What sports did Willie Mays play in high school?
He starred on the football and basketball teams at Fairfield Industrial High School, and at 16, he began playing for the Birmingham Black Barons of the professional Negro Leagues on weekends. Mays signed with the New York Giants after graduating from high school in 1950 and was sent to the minors.
Where was Willie Mays born and raised?
Westfield, Alabama, United States
Willie Mays/Place of birth
Did Willie Mays serve in the military?
U.S. Army (1952–1953) Soon after the 1951 season ended, Mays learned the United States Army had drafted him to serve in the Korean War. Before he left to join the Army, Mays played the first few weeks of the 1952 season with the Giants.
Where did Willie Mays go to high school?
He starred on the football and basketball teams at Fairfield Industrial High School, and at 16, he began playing for the Birmingham Black Barons of the professional Negro Leagues on weekends. Mays signed with the New York Giants after graduating from high school in 1950 and was sent to the minors.
When did Willie Mays move to San Francisco?
When the Giants moved from New York to San Francisco in 1958, Mays had to struggle to win over a new hometown crowd. In 1962, he led the Giants to another pennant victory and, in 1964, became team captain. In 1966, the Giants signed him to a new contract, making him, for a time, the highest-paid player in the history of the game.
How old was Willie Mays when he joined the Giants?
First, the Giants sent Mays to their Class B farm team in Trenton, New Jersey, but he quickly advanced to their AAA farm club, the Minneapolis Millers. He was only 20 in 1951, when he received the phone call to join the Giants at the Polo Grounds in New York City.
When did Willie Mays join the Birmingham Black Barons?
Regarded as one of the greatest baseball players of all time, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979. Mays joined the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League in 1948, playing with them until the Giants signed him once he graduated from high school in 1950.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTOXaE8UBm8