Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend
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- ISBN13: 9781416547907
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Authorized by Willie Mays, the definitive biography of one of the greatest baseball players of all time.Amazon.com Review
Authorized by Willie Mays and written by a New York Times bestselling leader, 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” (Sports Illustrated), Willie Mays is arguably the greatest player in baseball history, still revered for the passion he brought to the game. He started 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 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. 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 tree, and teammates, Hirsch presents a complex portrait of one of America’s most significant cultural icons.
A Conversation with Leader 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 really saw him play, but I grew up in St. Louis, and Cardinal announcer Jack Buck used to clarify 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 tales 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 Babe Ruth 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, hard to write than any additional agreed 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 powerful skill but the right invention of the moment. I establish 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 (Alvin Dark, Monte Irvin, Al Rosen) and sportswriters (Roger Kahn, Robert Creamer), and I culled the many descriptions of it that have been recorded, including from the hitter Vic Wertz and the second base umpire, Jocko Conlan. All told, I had about 35 eyewitness accounts. Agreed the wealth of information–Arnold Hano wrote an entire book about “The Catch”–the largest challenge was finding some fresh angles.
It was regularly said that “The Catch” was Willie’s signature play. But it was more than that. It customary the Willie Mays brand name–to this day, you can go to any ball meadow, watch a kid make a catch over his shoulder, and a name will scream, “Willie Mays!” I don’t judge there is anything comparable with any athlete in any sport. What’s also vital 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 apportion 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 ongoing 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 single most vital question I wanted to answer, and I learned it when I went to speak to my son’s second-grade class. After talking to the students about how to write tales, I questioned 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 questioned 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 fantastic 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 persons 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 reflect 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 judge he was ready to reflect on the totality of his life and encourage persons around him to do so well. I was a perfect weirder to Willie, but I now judge that helped me. Willie is extraordinarily proud of his life–reasonably mindful of that trajectory, from a poor, Depression-era black kid from the Deep South to a name who now rides on Air Force One with the president. While I questioned Willie to do something that he really doesn’t delight in–talk about himself–I judge 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 simple that most people assumed he just took the meadow 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. Persons 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 fantastic even for Willie Mays. That was a surprise, but the revelation also made Willie a more human and sympathetic figure.
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It looks like they are declaring war against e-bookers. Here is another one of persons situations where the Kindle version is not available upon the relief of the expensive hard take in.
For the life of me, I don’t know how these publishers reflect. They are swimming against the tide. I am NEVER going to buy a hard take in book. EVER. It makes no sense for me to lug it around when I can fit 1,000 books on a smaller form factor.
For a dedicated ebooker, Scribner loses NOTHING by releasing the ebook now. Because all I will ever spend on their products is the ebook format. And I simply am astounded by the lousy business judgement in turning off people who are technologically advanced. It is terrible for business. When I used to buy hard take in books, at least four people would read each book I bought – it made its way around the office. On the additional hand, I can’t do the same thing with the ebook version so persons people have to buy their own books now. To say nothing of the savings in shipping, materials, etc.
Do publishers like Scribners judge that they can turn back the clock and undo the ebook revolution. Might as well fight to save the buggy whip industry too.
My attitude is hardening – I am getting to a point where I am beginning to avoid books that are part of this gambit. There is still plenty in the world that I can delight in reading.
So get with the program Scribners, MacMillan etc. Your policy reminds me of the ancient days 40 plus years ago when every movie marquee sported a sign that said “stop pay tv” and anti cable tv petitions were located in the lobbies.
You can’t stop progress.
Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
I agree with Avid Reader. By delaying Kindle editions of books I want to read, the publishers give me ample time to lose interest in the theme. This is the third book in 3 months I couldn’t wait to download to my Kindle, only to learn the greedy publisher was withholding it. I have already lost interest in the additional two and will not buy them. If this one is not available before long, I will go on to additional subjects.
Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
First off, let me clarify that this is not a review of the leader or theme of the book. In fact, I was very excited and looking forwards to reading this book when I read a review in the newspaper (which I still read every day). This is a review of how disappointed I was with my experience in attempting to buy this book.
Secondly, I need to clarify that this is a product review, not a book review. A book review is a form of criticism based on style, content, narrative, etc. I am providing a product review based on an evaluation of the ability of the manufacturer to meet my expectations as a customer. For books, this not only includes the tale, but packaging, manner of language, fee, manufacturing, etc. Only rarely (if ever) are books bought lacking these considerations in mind and as far as I know, there are no rules stipulating that all reviews on Amazon must be “book reviews.” Thus, I feel a product review of my experiences with this book are more than appropriate on Amazon.
Excited by news that this book had been unrestricted, I went to Amazon to download it on my Kindle with just the press of a button. And then I find out this publisher is delaying the relief! I won’t buy it now, and will probably forget about it when it comes out on the Kindle in the near future (if ever). I like sports biographies, but there is a lot more to read out there and it is likely that this book, which was once high on my book-buying que, will drop way down on the list. I have nothing against paper books and reflect they should be make available for persons who choose them.
This last paragraph has nothing to do with this particular book, but I feel it should be stated to help (not hurt!) today’s book publishers. Call it tough like. I know the reason for this publisher’s rationale to delay e-book releases, but it will not make economic sense for them in the long run. The book industry – the last holdout not to embrace the 21st century – should learn some lessons from the composition industry (which has failed miserably and is still catching up) and the movie industry (which has embraced the digital world and witnessed huge successes). Otherwise, five years from now they will be looking back like the composition industry, wondering “where did we go incorrect” and spending more time fighting a lost cause and less time embracing a more modern and ultimately more lucrative business model.
Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
Just a note to “Avid Reader”: Get a life punk!
The problem with your kind is: you have no respect for your elders punk!
We’ve been reading BOOKS for ever son. The times they may be a-changin’ but they aint over!
I prefer to read a real BOOK and not some electronic version. To criticize the publishers for releasing a BOOK the normal way is just infintile and ridiculous!
Grow up punk!
I’m going to order the BOOK now so I can read about my childhood hero!
The greatest baseball player ever! WILLIE MAYS!
I’m reasonably certain you have never met him or seen him play!
That’s the pity of it!
He is a class act and you have no class!
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
If you like baseball and truly are a sports fan; you will like this book!! Yep- hard take in and all….
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5