A visual profile of the record-setting baseball star traces his Birmingham childhood, achievements in the Negro Leagues, and fame as a center fielder for the Giants.

"Culturally, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays were light years apart. Yet they were nearly the same age, almost the same size, and came to New York at the same time. They possessed virtually the same talents, and played the same position. They were both products of generations of baseball-playing families, for whom the game was the only escape from a lifetime of brutal manual labor. Both were nearly crushed by the weight of the outsized expectations...

"In 1973, baseball was in crisis. The first strike in pro sports had soured fans, game attendance had fallen, and America's team the Yankees had lost more games and money than ever. Baseball was facing a bust. Yet, five of baseball's greatest figures saved the sport and returned it to its pedestal as America's pastime. Powerhouse Hank Aaron surprised the nation by beating Babe Ruth's home run record in the face of racist threats. George Steinbrenner...

Think you know all there is to know about Willie Mays? Well, did you know that: •He once batted .477 in the minor leagues? •He won twelve straight Gold Glove awards? •He was the first African American team captain in major-league history? Willie Mays started his baseball career in the little-known Negro Leagues in 1948. He crossed over to the major leagues with the New York Giants in 1951. During the 1954 World Series, Mays stunned the baseball...

"Jackie Robinson heroically broke the color barrier in 1947. But how--and, in practice, when--did the integration of the sport actually occur? Bill Madden shows that baseball's famous "black experiment" did not truly succeed until the coming of age of Willie Mays and the emergence of some star players--Larry Doby, Hank Aaron, and Ernie Banks--in 1954. And as a relevant backdrop off the field, it was in May of that year that the US Supreme Court unanimously...

A biography of the professional baseball player who played in every All-Star Game from 1954 to 1973.

A biography of the record-setting baseball player who is one of three in the game's history to hit 600 home runs.