MARCH 8, 1946
The first spring training game ever to be played in Arizona takes place at Tucson’s Hi Corbett Field. The Indians, behind the pitching of Bob Lemon, beat the Giants, 3-1, in the inaugural Cactus League contest. (Nationalpastime.com)
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FEBRUARY 26, 1957
The Giants trade right-hander Hoyt Wilhelm to the Cardinals for their former all-star first baseman/outfielder Whitey Lockman. The knuckleballer will win only one of five decisions for the Redbirds before being selected off waivers by Cleveland in September, and New York’s newest infielder will spend two seasons with his old club hitting .246 in 225 games over that span.
(Nationalpastime.com)
FEBRUARY 25, 1934
At the age of 60, John McGraw dies at New Rochelle Hospital, two weeks after entering the facility with optimistic reports about his recovery. The renown Giants skipper, known as ‘Little Napolean’ due to his style and stature, won ten pennants and three world championships during his 30 years as the team’s manager.
(Nationalpastime.com)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – San Francisco Mayor London Breed will officially proclaim this Sunday, February 4, 2024 as “Willie Mays Day,” in honor of baseball legend #24 Willie Mays. A once-in-a-century date, 2.4.24 has never and will never again be experienced during Mays’ lifetime.
On 2.4.24, iconic San Francisco landmarks will be decorated in celebration of the “Say Hey Kid.” City Hall, the Ferry Building and Salesforce Tower will be dawned in orange and black lights, and Willie Mays Plaza – featuring the Willie Mays statue – and Oracle Park will also be illuminated in celebration of Mays. A special banner will hang from the 24 palm trees outside Oracle Park and the scoreboard will commemorate 2.4.24 throughout the day. Mayor Breed will be joined by Mays’ Godson Barry Bonds and Giants President and CEO Larry Baer in making the proclamation at San Francisco City Hall on the first day of Black History Month. The official proclamation will be shared publicly on 2.4.24.
As one of the best players in MLB history, Mays fostered unity, pride, identity and leadership. “Willie Mays Day” will celebrate the Hall of Famer’s impact as well as the grace, dignity and joy that he exudes. 2.4.24 will honor the example Mays sets as a hero and mentor, inspiring youth at the Hunters Point Boys and Girls Club that bears his name, through the Willie Mays Scholars program, the Say Hey Foundation and beyond.
Willie Mays said, “I am honored by Mayor Breed’s proclamation, and would like to thank the City of San Francisco and the Giants for this day. The game of baseball has been great to me, and not only was I given the opportunity to play, but I was also given the opportunity to help kids all around the world. To me, this day means I am loved. This is as much my day as it is for everyone who loves the Game.”
Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred, Jr. said, “Our National Pastime always welcomes the opportunity to celebrate the game’s greatest living player, Willie Mays. Major League Baseball applauds the San Francisco Giants and the City of San Francisco for honoring the best number 24 of all in grand fashion. To this day, Willie remains an inspiration to sports fans and baseball players everywhere. We look forward to highlighting Willie’s legacy at the MLB at Rickwood Field Game in his hometown of Birmingham this June 20th.”
“To sports fans around the globe, Willie’s accomplishments and persona as the “Say Hey Kid” resonate every day,” said Larry Baer, President and CEO of the San Francisco Giants. “2.4.24 is one more opportunity to call attention to a man who, in our minds, is the greatest player ever. We are blessed to play our games at 24 Willie Mays Plaza with his image at our front door.”
In a symbolic celebration of the Negro Leagues, and its greatest living player – Willie Mays – the San Francisco Giants will face off against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 20, 2024 at Rickwood Field. Rickwood Field, the oldest professional ballpark in the U.S., is the former home of the Birmingham Black Barons – the Negro League team Mays played for until the Giants signed him upon his graduation from high school in 1950.
Named in honor of the Hall-of-Famer, the Giants Community Fund launched the Willie Mays Scholars program in 2021 to make college aspirations come true for Black youth in San Francisco. Five scholars are inducted annually and receive a scholarship of up to $20,000. To celebrate “Willie Mays Day,” the Willie Mays Scholars application is officially open for the 2024 season. Fans may join Willie Mays and the Giants in giving the gift of education via: giantscommunityfund.org/wms.
Fans everywhere are encouraged to join the Giants in celebrating Willie Mays on 2.4.24. For more information, visit sfgiants.com/2424, and follow along with @SFGiants on Instagram, X , TikTok, YouTube and Facebook.
FEBRUARY 1, 1913
Jim Thorpe signs with the New York baseball Giants. The Olympic hero will compile a life-time .252 batting average during his six seasons in the major leagues, which includes stints with the Reds and Braves.
(Nationalpastime.com)
FEBRUARY 1, 1973
Commissioner Bowie Kuhn announces the Special Committee on the Negro Leagues selection of Monte Irvin to the Hall of Fame. The outfielder spent five full seasons in the major leagues, and was the first black to play for the Giants.
(Nationalpastime.com)
JANUARY 31, 2001
The Wall Street Journal’s Joshua Prager quotes former players Monte Irvin, Sal Yvars and Al Gettel “admitting” the team stole catchers’ signs during the 1951 pennant race when the Giants overcame the Dodgers’ 13 1/2-game lead. According to Prager’s WSJ report, Bobby Thomson, whose three-run, ninth-inning walk-off homer in Game 3 of the National League playoffs won the pennant for New York, did not steal a sign before hitting his historic home run. (Nationalpastime.com)
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE-JOHN SHEA
Thanks to a mathematical marvel in the calendar, we get a chance to further celebrate Willie Mays. On Feb. 4, the stars — or superstars, in Mays’ case — will align for a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon. Unless you’re 100 years old, that is. It will be Feb. 4, 2024, otherwise known as 2/4/24. Willie Mays Day, for all of those who will observe while realizing Mays’ number 24 is the most revered in the franchise history of the San Francisco Giants and one of the most revered in all of sports. Hoist a glass. High-five a buddy. Hug your kid. Honor baseball’s greatest overall player. Including at 2:24 p.m. Or if you dare, 2:24 a.m.
