‘He was our hero’: SF Giants fans react to passing of Willie Mays
By J.R. Stone
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SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The San Francisco Giants lost to the Cubs Wednesday in Chicago, but much of the talk at Oracle park was about Willie Mays.
We learned Tuesday that the 24-time all star passed away at the age of 93.
Tears from die-hard Willie Mays fans who came out to Oracle Park to remember the “Say Hey Kid.”
“My dad went to opening day, the first Giants game ever. Seals Stadium in ’58 and got to see Willie Mays play and I lost my dad almost two years ago. I brought flowers for Willie but my dad too,” said Eileen Bissen.
We walked with Bissen as she searched for her family’s brick. One that she bought for her dad on Father’s Day when the ballpark opened. And one that she intentionally got near the Willie Mays statue.
“It says, ‘Loyal From Game 1’ and when I heard the news yesterday my first thought was, my dad gets to meet Willie Mays in Heaven,” said Bissen.
“So yeah he means a lot not just to the baseball community, but the minority community as well,” said Chris Chan.
“I think he was one of the greatest sports athletes ever – I think he transcends baseball, he transcends sports, he meant so much to Black people in this country,” said Omar Moore.
Reaction is pouring after the death of San Francisco Giants legend and Hall of Famer Willie Mays, who died Tuesday. He was 93 years old. A thought echoed by San Francisco Chronicle sports columnist Scott Ostler.
“There were still people skeptical, ‘We’re not sure if we want Black people in the game, you know.’ Willie helped break down a lot of that reticence and backwards thinking,” said Ostler.
And as Mays broke barriers for communities, he entertained with an ability that San Franciscans still talk about today.
“Everybody just loved him! Everybody would scream his name and the whole stadium would just go wild for Willie Mays. Even when we were kids, it was just Willie Mays, Willie Mays – I mean he was the man,” said Howie Ackerman.
“He used to come in that pink Cadillac, that pink convertible Cadillac and it was just Willie Mays. He was our hero,” said Andrew Bishop.
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