The auction of “Say Hey Kid” memorabilia is just as much about where the money is going as how much bidders will spend
Author Jim Hirsch wrote in his bestselling 2010 biography “ Willie Mays , The Life, The Legend” that the late San Francisco Giants icon loved the spotlight of center field, but hated the scrutiny of stardom.
But don’t mistake the modesty of the “Say Hey Kid” for apathy, Hirsch said. He said he learned that the first time he stepped foot inside Mays’ longtime mansion in Atherton, where the walls were lined with magazine covers, awards, plaques, bats and gloves — both old and gold.“When you walked into his home, you were just bombarded by the imagery of one of the greatest baseball players of all time,” Hirsch told The Examiner. “It felt like you were walking into an auction home.” Now, many of those mementos — one of the most expansive single-player memorabilia collections ever, organizers say — are being showcased at a real auction house across the street from what was in many ways Mays’ home away from home, Oracle Park. All this week, nearly 1,000 of Mays’ most valuable personal belongings are up for bid both online and in person. About 450 of those items — including his small-town Alabama high-school diploma, game-worn jerseys, MVP awards and World Series ring — are on display and free for public viewing at a warehouse on King Street, a half-block away from Willie Mays Plaza. The online bidding started earlier this week and will close Sunday. The live auction will be held Saturday at a neighboring warehouse. The auction marks the first time Mays’ full collection of personal memorabilia has been exhibited in one place at the same time, according to auction host David Hunt. “This is maybe the most impressive single-player collection that I've ever handled,” said Hunt, president of Hunt Auctions — one of the most prominent vintage sports-auction firms in the nation. Hunt has hosted sales for transcendent stars including Bill Russell, Babe Ruth and Tom Brady. For Hunt and Hirsch, the auction serves as something of a Mays museum. Not only does it chronicle the major milestones in his life, but it also provides a glimpse into who he was as a person. The auction showcases the breadth of his baseball achievements, fashion sense, celebrity fame and even political ambivalence. There are signed pictures of Mays shaking hands with former presidents on both sides of the aisle, including Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. But Hunt and Hirsch said that most of all, the auction thoroughly symbolizes Mays’ lifelong affinity for kids. Mays wrote in his will more than 20 years ago that his belongings would be showcased to fans and then sold to benefit youth. The net proceeds from the auction will be donated to his nonprofit, the Say Hey Willie Mays Foundation, which he started 25 years ago to support youth sports nationwide. “Willie always said there were three groups of people he trusted: baseball players, children and household pets,” Hirsch said. Hirsch wrote in his Mays biography that the slugger was accustomed to seeing bags of fan mail at his locker at the Polo Grounds, the Giants’ home ballpark when they played in New York. But Mays said that when he slumped at the plate, he would receive fewer and fewer notes. The only letters which kept coming in were from kids. Ex // Top Stories San Francisco has seen its share of past political violence Mental instability, not ideology, was at the heart of each incident — but the president’s inflammatory rhetoric won’t calm anyone down Portola's emergence shows 'San Francisco knows what's up' Attending the Portola Music Festival, you would think the weekend-long waterfront extravaganza had been a San Francisco ritual for decades, not a mere four years. SF to follow western states’ vax recs amid federal upheaval CDC panel abandoned universal COVID vaccine recommendation last week “They loved Willie no matter what he was doing,” Hirsch said. “And in a way, the children were really the wise ones among us. Every baseball player goes through slumps, but the kids recognize that even if you're 1-for-20, you're still one of the great players of the game.” Mays famously would stop during his walks to and from games in New York City to play stickball with young players in the streets. Hirsch wrote about Mays’ frequent visits to see sick children, gifting them bats, bags of balls and other baseball equipment. Hirsch said that during one trip to a sick child’s home, as soon as Mays noticed the child had a brother alongside him, Mays rushed back to his car and retrieved more baseball goods to make sure the brother was not left out.Mays’ relationship with youth stood out because he was famously wary of most people, turned off by the media and fan criticism he endured throughout his career and those who took advantage of his money and stardom. So it’s no surprise that Hunt said this week’s auction is the culmination of more than 20 years of relationship-building between him, Mays and Jeff Bleich, Mays’ close friend and head of the Say Hey Foundation. “Trust is everything, not only in our industry but in most businesses,” Hunt said. “We’ve learned you have to earn that trust, it’s not given. I'd like to think, hopefully, we earned that trust by just giving Willie straightforward advice, not asking for anything in return and hoping that that trust developed into a formal relationship — which we’re honored to say that it did.” Hunt said the Mays auction has the chance to be the most lucrative single-player sports-memorabilia auction ever — which is what the Giants legend repeatedly told both him and Bleich was his wish. “He wanted it to be the greatest auction that's ever occurred,” Hunt said. “He said it over and over and over again.” But some of Mays’ immediate family opposed the week’s festivities. Mays’ son, Michael Mays, told The San Francisco Standard that it’s “heartbreaking” to see so many of his father’s most treasured possessions be sold off. The hall of famer’s only child said he’s trying to salvage a few of the items so they can be preserved in museums. Hunt said the most valuable item is Willie Mays’ 1954 World Series ring, hardware from the lone championship that he won while the Giants still played in New York. Hunt guessed it could sell for as much as $500,000, which would make it one of the most expensive championship rings he has ever sold. Hunt said it’s always tough to measure the success of an auction in comparison with others because of how different they each can be. His highest-selling event was in 2021, when he helped auction off more than 400 pieces of Boston Celtics and University of San Francisco great Bill Russell’s memorabilia for $7.4 million. But Hunt did say this week’s San Francisco auction has record-breaking potential, due to the combination of Mays’ fame, popularity and the auction’s philanthropic focus. “There’s a really unique recipe here that can lead to some very, very exceptional pricing,” Hunt said.
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