Willie Mays

"Gee, Ive been asked hundreds of questions about that catch in the first game of the World Series. The one that Vic Wertz hit for Cleveland. Was it my best catch? How did I play it? Honestly, I dont rate em—I just try to catch em. When he hit the ball, I just started toward the place it was heading. And I got there."

"Mays said he thought maybe the Skinner catch was a bit better than yesterdays, as well as a catch he made on a ball hit this season by Gus Bell of the Cincinnati Reds. "But I dont want to compare em," said Willie. "Im just a ballplayer, not a sports writer. I dont compare em; I just catch em."

"Richie Allen was—and still is—a Hall of Famer as far as Im concerned."

"Herman didnt interfere with me. He gave me that authority. I managed the field. Whatever went on on the field, I did it. I did every . . . thing. Nowadays, the manager tells everybody what to do, the manager does everything. Thats why you see this [pantomiming a catcher repeatedly glancing over at the dugout]. When we played, we just looked on the field. Usually it was an infielder. The Dodgers were run by Pee Wee. Alston just sat in the dugout. Usually it was an infielder, but Herman gave me the authority."

"Youre not from New York, are you? You cant be from New York. Well, when I broke in, I didnt know many people by name so I would just say, "Say, hey," and the writers picked that up. The writers here in New York can make anything happen, so they made that happen."

"The greatest challenge I think is adjusting to not playing baseball. The reason for that is that I had to come out of baseball and come into the business world, not being a college graduate, not being educated to come into the business world the way I should have. And, instead of people doing things for me, I had to do things for myself. That was scary for me."

"He could hit a ball farther than anybody that Ive seen."

"I just felt baseball was a beautiful game, especially at night. The sun -- I mean, you had the lights out there and all you do is go out there, and youre out there by yourself in center field, and its just a beautiful game. And, I just felt that it was such a beautiful game that I just wanted to play it forever, you know."

"I never had any training. I never had a guy say to me, "Do it this way, do it that way." When I was growing up, I was the last guy to get picked for every team that I was on. If they needed a pitcher, I pitched. If there was a catcher needed, I caught. First baseman, shortstop, whatever position they needed, thats what I played. I felt I was the best all-around athlete on that particular team. Most of them couldnt do that, everybody wanted to play a position. It didnt matter what position I played. I just had fun and enjoyed it."

"Im a very lucky guy. I had so many people help me over the years that I never had many problems. If I had a problem, I could sit down with someone and they would explain the problem to me, and the problem become like a baseball game. Youre at home plate now, how do you get to first? How do you get to second? How do you get to third? When you get back to home, your problem is solved. Thats the way I view the business world, I view it as a baseball game. Once you start thinking the way youve been taught to think over so many years, you have no problems."

"I would say the main thing in any young kids life is education. Even if a guy is prejudiced, he can be educated to understand why he is prejudiced. Education plays a great role in all life, whether youre black or white. Youve got to go to high school, youve got to go to college. When you come out of college or high school, you can play sports. If you ever get hurt, they cant take that brain away from you, youve got that."

"Any time Im not playing, I watch the game at home on television. That way I can relax and if I decide to make a catch off my playroom wall, nobody is the wiser."