Statue of Willie Mays
A bronze statue of baseball player Willie Mays was unveiled outside the main entrance of Oracle Park, in San Francisco, California on March 31, 2000. A native of Westfield, Alabama, Mays is considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of baseball.
The statue is located in front of the ballpark entrance at 24 Willie Mays Plaza and is surrounded with 24 palm trees, in honor of his uniform number 24 which was retired by the San Francisco Giants. The statue was dedicated prior to the opening of the Pacific Bell Park (as it was known at the time).[1]
Information
The statue was commissioned by Giants managing partner Peter Magowan in 1997 when ground was broken for the new ballpark for the San Francisco Giants. It was sculpted by William Behrends.[2]
Initially, Magowan wanted to depict Mays' famous catch in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series but Mays objected, later telling the San Francisco Chronicle that if the statue were to be accurately positioned in relation to the field, the "back end is going to be sticking out coming into the ballpark." Instead, the nine-foot-tall statue depicts Mays at bat, following through on his swing.[2]
Since the dedication, the phrase "Meet me at Willie" has become an unofficial for Giants' fans meeting at Oracle Park.[2]
Upon Mays' death on June 18, 2024, baseball fans left tributes and paid their respects at the base of the statue which became an informal memorial.[3]
References
- ^ Epstein, Edward (August 7, 1998). "All Choked Up: Giants Legend Willie Mays Is Moved By Statue of Him for New Ballpark". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ a b c Kamiya, Gary; Madonna, Paul (July 3, 2021). "The Willie Mays Statue". Nob Hill Gazette.
- ^ Quintana, Sergio (June 20, 2024). "Fans come together at Willie Mays' statue to remember baseball legend". NBC Bay Area. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
- v
- t
- e
- Admission Day Monument
- Aurora
- California Volunteers
- El Cid Campeador
- Cupid's Span
- Curved Form
- Dewey Monument
- Double L Excentric Gyratory
- Dragon Gate
- The Emperor Has No Balls
- Goddess of Democracy
- Goethe–Schiller Monument
- Guardians of the Gate
- History of San Francisco
- Holocaust Memorial at California Palace of the Legion of Honor
- Invisible Man and the Masque of Blackness
- La Chiffonnière
- Large Four Piece Reclining Figure 1972–73
- Mechanics Monument
- Pan American Unity
- Pink Triangle Park
- Pioneer Monument
- Point of Infinity
- Robert Louis Stevenson Memorial
- Roman Gladiator
- San Francisco Fountain
- Shaking Man
- Skygate
- Statue of Ashurbanipal
- The Thinker
- Three Heads Six Arms
- United Nations Plaza Fountain
- Untitled
- Vaillancourt Fountain
- Wave Organ
- West Coast Memorial to the Missing of World War II
Portrait statues |
|
---|
This article about a sculpture in California is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e