Say Hey: The Autobiography of Willie Mays: Say Hey: The Autobiography of Willie Mays [Paperback]

Mays (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1989

From the Negro Leagues to the National League to the Hall of Fame, here is the story of one of the all-time greats. Mays recalls his childhood in rural Alabama, his early playing career, and his life as a star rookie in the glory days of New York baseball. HC: Simon & Schuster.

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Pocket (April 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671678361
• ISBN-13: 978-0671678364
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #402,989 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Say Hey?, July 17, 2002

By 

Joseph Valentine Dworak (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Say Hey: The Autobiography of Willie Mays (Hardcover)

I read this book a few years ago, and was both interested in Willie Mays not only as a player, but as a man. Growing up a baseball player Willie Mays was someone to idolize, and with the way he played, this was easy to do. What was most sad about this book was the fact that Willie ended up a great career having little money to show for it, and had to become a greeter at a casino to make ends meet. One can only imagine how much money he would command now, and how he would be set for life in today's current baseball climate. If A-Rod gets $25 million a year, than Willie would get much more. This book gets points for being an honest look at Willie's life, from his own perspective, and for that I aplaud him. If you like baseball, you will like this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very well written autobiography, October 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Say Hey: The Autobiography of Willie Mays: Say Hey: The Autobiography of Willie Mays (Paperback)

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.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, mostly about baseball, December 3, 2011

By 

Blake Sweeney (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Say Hey: The Autobiography of Willie Mays: Say Hey: The Autobiography of Willie Mays (Paperback)

I liked this book. Sticks mostly to Willie's playing career with little about his personal life outside of baseball. Some nice anecdotes and comparisons with he, Mickey Mantle, and Duke Snider, stats per season, talks about relationships with the team managers and other players, etc.... really fun stuff.

Not much off the field. Like, he never mentions Bobby Bonds, which was strange to me since Willie Mays became the Godfather for Barry Bonds when he was born in the mid-sixties. I'd recommend it, but this book didn't resonate with me like some other sports bios (Bill Russell's "Second Wind" and Jackie Robinson's "I Never Had It Made").