Considered to be “as monumental – and enigmatic – a legend as American sport has ever seen” (Sports Illustrated), Willie Mays is arguably the greatest player in baseball history, still revered for the passion that he brought to the game. He began as a teenager in the Negro Leagues, became a cult hero in New York, and was the headliner in Major League Baseball’s bold expansion to California. Athletically, he was a fusion of Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb, a new archetype. With 3,283 hits, 660 home runs, and 338 stolen bases, he was a blend of power, speed, and stylistic bravado that enraptured fans for more than two decades. He also contributed to blacks’ assimilation during the turbulent civil rights era, a distinctive figure of ambition, sacrifice, and triumph who became a lasting cultural touchstone for a nation in search of heroes.

Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend is the first authorized biography of this baseball immortal. He is perhaps best known for “The Catch” – his breathtaking over-the-shoulder grab in the 1954 World Series. But he straddled different eras, cultures, and communities, carving a legacy of depth and scope that few would rival.

The book brings to life other baseball luminaries (Ruth, Cobb, DiMaggio, Musial, Mantle, Aaron) and provides vivid profiles of Willie’s mother, who gave her son up at birth but had a profound impact on his life; Willie’s father, who pushed his son to achieve what he himself could not; and Willie’s wife, who found a part of his soul that was hidden to others. The narrative also examines Mays’s complex relationship with Jackie Robinson and includes interviews with everyone from Bill Clinton and Woody Allen to Hank Aaron, Kareem Adul-Jabbar, Tom Seaver, and Barry Bonds.

What emerges is a fascinating portrait of an intensely private man who found structure, order, and even family on the baseball field, who was so driven to succeed that he often pushed himself up to and beyond his physical and emotional limits, and who even as a teenager touched the hearts of others in ways that they would never forget. More than his records, more than the victories, May’s legacy is defined by the pure joy that he brought to fans and the loving memories that have been passed to future generations so they might know the magic and beauty of the game.

Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend represents the independent judgments and conclusions of James S. Hirsch. Mays cooperated fully with the effort, spending over a hundred hours with the author and encouraging – often for the first time – dozens of friends, colleagues, and family members to speak about him. The research also drew upon thousands of newspaper, magazine, and Internet stories as well as radio interviews, documentaries, books, and the vast paper trail of any life – personal letters, employment records, report cards, and much more.

Some years ago, the baseball historian Bill James said, “No one really knows Willie Mays.”

Readers of this book will know him well.