Willie Mays was born on May 6, 1931 in Westfield, Ala., a grimy steel-mill town near the outskirts of Birmingham. Even before he was old enough to walk, his father, Willie Sr., rolled a ball back and forth with him. When dad stopped, Willie cried.

	Mays drove in 1,903 runs during his 22-year career.

That passion and desire to play the game of baseball never left him.

The Giants centerfielder (first in New York, then San Francisco) was the complete player. Baseball people like to speak of the five tools in the same way others believe in the Ten Commandments. There's hitting, hitting for power, running, fielding and throwing. The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder with the massive flat chest and bulging arms and shoulders was superb in all five categories.

The Say Hey Kid won two MVPs, 11 years apart. He hit 660 home runs, third most in history, is a member of the elite 3,000-hit club (3,283, No. 10 all-time) and has a lifetime average of .302. His 2,062 runs rank fifth and his 1,903 RBI eighth.

He was the first player to hit at least 300 homers and steal at least 300 bases (338 total). He led the National League in steals four consecutive seasons, and on the bases his daring running crazed pitchers, destroying their concentration and making it easier for the hitters who followed him in the lineup.

The Gold Glove came into existence in 1957, and Mays earned one in each of the first 12 years. He is the only outfielder with more than 7,000 career putouts (7,095). A half-dozen or so of his catches are legendary, with the back-to-the-plate catch of Vic Wertz's drive to deep center in the 1954 World Series being the most famous.

He succinctly summed up is approach to the game by saying: "When they throw the ball, I hit it. When they hit the ball, I catch it."

Mays was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1979, in his first year of eligibility. He currently serves as a special assistant to the Giants.