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# Shoes worn by Willie Mays, San Francisco Giants

National Museum of American History

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                      -     DetailsRelatedObject Details- Mays, Willie
- Associated Name
- San Francisco Giants
- Adidas
- Description
- "The Say Hey Kid" Willie Howard Mays Jr. (b.1931) began his career in the Negro Leagues (1947) before joining the Major League's New York Giants in 1951. Excepting time in military service (1952-1953,) the exuberant center fielder became a mainstay of the Giants, who relocated to San Francisco in 1958. In 1973 Mays signed with the New York Mets, where he would play his final two seasons.
- Mays started his Major League career by winning the 1951 National League Rookie of the Year Award. A two time National League Most Valuable Player (1954, 1965) Mays led the Giants to victory in the 1954 World Series, where in game one, he famously caught a ball, hit by Cleveland Indian Vic Wertz, over his shoulder. Now simply referred to in baseball lore as "The Catch," the play is the best remembered of the many defensive efforts that earned the speedy outfielder 12 gold gloves to go along with his 24 All Star Game recognitions.
- Mays finished his career with .302 batting average, 3,283 hits, 660 home runs, 1,903 runs batted in, and 338 stolen bases. One of the greatest all-around players the sport has ever seen, Mays was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979. In 2015 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Credit Line
- Thomas Tull
- ca 1971
- ID Number
- 2017.0084.12
- accession number
- 2017.0084
- catalog number
- 2017.0084.12
- Object Name
- baseball shoes
- cleats, baseball
- baseball cleats
- shoes
- shoes, baseball
- Physical Description
- leather (overall material)
- cotton (shoe strings material)
- plastic (soles material)
- stainless steel (spikes material)
- Measurements
- overall; single shoe: 4 1/4 in x 4 in x 12 in; 10.795 cm x 10.16 cm x 30.48 cm
- Associated Place
- United States: California, San Francisco
- See more items in
- Culture and the Arts: Sport and Leisure
- Sports & Leisure
- National Museum of American History
- name of sport
- Baseball
- level of sport
- Professional
- Record ID
- nmah_1836985
- Metadata Usage (text)
- CC0
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b2-aa6b-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
Related Content-                    Explore America: California                 
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  CC0Creative Commons - No Rights Reserved iconUsage Conditions Apply>download icon>          There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .        International media Interoperability FrameworkIIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.View manifestView in Mirador ViewerExpand to view image×                PreviousNext             Footer logo      
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