BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Hours before crowds were expected to gather for the unveiling of a mural honoring baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays in downtown Birmingham, a handful of cars drove by, slowing to a halt as passersby thrust cameras out of their windows to take pictures of the display.
It’s an enchanting depiction of the electrifying “Say Hey Kid,” showing Mays beaming with his hands on his knees, his bevy of athletic accomplishments painted around him.
The mural was created by artist Chuck Styles and celebrates Mays’ contributions to baseball, honoring the longtime Giants center fielder who died Tuesday at age 93.
Mays, who began his professional career with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues in 1948, had been baseball’s oldest living Hall of Famer and was considered the sport’s greatest living player.
The ceremony took place in downtown Birmingham just miles from Rickwood Field, where Mays' unforgettable career began. Bleich joined Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin and San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer in giving speeches in Mays' honor, standing in front of a grand mural display of the former Giants center fielder.
Tributes to Mays, born in Westfield, Alabama, near Birmingham, poured in all over the country on Wednesday, including from President Joe Biden.
“Like so many others in my neighborhood and around the country, when I played Little League, I wanted to play center field because of Willie Mays,” Biden said in a statement. “It was a rite of passage to practice his basket catches, daring steals, and command at the plate — only to be told by coaches to cut it out because no one can do what Willie Mays could do.”