SF Chronicle honors the great Willie Mays in new hardcover

Willie Mays’ over-the-shoulder catch in the first game of the 1954 World Series went down in history, captured on film and immortalized as a great baseball moment.

But the Giants icon said his best catch actually happened three years earlier, in a game against the Dodgers during Mays’ rookie season. As the Dodgers’ Bobby Morgan hit a deep drive, a diving Mays grabbed the ball and then crashed into the outfield wall. Mays was briefly unconscious. Jackie Robinson, checking on the stunned center fielder, called it “the greatest catch I’ve ever seen in my life.”

The book, featuring exclusive stories and photos from the San Francisco Chronicle, documents the extraordinary life and career of the “Say Hey Kid,” from his early days in Birmingham, Alabama, through his years in San Francisco to induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, and beyond. Mays died Tuesday of heart failure at the age of 93.

The Chronicle began work on the book this spring to align it with Major League Baseball’s tribute to the Negro Leagues. On Thursday, the San Francisco Giants played the St. Louis Cardinals at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, where the teenage Mays made his professional debut with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues.

“We wanted to honor the legacy of a man who was not only the greatest baseball player of all time, but also an inspiration to generations of baseball fans in the Bay Area,” said Christina Kahrl, Chronicle sports editor.

The 160-page fan memorabilia is intended to be a memorial to the all-time baseball star, honoring the Hall of Fame centerfielder’s unparalleled playing career while also remembering his life off the field, where Mays was a beloved member of the San Francisco community.

Inside, fans will find headlines, highlights and forgotten moments from more than six decades of Chronicle reporting, as well as long-lost photos of Mays and Chronicle writers’ reflections on Mays’ legacy.

“We had hoped to accomplish this during his lifetime,” Kahrl said, “but after his death, it is even more important to reflect on what Willie Mays meant to the life of the city of San Francisco and to the fans of the Giants.”

Reach Sarah Feldberg: [email protected]