Say Hey: The Autobiography of Willie Mays

Say Hey: The Autobiography of Willie Mays 
by Lou Sahadi


The autobiography of Willie Mayes portrays the life and times of one of America's best baseball players. Willie Mays played with a style and flair unmatched in this day and age. The book describes his trials and tribulations growing up in the deep south. It is a very well-written autobiography, and if readers are into baseball or Willie Mays this is an excellent selection. It is an excellent selection because it is a profile of American baseball and the way we idolize professional athletes.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This baseball story by a black athlete, coauthored with freelancer Sahadi, is generous in spirit, and Mays emerges as one of the most kindhearted of men. A pro at age 14, he played for the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues against stars like Satchel Paige and "Cool Papa" Bell. At 20, he joined the New York Giants, then managed by Leo Durocher, whom he credits with "making" his career by showing faith in him after his inauspicious big-league debut. He writes of his years in New York, in San Francisco, where the fans originally were chilly to him, and in New York again, with the Mets. And there is a brief but informative segment on his postbaseball career, which he initially found traumatizing because his adolescence and adulthood had been spent as a ballplayer. Mays founded and directs the Say Hey Foundation, a fund for the education of youngsters. This is an autobiography long overdue and eminently readable. Photos not seen by PW. First serial to the Los Angeles Times syndicate; paperback rights to Pocket Books; Literary Guild alternate.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Mays was a rookie outfielder when Bobby Thomson's home run won the National League pennant for the New York Giants. Twenty-three years later, he ended his career in New York as a Met. In the intervening years, he appeared in 24 All-Star games and was chosen most valuable player twice. This long-awaited autobiography reveals Mays to be a fine man as well as someone who played baseball for the love of the game. The reminiscences of his relationship with manager Leo Durocher, his dismay at the Giants's move to San Francisco, and his early years with the Black Barons of the Negro Leagues are the highlights of this unpretentious look at the career of a baseball legend. Jo DeLapo, Queens Lib., New York
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.