Major League Baseball pays tribute to Willie Mays and the Negro Leagues

On August 3, 2023, when Major League Baseball announced that the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals would play a game at Rickwood Field, built in 1910 in Birmingham, Alabama, MLB Network host Harold Reynolds expected Hall of Famer Willie Mays to attend if he was healthy.

On Monday, one day before the festivities to pay tribute to the Negro Leagues began, Mays, who was born in Westfield, about five miles from Rickwood Field, said he would not attend the game, but it would only become more somber from there.

A standing ovation was held on Tuesday at Rickwood Field’s minor league game between the Montgomery Biscuits and Birmingham Barons as it was announced that Mays, a 24-time All-Star centerfielder and Hall of Famer who began his career with the Negro League’s Birmingham Black Barons, died.

The Giants were in the middle of a game in Chicago against the Cubs when Mays’ death was announced, and they decided to honor him with a jersey patch featuring his last name and number, 24, the next day.

Barnstorm Birmingham, a Juneteenth event at Rickwood Field, the oldest existing ballpark in the U.S., featured a celebrity softball game with team names to honor the Negro Leagues’ greats.

Mays’ godson Barry Bonds led the Say Heys, named after Mays, and Hall of Famer Derek Jeter did the same for the Hammers, named after 25-time All-Star and Hall of Famer Hank Aaron.

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris, who played college football at the University of Alabama, Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston, born in Bessemer, Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe and plenty of former MLB players were among those who played.

On Thursday at Rickwood Field, the fun began before the main event between the Giants and Cardinals even started when Jeter asked Bonds on the FOX pregame show what he would do if he faced Hall of Famer Satchel Paige, who played 16 seasons in the Negro Leagues.

“Me? Gone,” said Bonds, drawing laughs from the rest of the show’s crew.

Five-time Grammy Award-winning musical artist Jon Batiste led the pregame ceremony, which was accompanied by former Negro Leagues players entering the field with Giants and Cardinals players.

With the number 24 painted behind home plate, Michael Mays, the late Willie Mays’ son, then gave a short speech and the crowd chanted, “Will-ie! Will-ie!”

Bill Greason, 99, Willie Mays’ teammate in 1948 with the Black Barons and the oldest living Negro Leagues player, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

“He was a determined young man,” Greason said about Mays in an interview with FOX’s Ken Rosenthal during the game. “He had the gifts, the talent, and he was sensitive to listening to those who were older than he was. It was a tremendous blessing, and we turned out to be real close. Like brothers.”

The Cardinals added the Giants’ Willie Mays patch for the game alongside their St. Louis Stars jerseys, and the Giants wore special San Francisco Sea Lions jerseys.

Both teams’ jerseys were designed to honor their Negro Leagues counterparts.

The umpire crew of Alan Porter (home plate), Adrian Johnson (first base and crew chief), Malachi Moore (second base), CB Bucknor (third base) and Jeremie Rehak (replay official) made history as the first all-Black umpire crew in AL/NL history.

Heliot Ramos, who played center field for the Giants on Thursday, hit a three-run home run in the third inning to tie the game.

The Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan, who grew up in Enterprise and played college baseball at the University of South Alabama, started in left field and went three for four and a two-run home run in the first inning.

When the Cardinals’ Ryan Helsley struck out the Giants’ Matt Chapman to secure St. Louis’ 6-5 victory, red and silver fireworks burst out from the batters’ eye in center field to put the cherry on top of a memorable three days in Birmingham.

Owen Klein is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ojk5092@psu.edu.