Willie's Boys: The 1948 Birmingham Black Barons, the Last Negro League World Series, and the Making of a Baseball Legend - Hardcover

by John Klima (Author)

The story of Willie Mays's rookie year with the Negro American League's Birmingham Black Barons, the Last Negro World Series, and the making of a baseball legend

Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays is one of baseball's endearing greats, a tremendously talented and charismatic center fielder who hit 660 career homeruns, collected 3,283 hits, knocked in 1,903 runs, won 12 Gold Glove Awards and appeared in 24 All-Star games. But before Mays was the ""Say Hey Kid"", he was just a boy. Willie's Boys is the story of his remarkable 1948 rookie season with the Negro American League's Birmingham Black Barons, who took a risk on a raw but gifted 16-year-old and gave him the experience, confidence, and connections to escape Birmingham's segregation, navigate baseball's institutional racism, and sign with the New York Giants. Willie's Boys offers a character-rich narrative of the apprenticeship Mays had at the hands of a diverse group of savvy veterans who taught him the ways of the game and the world.

• Sheds new light on the virtually unknown beginnings of a baseball great, not available in other books
• Captures the first incredible steps of a baseball superstar in his first season with the Negro League's Birmingham Black Barons
• Introduces the veteran group of Negro League players, including Piper Davis, who gave Mays an incredible apprenticeship season
• Illuminates the Negro League's last days, drawing on in-depth research and interviews with remaining players
• Explores the heated rivalry between Mays's Black Barons and Buck O'Neil's Kansas City Monarchs, culminating in the last Negro League World Series
• Breaks new historical ground on what led the New York Giants to acquire Mays, and why he didn't sign with the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Yankees, or Boston Red Sox

Packed with stories and insights, Willie's Boys takes you inside an important part of baseball history and the development of one of the all-time greats ever to play the game.

Front Jacket

New York Giants head scout and former pitching ace Carl Hubbell described his visit to the Polo Grounds to watch the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League play the New York Cubans as "the day I saw the best goddamn baseball player I have ever seen in my life." Hubbell sensed that the gangly teenager with blinding speed, a whip-like arm, and dynamite in his bat was more than a raw talent--and he was right. The Black Barons' manager and players had made a mission of coaching, grooming, and advising this ferociously capable youngster to take advantage of an opportunity most of them would never have--to play in the major leagues. Willie Mays would not disappoint them.

In Willie's Boys, award-winning baseball writer John Klima sheds new light on the amazing, little-known story of Willie Mays's 1948 rookie season as a professional baseball player. He did not officially join the team until the Fourth of July, so he could finish his sophomore year in high school. In a few short months, Willie, still little more than a child off the field, would be transformed from a phenomenally gifted prodigy into a wily pro whose deep understanding of the game would soon equal his natural ability. He would also learn valuable lessons about how to succeed in the unknown territory of "white folks' ball."

This quintessentially American tale leads you down the long, dusty road of Negro League baseball, a road that would soon reach its end. Drawing on in-depth research and interviews with surviving players, it illuminates the league's last days, explores the heated rivalry between the Black Barons and Buck O'Neil's Kansas City Monarchs, and introduces such legendary players as Artie Wilson, Bill Greason, Alonzo Perry, and Piper Davis. It also breaks new historical ground on how the New York Giants acquired Mays, and why the Dodgers, Yankees, Indians, Braves, White Sox, and Red Sox missed out.

Willie Mays is not the real hero of this book. That honor belongs to Piper Davis, the Barons' player-manager. A great star of the Negro Leagues in his own right, Davis knew that age and his fiery temper would keep him out of the majors. It was Davis who made it his goal to ensure that his affable and awesomely talented protégé had the skills, knowledge, and visibility he needed to get his shot at the majors and make the most of it.

Peppered with colorful and amusing anecdotes, such as how Willie acquired the nickname Buck Duck and why the Barons' bus driver earned considerably more money than most of the team's players, Willie's Boys offers a singular and memorable look at a lost era and the making of a baseball legend.

Author Biography

John Klima, an award-winning baseball writer, has written for the "New York Times, " Yahoo! Sports, and "Los Angeles Times." His story "Deal of the Century" was selected by David Maraniss to be included in the 2007 edition of "Best American Sports Writing." In 2007, he was honored by the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing. He is a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America and the Society for American Baseball Research. Visit his Web sites at www.klimaink.com. and www.baseballbeginnings.com.