Willie Mays

Willie Mays of the New York Giants scores on a close play at the plate at the Polo Grounds on May 22, 1952. Mays, who had tripled, beat Solly Hemus’s throw to catcher Del Rice in the second inning as umpire Al Barlick makes the call. The Giants defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-0.

Willie Mays played in only 34 games in 1952. He was drafted that year and missed all of the 1953 season because of the Korean War. Despite the missed time, Mays hit 660 home runs in 22 major league seasons, thrilled millions with his daring base running and acrobatics in center field and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979.