A confluence of events this week has prompted me to post this today.
First, the world lost – perhaps – baseball’s greatest player ever: Willie Mays. I won’t pretend to have the memories of Mays that some do (heck, I was only 6-years-old when he played his final big league game with the Mets at age 42). My only knowledge of him comes from the highlight reels, the recollections of those who played with and against him, and Baseball-Reference’s statistics.
Second, is today’s game between the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants from Birmingham’s fabled Rickwood Field. The purpose, in large part, is to pay homage and draw attention to the Negro Major Leagues (the Birmingham Black Barons played there, including a high school player named Willie Mays) and the historical impact they’ve had on baseball.
I was fortunate, blessed really, to have had the opportunity to speak with Ron Teasley on our podcast, “Conversations with Sports Fans” last November. At the time, Teasley was 96-years-old, and one of only three surviving Negor Major Leagues players. After the passing of Mays, Teasley is 97 and one of just two surviving Negro Major Leaguers. The other is 99-year-old Bill Greason.
If you haven’t listened to the Teasley episode (or even if you have) I invite you to do so/do so again and soak up a bit of history from this native Detroiter.