Many forces are collaborating to celebrate 2/4/24, in particular the mayor’s office and the Giants. City Hall will be lit up in orange and black, and 24 Willie Mays Plaza and the Oracle Park scoreboard will be dressed up accordingly. A proclamation by the city will be made to recognize 2/4/24 as Willie Mays Day, and the day will tie in with the Giants’ plans for Black History Month, including an announcement on the Willie Mays Scholars program. It will serve as their launch campaign for the Giants-Cardinals game on June 20 at historic Rickwood Field, where a teenaged Mays played in the Negro leagues as the center fielder of the legendary Birmingham Black Barons in Alabama.
Honoring the Say Hey Kid on 2/4/24 was the brainchild of Adam Swig, a friend of Mays who was struck by the calendar coincidence and began passing word that the momentous date was coming. Swig, founder and executive director of the California nonprofit Value Culture, contacted Giants CEO Larry Baer, who reached out to Mayor London Breed. Both showed immediate interest.
“Willie Mays made 24 cool,” said Swig, who rode with Mays through two of the Giants’ three World Series parades and solicited many local eateries that plan menu specials on Feb. 4 to acknowledge Mays. “He’s the greatest baseball player of all time, an American icon and American hero. And one of the greatest guys I ever met, a great friend. It’s pretty simple to me. It’s his day. He deserves it. San Francisco loves Willie Mays. I hope everyone puts on their 24 jerseys on 2/4/24.”
The Giants’ marketing and communications departments have gotten involved, as has the New York Giants Preservation Society, a group of longtime Giants fans whose mission is to “remember, treasure and preserve the storied history of the New York Baseball Giants.”From Jan. 31, through Feb. 5, the society will rename itself the Willie Mays Preservation Society. “This is the least we could do to show our support for Willie. We love him,” said society President Gary Mintz of Long Island, N.Y. “We want to stand with the Giants. It’s appropriate. They were nice to us when the (World Series) trophy tours came here. It’s a great way to honor someone who means so much to so many. Ninety-seven percent of our group are Giants fans. Why? Because of 24.”
Mays followers get the relevance of 24 and might include the number in their passwords, personal ID numbers or phone numbers. They insist Mays is the greatest ever, arguing that Babe Ruth, who played during segregation, didn’t have the five tools to the degree Mays did, and that two-way star Shohei Ohtani hasn’t done it long enough.
Mays began wearing No. 24 his rookie year in 1951, though it wasn’t his first number in the big leagues. That was 14, which he wore briefly after getting called up from Triple-A Minneapolis. He eventually wound up with 24, which had belonged to outfielder Jack Maguire before he was claimed by the Pirates. Maguire’s other footnote in history: He was credited with giving Lawrence Peter Berra the nickname Yogi.
Mays wore 24 longer than any other big-leaguer, 22 years. No. 2 on the list, at 20 years, are Tony Perez and Miguel Cabrera, who retired after last season. Dwight Evans wore it for 19 years, and both Rickey Henderson and Manny Ramirez wore it 17 years.
Rickey, who was raised in Oakland, wore 24 because of Willie. Ken Griffey Jr. wore 24 because of Rickey. Mays is the reason Golden State Warriors legend Rick Barry, who grew up rooting for him at the Polo Grounds, wore 24. When later playing in Houston, because Moses Malone already was wearing 24, Barry wore 2 in home games and 4 on the road.
While 24 is iconic from coast to coast — in 2022, five decades after Mays’ final game with the New York Mets, the team also retired his No. 24 — the number is especially relevant in San Francisco. Surrounding Mays’ 9-foot bronzed statue at 24 Willie Mays Plaza are 24 palm trees. The right-field brick wall is approximately 24 feet high. When Mays turned 85, he was honored when Muni cable car No. 24 was dedicated to him.
“To sports fans around the globe,” Baer said, “Willie’s accomplishments and persona as the Say Hey Kid resonates every day; 2/4/24 is one more opportunity to call attention to a man who, in our minds, is the greatest player ever. We are blessed to play our games at 24 Willie Mays Plaza with his image at our front door.”
The last 2/4/24 was Feb. 4, 1924, which was seven years before Mays was born and seven months before the birth of Bill Greason, Mays’ teammate on the 1948 Black Barons. Greason, 99, and Mays, 92, are the only living ballplayers who appeared in both MLB and the Negro leagues as far back as 1948, the year of the final Negro League World Series, which featured the Black Barons and Homestead Grays.
An American hero and inspiration three times over, Greason was the St. Louis Cardinals’ first African American pitcher, fought at the Battle of Iwo Jima and has served as a minister in Birmingham for more than a half century, still preaching. Mays and Greason remain good friends and in steady contact.
Speaking of the Black Barons, the Giants will give out 20,000 Mays bobbleheads depicting him as a Black Baron on May 31, which is African American Heritage Day. It’s a Friday night game against the New York Yankees, coming a few weeks after Mays’ 93rd birthday, May 6.
Mays is dealing with health issues including with his mobility following hip surgery in spring 2022. He still keeps up with Giants baseball, engages in lively conversation when visitors drop by and greets them with his patented firm handshake.
After Feb. 4, the next 2/4/24 isn’t until Feb. 4, 2124, so the upcoming 2/4/24 might as well be embraced to the fullest.
Reach John Shea: jshea@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @JohnSheaHey