Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} The Life the Legend by James S. Hirsch ‘Willie Mays: The Life, the Legend,’ by James S. Hirsch. The remarkable life of Willie Mays can be measured in innumerable ways. He started in the segregated Negro Leagues; when he retired in 1973 after 22 years in the major leagues, free agency was dawning. He was a bicoastal Giant who, in leading the team to San Francisco from New York in 1958, helped pioneer the westward expansion of . Mays practically invented the term “five-tool player,” registering sublime stats: 660 homers, 3,283 hits, 338 stolen bases. His standout defensive gem during Game 1 of the 1954 , known simply as “the ,” remains a magical diamond moment. His ebullient play -- underscored by that evocative nickname, “the Say Hey Kid” -- defined his legend. As passionate as Mays was on the field, he was inscrutable away from the clubhouse. That’s not to say he was overlooked: He inspired “Willie’s Time,” a memoir by his friend Charles Einstein, as well as ’s “A Day in the Bleachers,” which details “.” He also participated in at least three ghostwritten autobiographies. Now, with Mays’ cooperation, James S. Hirsch has written “Willie Mays: The Life, the Legend,” a book that seeks to clarify the man behind the mitt. Born in 1931 in Alabama, Mays was raised by his often-absent father, nicknamed Cat, and his mother’s two younger sisters. Cat never revealed his family’s history to his son and, writes Hirsch, “Willie absorbed every side of his father’s personality. As an adult, he vigorously guarded his privacy, rarely talking to his friends, let alone the press, about his youth, his family, or his personal feelings.” Cat, Hirsch notes, also passed along his can’t-we-all-get-along temperament. Mays claimed not to mind that African Americans were shunted to the balconies of movie theaters because, he maintained, “we got the better view.” All he ever said publicly about Bull Connor, the broadcaster- turned-police-commissioner in Birmingham, was that “he got overexcited announcing ball games.” Thanks to his athletic ability, Mays escaped the insidious racism of the Deep South. He reached his teens just as was breaking ’s color barrier. He was equally fortunate to arrive in New York in 1951. With three contending teams and a surfeit of stars (the Yankees’ and the Dodgers’ were roaming the outfield), New York was the national pastime’s capital in the . Giants coddled him, while fans and journalists embraced him. In the fall of his rookie season, Mays was kneeling in the on- deck circle when crushed every Dodgers fan’s heart with his legendary pennant-winning home , “the shot heard ‘round the world.” Mays spent most of the next two seasons in the Army (mostly playing ball), then returned to the in 1954. It was in that ballpark that his dramatic World Series catch-and-throw robbed the ’ of a potential game-winning blow and helped the Giants to their first championship since 1933. The triumph was Mays’ only title. That he never brought a World Series victory to San Francisco helps explain why, after the Giants moved there, the city never fully accepted him. Of course, as Hirsch points , on the West Coast Mays was no longer the effervescent man-child who had played stickball with kids in . His limited education left him with little grasp of finances, and he accumulated heavy debt. His first marriage ended in a nasty divorce. His second wife, who is still alive, has Alzheimer’s. Mays also found himself out of step with the changing times (and the emerging counterculture). In 1963, when a bomb killed four African American girls at a Birmingham church, he did not visit his hometown or make a statement. Instead, he took up golf, convinced that joining previously white-only country clubs represented progress. When critics (including Jackie Robinson) called him an Uncle Tom, Mays retreated further. “Willie Mays” is a thoroughly researched and sympathetic book that will probably stand as the definitive of baseball’s greatest performer. What’s disheartening is that, in peeling away the layers of Mays’ insularity, Hirsch has found a prickly personality and a naive apologist. Perhaps that’s the price Mays paid in devoting his soul to baseball. But the book also raises several unanswered questions. The cause of Mays’ numerous collapses and hospitalizations remains murky. His non-denial of alleged amphetamine use reads like it came from Bill Clinton, a golfing buddy. And, as ’ beloved godfather, shouldn’t Mays have something to say about his missteps? Hirsch tends to excuse Mays for his transgressions, as will most of us. That speaks to his considerable legacy. Some 55 years after reaching over his shoulder to snare Wertz’s sure-fire , Mays still inspires a kind of awe. ISBN 13: 9781416547914. The “enormously entertaining and wide-ranging” ( Seattle Times ) authorized, definitive, New York Times bestselling biography of Willie Mays, the most complete baseball player of all time. 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. He was a blend of power, speed, and stylistic bravado that enraptured fans for more than two decades. Now James Hirsch reveals the man behind the player. Mays 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 brilliant portrait of one of America’s most significant cultural icons. "synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title. 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" ( ), 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 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 . 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 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 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 (, , ) and sportswriters (, Robert Creamer), and I culled the many descriptions of it that have been recorded, including from the hitter Vic Wertz and the second base , . 