Say Hey, Willie Mays!

Matt Roush says...

How beloved was baseball legend Willie Mays in his prime? In an era when Black people were mostly invisible on TV, he made cameos on mainstream 1960s sitcoms like Bewitched and The Donna Reed Show. Bob Costas marvels that Mays “would just show up as if that was the natural course of things.” His folksy “Say Hey” nickname is inscribed on the chair from which Mays, now 91, recalls the heights of his remarkable 20-plus-year career to director Nelson George for an engaging documentary portrait. The Hall of Famer started in the Negro Leagues as a teen and was renowned as a “five-tool player,” mastering the arts of hitting for average, hitting for power, running, fielding and throwing—always with a positive attitude. The most emotional testimony comes from godson and protégé Barry Bonds, who recalls how Mays urged him to surpass his own home-run record. “When I look at myself, I think about sports first,” says Mays. Makes sense, because when it comes to baseball, many think of Willie Mays first.

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