Willie Mays

Willie Mays was born on May 6, 1931, in Fairfield, Alabama. His father, William Howard, was a steelworker who mined in the all-black town of Fairfield, only thirteen miles from Birmingham. His parents, gifted athletes in their own right, were only sixteen at the time of his birth. Willie's father played center field for the Birmingham Industrial League Semi Pro team, while his mother Anna had been a high school track star. Willie stood to inherit quite a bit of athletic talent from his bloodlines. Even his grandfather pitched for a Negro League baseball team.

Willie's parents divorced when he was three, and he went to live with his father, who, to care for Willie while he was at work, brought in a homeless woman. Even at the age of three, his father had him playing catch, or placed him in the dugout at the Semi Pro games he played in. By the time Willie Mays was a young man, he'd already had more baseball education than most players receive in a lifetime. Since his high school had no baseball team, Willie was playing in the semi-pro leagues around Birmingham. Even if his school had a team, chances are he wouldn't have been challenged by the high school players.