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 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. Look Inside Willie Mays (Photos Courtesy of Willie Mays) Click on each image below to see a larger view. About the Author : James S. Hirsch is former reporter for and The Wall Street Journal . He is the author of four nonfiction books, including the New York Times bestseller. Hurricane: The Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter , which was the basis for the film of the same name starring Denzel Washington. Hirsch is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and has a master’s degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. He lives in the Boston area with his wife, Sheryl, and their children, Amanda and Garrett. Born and raised in St. Louis, he remains a diehard Cardinal fan. A Giant of the Diamond. The life of the Say Hey Kid (who didn't really say it) Watching Willie Maysdo something typically wondrous on a baseball field, a press-box colleague of mine once mused: "People named Willie are just better than other people." It must not be any easier writing his biography—where do you start?— but James S. Hirsch has done the job admirably, if at times annoyingly, in "Willie Mays: The Life, the Legend." Mr. Hirsch's strategy is to portray his subject, who is now 79 years old, in the larger context of America and the civil-rights era. Willie began playing pro ball in the with the Negro Leagues' Birmingham Black Barons; he got to the majors in 1951 with the New York Giants, moved with the team to San Francisco and ended his career back in New York with the Mets in 1973. The time-span covers a lot of American history. The result is a heavily researched book that is tautly written but occasionally sprawls far from the baseball field, leaving Willie Mays behind. That's too bad, because "the life" and "the legend" provide plenty of material. The problem with Willie is that the real-life person off the field kept getting in the way of the on-the-field legend. Each time I encountered him, I first had to overcome his suspicion of journalists—and of just about everyone else. Some teammates thought he was selfish. He signed autographs for kids, except when he seemed to brush them off. As Mr. Hirsch notes, Willie also expected perks—he cajoled American Airlines into taking a party of his friends to Mexico for his 1971 wedding to his second wife. That doesn't surprise me: I was with him in a car on the spectacular 17- Mile Drive near Pebble Beach in California when he talked the toll-booth operator out of charging him. "I'm Willie Mays," he explained. Willie Mays: The Life the Legend by James S. Hirsch. Price: $12.50. Quantity: 1 available. 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.. Willie Mays: The Life the Legend by James S. Hirsch. Baseball lauds five-tool players, those rare ones who can for average, hit home runs, steal bases, play flawless defense and throw out runners from the outfield. If such players are held in high esteem, meet Willie Mays � perhaps baseball�s only six-tool player. That is, if panache were a tool. More than being arguably the greatest centerfielder of all time, Mays brought a certain joy to his game, perhaps reminding everyone of the game�s inextricable link to one�s childhood. Whether it was his aggressive base-running or the laser-accurate throws from centerfield to nail the errant runner at home, Mays performed with an attitude that was in stark contrast to the grimness with which most players played. Willie Mays, however, had eschewed having his life and career chronicled, save for a couple of hastily put-together books. James S. Hirsch tried for seven years to breach May�s defense and thankfully, finally succeeded. Thankfully, because Mays� career straddled both sides of the , and also the New York Giants sojourn in the city and its subsequent relocation to San Francisco. Thus, he occupied a central role as a black baseball player. Hirsch tracks Mays�s life from a hardscrabble Alabama upbringing to his zenith as baseball�s finest player. Mays joined a New York Giants team that was playing third fiddle to both the and the Dodgers. Giants owner Horace Stoneham needed Mays both to attract ticket buyers and to spark his moribund club. In his rookie year, Mays was the on-deck player who watched Bobby Thompson�s that clinched the pennant for the Giants and completed an amazing come-from-behind win over the Dodgers. His role with the team increased geometrically in the years to come and, while Mays performed his role admirably, his team�s fortunes typically took a nosedive. Hirsch vividly describes Mays�s play on the field and his offseason activities that not too rarely created some controversy or the other. It is no secret to longtime observers that Jackie Robinson was critical of Mays remaining silent in the race struggle. Hirsch does not shy away from this and confronts Mays directly on this question. While his baseball prowess insulated Mays from most racial issues, it did not bypass him altogether. Using newspaper accounts and interviews with the people involved, Hirsch devotes an entire chapter to the problems that Mays and his wife had in buying a house in San Francisco. The seller, fearing retribution from angry neighbors for selling to a black man, rescinded the offer at the last minute. In Hirsch�s poignant description, Mays handled it admirably, defusing what could have been an incendiary situation. Willie Mays and Joe DiMaggio are the exemplars of baseball who underscored their importance to their team repeatedly. That Willie Mays was black and that he dazzled defensively in addition to being a sublime hitter makes his life and career singular. Hirsch�s well-observed book makes this perfectly clear.