Willie Mays, the Hall of Fame outfielder who played for the Giants and Mets during his 23-year MLB career, died on Tuesday at age 93.
Players, fans, and sports media alike are reliving some of the best moments of his legendary life. Mays made some of the most awe-inspiring plays on the field, while also helping establish an acceptance of Black people in the sport and American society.
Barack Obama told Mays in 2009 that if not for him and Jackie Robinson, "I’m not sure that I would get elected to the White House."
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His impact has transcended beyond sports, and he'll forever be remembered for the influence he had, going from the Negro Leagues to the MLB in 1951.
He began his career with the New York Giants, who eventually moved out west to San Francisco. He picked up a nickname in his rookie season that's become arguably one of the most well-known sports nicknames even, even over seven decades later.
MORE: Behind the numbers of Willie Mays' exceptional MLB career
Why is Willie Mays called the 'Say Hey Kid?'
Mays' famous nickname is the "Say Hey Kid." He earned the label in his rookie season with the New York Giants in 1951 thanks to Barney Kremenko, a New York Journal-American sportswriter.
Mays would regularly say, "say who, say what, say where, say hey." Kremenko took that and ran. He referred to the rookie as the "Say Hey Kid" in his story, and the name remains popular today.
"Say hey" was Mays' way of speaking to someone. He didn't remember names early in his rookie season, so he would just say "say hey." It led to an all-time great nickname for one of the game's best players.
"When I broke in, I didn’t know many people by name," Mays said. "So I would just say, 'Say hey,' and the writers picked that up."
MORE: 'The Catch' among Willie Mays' best career highlights
'Say Hey (The Willie Mays song)'
Mays' nickname stuck and became immortalized forever, most famously in the song "Say Hey (The Willie Mays song)," by the Treniers, which was released in 1954. Mays even participated in the recording.
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There was also a TV movie titled "Willie Mays and the Say Hey Kid" that aired in 1972. Mays voiced himself in the animated short where he takes care of a mischievous orphan girl in exchange for an angel helping the Giants win the NL pennant.
