San Francisco Giants Hat, used by Willie Mays
San Francisco Giants Hat, used by Willie Mays
Usage conditions apply
- Description
- “The Say Hey Kid” Willie Howard Mays Jr. (b.1931) began his career in the Negro Leagues (1947) before joining the Major League’s New York Giants in 1951. Excepting time in military service (1952-1953,) the exuberant center fielder became a mainstay of the Giants, who relocated to San Francisco in 1958. In 1973 Mays signed with the New York Mets, where he would play his final two seasons.
- Mays started his Major League career by winning the 1951 National League Rookie of the Year Award. A two time National League Most Valuable Player (1954, 1965) Mays led the Giants to victory in the 1954 World Series, where in game one, he famously caught a ball, hit by Cleveland Indian Vic Wertz, over his shoulder. Now simply referred to in baseball lore as “The Catch,” the play is the best remembered of the many defensive efforts that earned the speedy outfielder 12 gold gloves to go along with his 24 All Star Game recognitions.
- Mays finished his career with.302 batting average, 3,283 hits, 660 home runs, 1,903 runs batted in, and 338 stolen bases. One of the greatest all-around players the sport has ever seen, Mays was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979. In 2015 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- baseball hat
- cap, baseball
- baseball cap
- hat
- hat, baseball
- date made
- 1970-1972
- user
- Mays, Willie
- place made
- United States: Massachusetts, Boston
- Associated Place
- United States: California, San Francisco
- Physical Description
- wool (overall material)
- leather (interior band material)
- Measurements
- overall: 5 in x 8 in x 10 in; 12.7 cm x 20.32 cm x 25.4 cm
- ID Number
- 2017.0084.13
- accession number
- 2017.0084
- catalog number
- 2017.0084.13
- subject
- Baseball
- Professional
- See more items in
- Cultural and Community Life: Sport and Leisure
- Sports & Leisure
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Nominate this object for photography.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.
