Locals Remember Willie Mays
Sports fans from around the world came out to celebrate legendary baseball player Willie Mays, who passed away last Tuesday (June 18) at the age of 93.
And while the “Say Hey Kid” was born in Westfield, Alabama, and spent the middle part of his career with the San Francisco Giants, Mays had many fans in Castro Valley and the East Bay who had personal stories about #24, which they’ve been sharing.
Castro Valley Sports Foundation member Lowell Hickey was there during Willie Mays's last hit and RBI when he played his last game at the Oakland Coliseum in the 1973 World Series between the Oakland Athletics and the New York Mets.
In the 12th inning, with two outs, Mays singled to give the Mets a 7–6 lead. Mays's at-bat helped New York win Game 2 and even the series to one game each. (The '73 A's won the Series in seven games.) Mays had only two singles in seven at-bats during the Series and did not perform well in the outfield; Hickey said when he wrote for The Daily Review that year.
"There was even some nostalgia intermingled in the excitement, as 42-year-old Willie Mays, who will end one of the greatest careers the game has ever seen at the close of this Series, delivered the game-winning hit . . . To the mixed emotions of A's fans and the sheer delight of Mets' and Giants' fans, Mays found a fastball to his liking and bounced it up the middle for a hit to score (Hayward's Buddy) Harrelson and put New York ahead, 7-6."
Former Castro Valley resident Jim Byers said his Willie Mays moment was meeting his hero during an autograph signing at a supermarket opening on Center Street near Grove Way in the early 1960s.
“He was so nice, and I just stood there dumbfounded,” Byers told the Forum. “He might have asked me what position I played, but I don’t recall.”
Byer, a travel writer and consultant, said he came to the event in his very own SF Giants uniform and waited patiently with his father, Robert Byers, a former Alameda County municipal and superior court judge.
"Mays looked over at me. And this man, this allegedly aloof and cold and distant man, smiled a smile as big as the Golden Gate Bridge.
“Hey, what’s your name?”
“Jimmy.”
I think he complimented me on my uniform. I don’t recall. But I do remember (perhaps through the recollections of my Dad, who has told the story 723 times) what happened next.
Mays turned to his assistant. Then he said something I will never, ever, ever forget.
“Hey, this kid looks great. Don’t you think he looks great? You play baseball, right?
“Yes, sir,” I stammered.
“I think we need to invite him down to spring training,” Mays said. “Hey, Jimmy, you want to come to spring training next year?”
Jim’s entire account of his meeting with Willie Mays is available on his blog: