Willie Mays Turns 80

By Eric Risberg, AP

For Posey, the experience was akin to traveling back in time, through the game's history with Mays as a tour guide who learned not from books but from experience.

"It's almost like, if you were lucky enough to sit and talk to Babe Ruth when he was alive, or Mickey Mantle or (Joe) DiMaggio," Posey said, remarking on Mays' sharp wit and enduring passion for the game. "He's a living legend."

The legend turns 80 today, and the Giants will mark the occasion with a pregame ceremony that will include tributes from some of his former teammates with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League.

That was the team with which Mays made his pro debut as a 17-year-old high schooler in 1948, three years before he became the NL Rookie of the Year with the New York Giants.

He's one of four living Hall of Famers who played in the Negro leagues, along with Hank Aaron, Monte Irvin and Ernie Banks, and he harks backs to some of the game's signature moments.

Mays was the on-deck hitter when Bobby Thomson hit the "Shot Heard 'Round the World," sending the Giants to the 1951 World Series, and his immortal catch of Vic Wertz's drive in the 1954 Fall Classic has been regarded as one of the greatest plays in history.

The documentary Legends: Willie Mays, which will premiere Sunday on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, highlights not just Mays' remarkable physical skills but also his baseball acumen.

"He was like a coach on the field," longtime teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Willie McCovey said in the film. "He knew ahead of time what was going to happen."

And yet, Mays makes a startling admission in the documentary about Thomson's iconic home run.

"I didn't realize the game was over,'' he said. "I'm the last guy to get to home plate (for the celebration)."

Willie Mays joined the Flyers Softball team--Lou Nolan, Bob Kelly and Joe Kadlec--near Atlantic City in 1980.