Rare Willie Mays items to go under the gavel for a good cause

(BCN) — The personal memorabilia collection of Hall of Fame baseball player Willie Mays will be on display this week near the San Francisco Giants’ home ballpark ahead of an auction to raise proceeds for charity.

Mays, who died in June 2024 at the age of 93, is one of the most famous baseball players of all time for his 23 Major League Baseball seasons, in which he had over 3,000 hits, 660 home runs, 339 stolen bases, and 12 Gold Glove defensive awards.

Per Mays’ wishes after his death, all proceeds of the auction of memorabilia from his storied career will go to the Say Hey! Foundation, which Mays founded in 2000 to fund education, training and health services for underprivileged youth.

The auction will take place Saturday at the King Street Warehouse event space at 128 King St., across from the Giants’ Oracle Park stadium. Online pre-bidding is already taking place at www.huntauctions.com/Mays.cfm and will end at 7 p.m. Friday, but each day this week, fans can preview all of the memorabilia.

Some of the items include Mays’ 1954 New York Giants World Series ring and the 1962 San Francisco Giants uniform he wore in the MLB All-Star game that year. Other items include his two National League Most Valuable Player awards from 1954 and 1965, the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded to him by then-President Barack Obama, multiple NL Gold Glove awards, and his National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ring.

The previews run from noon to 7 p.m. Monday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday, then from 8-10 a.m. Saturday before the in-person auction begins at 10:30 a.m. An online-only auction of hundreds of additional items from Mays will follow on Sunday.

For more information, people can visit www.huntauctions.com/Mays.cfm or call (610) 524-0822.

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