. In considering who the greatest player of all time was, I conclude that Babe Ruth was baseball's most dominant player while Willie Mays was its greatest master.
Q: The biography includes a rich description and analysis of ?The Catch?--the play in the 1954 World Series for which Willie Mays is perhaps best known. What were your sources for this passage? How much time did you spend researching and crafting it? Was it more, or less, difficult to write than any other given passage in the book?
A: Willie himself has discussed "The Catch" many times over the years, including in the locker room immediately after the game. The key, for me, was to capture not just his athletic skill but the true artistry of the moment. I found an interview that Willie gave in the 1990s in which he walked through the mental calculations he made while running toward the centerfield fence, trying to determine how he was going to throw the ball before the runner on second could tag up and score. It was Willie's most scientific, but also his most elegant, account of the play.
Beyond filling in the gaps with Willie in person, I interviewed as many people I could find who saw the play, including players (Alvin Dark, Monte Irvin, Al Rosen) and sportswriters (Roger Kahn, Robert Creamer), and I culled the many descriptions of it that have been recorded, including from the hitter Vic Wertz and the second base umpire, Jocko Conlan. All told, I had about 35 eyewitness accounts. Given the wealth of information--Arnold Hano wrote an entire book about "The Catch"--the biggest challenge was finding some fresh angles.
It was often said that "The Catch" was Willie's signature play. But it was more than that. It established the Willie Mays brand name--to this day, you can go to any ball field, watch a kid make a catch over his shoulder, and someone will scream, "Willie Mays!" I don't believe there is anything comparable with any athlete in any sport. What's also important is that "The Catch" now lives in the film footage that is played over and over on TV or on computers. The film is in black-and-white, but the following year, the World Series was filmed in color. Symbolically, we passed into the modern era--and indeed, Willie played most of his career in what we would consider the modern era, defined in part by the relocation of teams, World Series night games, and the widening financial divide between players and their fans. Yet Willie's defining moment placed him in that earlier era--the black-and-white television age, if you will--when players were more integrated into their communities, World Series games started in the afternoon, and owners didn't betray fans. Willie Mays, through the constant showing of "The Catch," has become our touchstone to that bygone era.
Q:How would you sum up Mays?s legacy, both within the game of baseball and outside of it?
A: That was the single most important question I wanted to answer, and I discovered it when I went to speak to my son's second-grade class. After talking to the students about how to write stories, I asked how many of them had heard of Willie Mays. I was shocked by how many hands went up--most of the boys, and some of the girls. I asked how they knew about Willie. Some had seen "The Catch" on ESPN, but many told me that their fathers, or their grandfathers, or their uncles had told them about "the great Willie Mays." The kids didn't really know anything about Willie, except that he represented this platonic ideal of baseball perfection. It was then that I realized Willie's legacy is not his numbers, his records, or the games he helped win. It is the pure joy that he brought to those fans who watched him and the loving memories that have been passed to future generations so they might know the magic and beauty of the game.
Q:Why do you think Willie Mays finally agreed to be interviewed extensively for a biography?
A:Timing was part of the reason. Willie was 77 when I first met him, and I believe he was ready to reflect on the totality of his life and encourage those around him to do so well. I was a complete stranger to Willie, but I now believe that helped me. Willie is extraordinarily proud of his life--quite mindful of that trajectory, from a poor, Depression-era black kid from the Deep South to someone who now rides on Air Force One with the president. While I asked Willie to do something that he really doesn't enjoy--talk about himself--I believe that he wanted an outsider to independently validate his accomplishments as well as disappointments.
Q:What was your most unexpected discovery while researching and writing Willie Mays?
A:Willie made baseball look so easy that most people assumed he just took the field and breezed through the season. Henry Aaron told me that some of the black players, who had to work extra hard just to keep their spots on the roster, resented Willie because he made baseball look so effortless. The fact is, even Willie's peers had no appreciation of his sacrifices, both physical and emotional. Those sacrifices caused Willie to be hospitalized on several occasions during his career--he was simply too tired to compete, and the pressure of being Willie Mays was at times too great even for Willie Mays. That was a surprise, but the revelation also made Willie a more human and sympathetic figure.
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