Willie Mays

"If somebody came up and hit .450, stole 100 bases, and performed a miracle in the field every day, I'd still look you right in the eye and tell you that Willie was better. He could do the five things you have to do to be a superstar: hit, hit with power, run, throw and field. And he had the other magic ingredient that turns a superstar into a super Superstar. Charisma. He lit up a room when he came in. He was a joy to be around."

-Leo Durocher

Willie Mays a true five tool player could do it all, throw, field, hit for average, and hit for power. he is known to be one of the greatest baseball players ever and one of the greatest center fielders ever. He was born on May 6, 1931 in Westfield, Alabama and became 170 pounds and 5 feet 10 inches tall proving great players don't have to be big or tall. he began his professional career in the negro leagues at 16 and made his major league debut on May 25, 1951 for the New York Giants (later the San Francisco Giants). He retired in 1973 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He is alive at the age of 83 and is recognized to today by professional baseball players as one of the greatest players of all time.

Awards
Rookie of the Year
11 gold gloves
24 all-star games                                          
  1954 World Series winner
Hall of Fame

Statistics
3283 career hits
1903 RBIs
660 home runs
338 stolen bases
302 career batting average
384 On Base Percentage
557 Slugging Percentage
7095 put outs
195 assists
60 errors

Fun Facts
Bats and throws right
Played for the Birmingham Black Barons in the negro leagues.
Famous catch
Missed two years in the MLB because he was drafted in the military
Graduated from Fairfield Industrial High School
Played center field
His father taught him how to play baseball
His parents got divorced and when he was ten they moved to a company-owned house in Fairfield with his dad, a co-worker, his two aunts, and many cousins.
He was a quarterback and a star basketball player in high school, but didn't play baseball because they had no team.

Citations
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mayswi01.shtml
http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/may0gal-1  -Photo                                        http://www.biography.com/people/willie-mays-9403845#awesm=~oHGxq3gFsCjYmb
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/willie-mays-makes-catch
http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/64f5dfa2 -Photo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dK6zPbkFnE&feature=kp