On May 6, 1931, William Mays Jr. was born in Westfield, Alabama. According to his father, he learned to walk at the age of 6 months. Father of Willie Mays also used to play baseball and from his father he learned basics of the game.

He started playing for the Birmingham Black Barons when he was a teenager, the local entry in the Negro Leagues. To play with the Black Barons Mays was paid a salary of $250 a month.

By the time Mays cemented his place as the center fielder for the Black Barons, popular ballplayer

Jackie Robinson had broken the color barrier in MLB, and the Negro Leagues were being scouted extensively by the newly incorporated professional teams.

Mays played in the minor leagues in the year 1950 and the beginning of 1951and was encouraged to the Minneapolis Millers, a AAA club, the last stage prior to the major leagues. Mays's attainment was extensively unusual at the AAA level, and his name swiftly became familiar to Leo Durocher, the manager of Giants. In year 1951 Giants were suffering from the poor season, and without any delay Durocher brought Mays to the MLB level. On May 25, 1951, Mays started playing for Giants as a number three hitter and starting center fielder.

He made his debut in big leagues in year 1954 and showed his excellence throughout the season. In year 1955 he made 51 home runs. Mays surpassed the records of the game's all-time greats until at last he trailed only the Babe, by 170 home runs. After the 1966 season his batting average and home runs both started to drop. In 1973 he ended up his career with New York Mets.

During the 21 seasons in his MLB career, Willie Mays hit more than 600 home runs. Apart from a solid hitter, Mays is also known as the game's greatest defensive outfielder ever and perhaps its best base runner as well.