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Willie Mays

National Portrait Gallery

Object Details

Artist
Leigh Wiener, 1929 - 14 May 1993
Sitter
William Howard Mays, 6 May 1931 - 18 Jun 2024
Exhibition Label
Born Westfield, Alabama
When awarding Willie Mays the 2015 Presidential Medal of Freedom, Barack Obama noted, “We have never seen an all-around, five-tool player quite like Willie before—and we haven’t seen one since.” Mays, who excelled in all five aspects of baseball (hitting for average, hitting for power, fielding, throwing, and baserunning), began his career with the Negro American League’s Birmingham Black Barons. In 1950, the New York Giants purchased his contract, and he went on to spend most of his career with the team—first in New York and then in San Francisco. He retired in 1973, playing for the New York Mets. As a 24-time All-Star and two-time National League MVP, Mays hit 660 home runs and recorded a career batting average of .301.
In 1964, Mays became the first African American to captain a major league team. This photograph was taken that year, when the San Francisco Giants were playing the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Nacido en Westfield, Alabama
Al otorgar a Willie Mays la Medalla Presidencial de la Libertad en 2015, Barack Obama afirmó: “Nunca antes habíamos visto un jugador como Willie, tan completo en todos los aspectos, y aún no hemos visto otro”. Excelente en las cinco “herramientas” del béisbol (promedio de bateo, potencia, defensa, brazo y velocidad), Mays comenzó con los Black Barons de Birmingham en la Liga Negra Americana. En 1950, los Giants de Nueva York compraron su contrato y con ese equipo pasó gran parte de su carrera, primero en Nueva York y luego en San Francisco. En 1973, cuando se retiró, jugaba para los Mets de Nueva York. Jugador Estrella 24 veces y dos veces Jugador Más Valioso de la Liga Nacional, Mays bateó 660 jonrones con un promedio de .301 en su carrera.
En 1964, Mays pasó a ser el primer afroamericano que capitaneó un equipo de grandes ligas. Esta foto se tomó ese año, cuando los Giants de San Francisco jugaron contra los Dodgers de Los Ángeles.
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
1964
Object number
NPG.91.60
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© The Estate of Leigh Wiener
Type
Photograph
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
Image/Sheet: 34.3cm x 26.3cm (13 1/2" x 10 3/8")
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location
Currently not on view
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Costume\Headgear\Hat\Cap
Exterior\Sports arena\Baseball stadium
William Howard Mays: Male
William Howard Mays: Sports\Athlete\Baseball
William Howard Mays: Sports\Coach\Baseball
William Howard Mays: Military and Intelligence\Army
William Howard Mays: Civilian awards\Presidential Medal of Freedom
Portrait
Record ID
npg_NPG.91.60
Metadata Usage (text)
Usage conditions apply
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4fce500b6-a708-4ffd-8b40-b529c7b01d9e

Related Content

  • Take Me out to the Ball Game

  • Say Hey, Say Willie! Baseball Great Willie Mays

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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