Willie Mays Marquee Hall of Fame 1979

He was seventeen when he played 1948 for the Birmingham Black Barons, reached the New York Giants in 1951, and spent the next twenty-two seasons being the most complete player in the sport. Across twenty-three seasons in leagues now counted as major he had 3,293 hits, 660 home runs, 1,909 runs batted in and 339 stolen bases, and he won twelve Gold Gloves in center field.

He is remembered for one play above the rest. In the opening game of the 1954 World Series he ran down a Vic Wertz drive over his shoulder more than 400 feet from the plate, caught it without looking, and spun to throw before he had stopped moving. The Giants swept the Series.

He led his league in home runs four times and in stolen bases four times, which almost nobody has done, and in triples three times. He was chosen for an All-Star team in twenty different seasons. He finished with two years for the Mets, back in New York, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1979.