Pvt. Willie Mays · Victory by Valor

Pvt.U.S. Army · Fort Eustis, Virginia

Baseball · New York & San Francisco Giants

b. 6 May 1931 · Westfield, Alabama · d. 18 Jun 2024

The reigning Rookie of the Year was drafted in 1952 and gave the Army most of two seasons — then came back and won the World Series.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR 1951 · WORLD SERIES CHAMPION 1954660 HOME RUNS · NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME, 1979PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM, 2015

Service record

01
Drafted in 1952, the season after his 1951 Rookie of the Year award
02
Served as a physical-training instructor at Fort Eustis, Virginia — most of 1952 and all of 1953
03
Returned in 1954 to hit a league-leading .345 with 41 home runs and win the World Series · missed about 266 games to service

Did you know

660 career home runs. Presidential Medal of Freedom, November 2015. He learned the basket catch from a fellow Fort Eustis outfielder.

BIRTHDAY

May 6

FOR RESEARCH PROJECTS

Observances

Personal timeline · birth → service → career → honors

6 May 1931
Born in Westfield, Alabama.
1948
Plays for the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues.
1951
National League Rookie of the Year with the New York Giants.
1952
Drafted into the Army during the Korean War; reports to Fort Eustis, Virginia, as a physical-training instructor. Learns the basket catch from a fellow Fort Eustis outfielder.
1953
Spends the whole season in the Army — about 266 games missed in all.
1954
Returns: league-leading .345, 41 home runs, 110 RBI and the World Series title.
1958
The Giants move to San Francisco.
1972–73
Finishes his career with the New York Mets. 660 home runs, 3,293 hits, 3,005 games.
1979
Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Nov 2015
Presidential Medal of Freedom.
18 Jun 2024
Dies in the Bay Area, California, at 93.